Garden build 2025

[DDW_OR]

Will be starting a garden in 2025
What crops. Bushes. Fruit trees. Fruit vines. 

Montana zone 6a. 5a. 5b

What would you recommend 
All suggestions welcome 

Also building a 12x32 twin wall polycarbonate greenhouse 
Use sawmill for 2x6's
Then build frame
Then stain with airless sprayer 
Then put twin wall on


We have grown peach trees. Ugly looking but VERY TASTY.!!!!!!!!!
Where killed over 30 years ago in February after 2 weeks of warm weather that got the trees to start budding. 
Still remember the taste. 
Have not tasted the same since. 

Also killed the cherry trees around Flathead Lake

Will plant the trees along the property line 
Then bird netting when fruit is growing 

Berry bushes between trees 

[rusticretreater]

https://www.thespruceeats.com/montana-fruits-and-vegetables-2217211

[twar]

When I was at the U in Missoula, a neighbor had an impressive apricot tree. I remember her giving away apricots to any one who would take them. 

[DDW_OR]

Watched a couple videos on greenhouses buried 2 to 5 feet into the ground 
Then adding geothermal heat loops 8 feet underground. 70 to 100 feet long. Ground temperatures that deep are near constant 40 to 50 degrees. In most of the videos they are growing oranges 

[DDW_OR]

found this useful site for when the sun will be directly overhead
https://www.suncalc.org/#/48.368,-114.1725,16/2024.03.06/12:47/1/3

then use your shadow and two stakes to mark your shadow
then orientate the build to that

will still use the Outdoor Wood Furnace, OWF, to heat the soil in the ground.
and may add the geothermal heating
part of the Geothermal loop will use the OWF trench to re-gain some of the heat lost

[DDW_OR]

Plan to build it like a Polebarn

I got several cardboard tubes used for shipping chimney pipe sections. About 3 ft long
Frost is 5 ft. So 2 tubes per post
Then the metal bracket into the wet cement. Then the 4x6 post on the bracket
6x6 on the four corners

Build it once. Use it for 50 years

Will see how the twin wall polycarbonate holds heat in the winter
May add a 1x2 spacer then a second sheet on the outside

[Southside]

I bought orders of lady bugs and added them to our 300 sf experimental greenhouse this winter, basically zero aphids now on kale leaves that are in contact with the ground and those were definitely the ones harboring the most in the beginning.  

Plan now is to have a 30'x100' in place for late summer and I definitely will run tubing under the raised beds to tie into the OWB.  May just grow greens / cool season in it over the winter as those have done really well for me this winter then use it to get a jump on field transplant starts.  Around here it's just too hot come summer to have anything in there so thinking I will toss some really long season soybeans in there mixed with sorghum as a cover crop / nitrogen fixation / green manure.  Till it all in come September and plant cool season crops.  

[DDW_OR]

and i will make all of my raised beds the same.
in late fall i will move the coldframe into the greenhouse. one more frost protection layer

[DDW_OR]

the house, greenhouse, and OWF trenches will form an almost equilateral triangle that will be used to put three empty, ADS 4-in x 100-ft Corrugated Solid Pipe
about a total of 250 feet of trenches
two fans in the greenhouse, one pushing into the pipes and the other pulling from the other end
the trench from OWF to house is too shallow, 2 feet, it will melt the snow on the ground.

and a good friend is giving me a lot of 4 ft chain-link fence. about 900 feet with concrete posts and most of the pipe. my fence line is 550 ft. never worked with chain-link.