How To Build An Underground Greenhouse For Just $300
April 27, 2020
source: Seed to Crop / ANDES FERTILES
Have you ever heard of a walipini before? It’s okay, I hadn’t either up until today. A walipini is an underground greenhouse meaning “place of warmth.” You’ll sometimes also hear them referred to as a pit greenhouse. Walipinis are popular because they’re super inexpensive to construct, and they’re also quite effective. They are covered by a transparent sheet of plastic or glass, which when combined with the earth’s thermal energy, makes them a warm, year-round solution for growing plants.
Walipinis are traditionally just six to eight feet deep, and are covered by plastic sheeting. They can also be covered by hard plastic or recycled glass, depending on what your budget is. When complete, a walipini creates a warm, stable environment for growing plants, even in places that experience extremely cold, freezing temperatures.
There are a number of different ways to design and build a walipini, but the consensus is that they’re quite simple to construct and extremely inexpensive to build. A traditional, above-ground greenhouse can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $30,000 (and more) to build. Meanwhile, a walipini can easily be built for $300 or less. Check out the video below for a quick walipini overview:
Here’s another great video that outlines the construction process of a walipini:
Pretty cool, right? The walipini is a great reminder that we can be extremely self-sufficient, should we choose to be. The walipini is also a great reminder that we don’t need something fancy and costly when a simple design will suffice, and can be built for next to nothing. So, what do you think – will you be building a walipini in the near future? I’m strongly considering it!