First greenhouse site confirmed!

Here's what it looks like: (click for larger)


And here's where it is:



The lot is being used by the Ecobox community garden, and they seem pretty interested in the project.
Not a problem that it's asphalt as we'll be coming up off the ground with raised beds, shelves etc. I have serious reservations about planting in city soil anyway, due to heavy metals and other toxins. We'll be making our own, probably through a combination of compost, manure, a trailer full of dirt from outside the city, and possibly even a bio-digester.
The only issue with it being a solid surface is not being able to sink a cooling system, which after the last two freakishly hot days here in Paris (up to 38 C), is starting to look like an important addition. There is, however, a grassy bank just over that fence, so I'm thinking to put the water tank in that and just run the hoses to it.
Now just need to start building...

Le lot est utilisé par le jardin communautaire Ecobox, et ils semblent assez intéressés par le projet.
Pas de problème que c'est l'asphalte que nous allons venir sur le sol avec des lits surélevés, des étagères etc, j'ai de sérieuses réserves sur la plantation dans le sol ville de toute façon, à cause de métaux lourds et autres toxines. Nous allons faire le nôtre, sans doute grâce à une combinaison de compost, de fumier, une remorque pleine de saleté de l'extérieur de la ville, et peut-être même un bio-digesteur.
Le seul problème avec elle étant une surface solide est de ne pas pouvoir couler un système de refroidissement, qui, après les deux derniers jours freakishly chaud ici, à Paris (jusqu'à 38 ° C), commence à ressembler à un ajout important. Il ya, cependant, un talus gazonné peu plus de cette clôture, alors que je pense de mettre le réservoir d'eau dans ce juste et exécuter les tuyaux à elle.
Il nous suffit maintenant de commencer à construire ...

Paris Urban Farming Collective - Ferme collective et urbaine dans Paris

What I want to do is this: Get a bunch of people together; makers, growers and organisers. Locate the unused and empty lots and blocks of land in central Paris. Approach the land owners saying we'll be gone the day they say to be, we won't leave a mark and might be able to pay a little rent. Build several greenhouses and other useful things. Farm Paris. This isn't for demonstration purposes or raising awareness etc, this is to grow large quantities of good food year round. When we inevitably get moved on from a block, pack everything up and shift to the next. The only limiting factors are how much land we'd have access to and how many people are involved. All tech and infrastructure will be open source and hopefully we'll get copied. Other potential projects to build in: Free permaculture university (PDCs do not need to be that expensive) Open circus/juggling/parkour/graff space (plants like CO2, I like aerialist silks) Energy and water production (might as well testbed some stuff while we're here) People we need: Anyone who wants to build greenhouses and other helpful things Anyone who wants to grow food (I'm mainly thinking permaculture principles, but whatever works) Infrastructure people to keep it all together, approach land owners and hopefully not the council, manage the absolute minimum of cash involved Anyone else who wants in If you are interested please contact me via ufcparis at gmail dot com or the Facebook group. Main discussion forum : http://solarflower.forumactif.com/f12-paris-urban-farming-collective-ferme-collective-et-urbaine-dans-paris

Notre but est de : Rassembler ensemble fabricants, cultivateurs et organisateurs. Localiser les lieux inhabités, vides, abandonnés dans le centre de Paris. Se rapprocher des propriétaires de terres en leurs précisant que nous quitterons les lieux le jour ou ils le souhaiteront, que nous partiront sans laisser de traces, et que nous pourrons payer un petit loyer le temps de notre présence. Construire plusieurs serres et d’autres choses utiles Faire une ferme Parisienne Le but n’est pas de faire une démonstration, ou un appel à la prise de conscience ….mais de faire pousser une grande quantité de nourriture chaque année. Si nous sommes forcés de quitter les lieux, nous rangerons tout ce que nous avons amené, pour l’installer dans le lieu suivant. La seule difficulté est de savoir de combien de terre nous pouvons avoir accès et utiliser et combien de personnes peuvent participer ce projet. Toutes les techniques et infrastructures pourront nous être utiles et seront une aide précieuse. Autre projets à mettre en place : Cours gratuits de permaculture Un lieu de cirque/jonglerie/parcours, art Production d’énergie et d’eau Les personnes utiles à ce projet : Toutes personnes souhaitant construire des serres et autres structures utiles. Toutes personnes souhaitant faire pousser fruits, légumes, plants (partant sur le principe de la permaculture , ou de tous autres systèmes qui fonctionnent). Réunir les gens de différentes structures pour permettre d’approcher plus facilement les propriétaires des terres en dépensant le moins d’argent possible. Toutes personnes souhaitant participer à ce projet. Si vous êtes intéressés, merci de me contacter via : ufcparis@gmail;com ou sur facebook Forum: http://solarflower.forumactif.com/f12-paris-urban-farming-collective-ferme-collective-et-urbaine-dans-paris

Stick a fork in it, it's done.
Well, few finishing touches; maybe some double sided flooring tape to lock down the edges, and of course all the shelving to go in, but that's the structure wrapped and roofed.

Dimensions:
9 meter triangle side
3.8 meters tall
100 square meters of plastic
35 square meter footprint

~100 square meters growing space, depending how you use it.

Total cost:
NZ$120/€68
($95 for the plastic, about $25 for screws, nails, etc. All wood felled or recycled).

Took three of us about 7 days to build, not including getting the materials together, but it would've been about half that if we hadn't been inventing the thing as we went.

Next one will be done slightly differently, bit easier to construct but generally the same. Maybe a third larger...

Hey, got a hundred and fifty hits yesterday, that aint bad. I think largely due to this writeup here.

Writing this from the Hong Kong international airport, gate 65. Arriving Germany (tomorrow?) and making a bee line for Paris. Got a place to stay last minute through Couchsurfing.
God I'm tired. (3 am biological time, been awake since 6 am (this??) morning, am now just over halfway through this trip with another twelve hour flight to go.)

Back now in Christchurch being rocked by fairly constant aftershocks, flying out tomorrow for Europe from one volcanic ash cloud to another. Yeesh.

My father's currently putting the final touches on the greenhouse, I didn't quite have time to do so myself, and he'll be sending down some photos soon which I'll post here.

I was planning to be travelling Europe this summer roadtrip style with the solarflower project, but that has now fallen through due to lack of funds. Got another idea tho, and will post it here shortly. Think you might like it...

Two days later the things still just a smidge off completion. I was supposed to leave for Christchurch this morning (well, yesterday, officially), now looks to be tomorrow noonish due to some on-the-fly redesigns of this structure taking more time than thought.
But it's looking pretty sweet. Photos tomorrow for sure.

Walls are wrapped, roof marked out to complete tomorrow. Then it's done. Sorry, no photos today.

Didn't think to take a better photo than this, but you can see that the floors are in. Tomorrow we start wrapping the whole thing, which we'll need to finish in good time coz I'm away on Wednesday and Tuesday looks like rain.

Pretty exciting tho.

Didn't quite get the floors in today, but pretty close.

It's starting to look like what it is:

All the materials are now in place, by end of tomorrow I want to have the other two tripods up and floored. Wrapping and roofing to follow, tho I'm out of here in less than a week now, so it's going to have to be quick.

Just a reminder of what this thing's going to look like.