Hello, friends! Welcome to Gardening with Creekside. Today, we have an exciting update on our production greenhouse. As you can see, it has undergone significant changes since our last visit. Roger and the team have been working tirelessly to make great progress this week. We're excited to provide you with an update on what's happening here.
Firstly, I'd like to mention that all our greenhouses, including this new one, are from Atlas Greenhouses in Georgia. They're a fantastic company, offering greenhouses of various sizes to suit both home gardeners and commercial growers. This particular greenhouse is the Super Arch from Atlas, known as a gutter-connected greenhouse.
A gutter-connected greenhouse means that individual greenhouses are linked together by gutters, similar to the rain gutters on a house. This design allows for easy expansion over the years, which is essential for large production operations like ours. These greenhouses are 90 feet wide, 96 feet deep, with three bays, each 30 feet wide.
So, why are we building this greenhouse? Well, it's all about production. In the coming spring, we'll be selling our perennials, annuals, and shrubs online, shipping them across the country. To meet this demand, we need to increase our production capacity. We're a grower-retailer, which means we grow the plants we sell. This new space will play a crucial role in meeting our online sales requirements and growing more plants for our gardens here at Creekside Nursery.
Now, let's talk about the mechanics of the greenhouse. These greenhouses have polyplastic on top, which needs replacement every few years. The sides of the greenhouse have roll-up and down curtains controlled by thermostats to maintain the ideal temperature for plant growth. This feature is especially valuable in the fluctuating temperatures of early spring.
The greenhouse structure consists of bows, purlins, cross beams, and diagonal supports, providing strength and stability. The bows are placed every 12 feet between the poles. The greenhouse's height, from ground to ridge, is 20 feet, allowing heat to rise and escape during hot summers.
There are also cables and brackets that enhance the greenhouse's stability, crucial for areas with heavy snow loads. While we don't experience significant snow in North Carolina, these greenhouses are designed to meet the needs of growers across the country.
Moving on, we discussed the purpose of this new greenhouse, which is primarily for production. It's not designed for tables; instead, plants are grown directly on the ground. This method maximizes space and is more efficient for the types of plants we cultivate.
We also mentioned our potting machine, which has greatly increased our efficiency in planting hundreds of plants in a day. It's important to note that it hasn't replaced human labor but has made our operations more efficient.
Additionally, we touched on the layout of our greenhouses, including the snow arch greenhouse designed to handle the weight of hanging baskets. The annex building serves as our online sales fulfillment center, where all the packaging and shipping take place.
In terms of future developments, the construction team will continue adding structures, completing end walls, and installing heaters, circulation fans, and vents to create the optimal environment for plant growth.
We apologize for the lack of aerial footage in this video, as our previous drone encountered an unfortunate incident. However, we have ordered a new drone and look forward to providing you with bird's-eye views in the upcoming videos.
As always, we're immensely grateful for your support of Creekside Nursery and our gardening endeavors. We hope you enjoyed this update, and we'll keep you posted on our progress. Have a wonderful day, and we'll see you in the next video. Goodbye!
