Loved the video tour of your farm. I was one of the people present when you hosted a get-together and gave a tour (it was sometime in the past year or so), so it was fun to see it then and now. In the video, you said that your greenhouse is passive solar. What do you use to capture the sun? Do you monitor the temperature during the winter? If so, what kind of temperatures have you been seeing with our recent cold weather?
Hey Sean! How are you – ‘haven’t seen in some time. Thanks for the compliment on the video – it was fun to make. The orientation of the greenhouse gathers heat and light during the winter (we shield it during the summer to keep it from overheating), and we use the water from the fish tank to help regulate temperature inside the greenhouse. We keep intending to also add 6 15 gallon plastic carboys full of water on the north wall to further sink heat during the day. The north wall is insulated and reflects light back through the green house, and the roof, west wall, and part of the north wall are also insulated with bubble wrap. We do heat the water in the deep winter (February or so) to keep it from dipping below 45 degrees, but we only do that for a few weeks or so before spring sunshine starts bringing the temperature back up. We did get some freezing temps inside the greenhouse during this last cold spell, but not even enough to really damage the tatsoi or mizuna growing in the flood-and-drain portion of the aquaponics. ‘Hope that helps!
Hey Stephanie! The best I understand about catching rainwater in Colorado is that “it’s always been this way.” The story I heard states that when Colorado was set-up as a state, all aspects were sold individually. For instance, mineral rights were sold separate from the land your house sits on, and water rights were sold separate from the land the rain falls on. In other words, whoever owns the water rights owns the water as a raindrop in the sky. Catching rainwater in Colorado is considered a form of stealing, and yes they do enforce it here.
Thanks for the compliment on the video – it was fun to make. An approximate sq footage for our backyard is somewhere around 4,500 sq. ft. Not small, but not huge either.
Hi Christine,
Loved the video tour of your farm. I was one of the people present when you hosted a get-together and gave a tour (it was sometime in the past year or so), so it was fun to see it then and now. In the video, you said that your greenhouse is passive solar. What do you use to capture the sun? Do you monitor the temperature during the winter? If so, what kind of temperatures have you been seeing with our recent cold weather?
Hey Sean! How are you – ‘haven’t seen in some time.
Thanks for the compliment on the video – it was fun to make. The orientation of the greenhouse gathers heat and light during the winter (we shield it during the summer to keep it from overheating), and we use the water from the fish tank to help regulate temperature inside the greenhouse. We keep intending to also add 6 15 gallon plastic carboys full of water on the north wall to further sink heat during the day. The north wall is insulated and reflects light back through the green house, and the roof, west wall, and part of the north wall are also insulated with bubble wrap. We do heat the water in the deep winter (February or so) to keep it from dipping below 45 degrees, but we only do that for a few weeks or so before spring sunshine starts bringing the temperature back up. We did get some freezing temps inside the greenhouse during this last cold spell, but not even enough to really damage the tatsoi or mizuna growing in the flood-and-drain portion of the aquaponics. ‘Hope that helps! 
Yes, that’s a wonderful level of detail. Thank you!
Why is it illegal to catch the rain water?
Just curious!
–Steph
Hey Stephanie! The best I understand about catching rainwater in Colorado is that “it’s always been this way.” The story I heard states that when Colorado was set-up as a state, all aspects were sold individually. For instance, mineral rights were sold separate from the land your house sits on, and water rights were sold separate from the land the rain falls on. In other words, whoever owns the water rights owns the water as a raindrop in the sky. Catching rainwater in Colorado is considered a form of stealing, and yes they do enforce it here.
“Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’.”
I love the video, thank you for sharing. What is the square footage of your backyard if you don’t mind me asking?
Thanks for the compliment on the video – it was fun to make.
An approximate sq footage for our backyard is somewhere around 4,500 sq. ft. Not small, but not huge either.