Kasiaw, I really like the Boise area. Husband is a born and raised Californian, and he was skeptical about moving up here, but he took up skiing and now says we're never leaving. There are actually branches of Hewlett Packard and Micron here, but they've done some substantial lay-offs lately. Could be good when things pick back up. As far as biology, it depends on what kind. There are lots of federal natural resources jobs here - we have offices for Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM, Forest Service, USGS, NRCS, and who knows what else. Couldn't tell you about microbiology type stuff, though.

Hi Ginny - If you read through the FAQs here on how to grow from seed you'll find that soil temperature is what is vital to germination, not air temperatures. That is why the use of heat mats under your seedling trays is commonly recommended. And soil temperatures in the 70-95 degree range (depends on the seed type) must be maintained until germination happens so the only way to do that is by using bottom heat sources like heat mats. Once the seeds sprout, then it is time to worry about what the air temperatures are and yes, in your zone you may have to provide some heat on at least a few nights. Once the plants have sprouted we try very hard to keep the air temperatures between 45 for a low and 65-70 for a high. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs

Since I'm two full zones different, I don't feel quite competent to address the questions, but I'll take a crack at them. At least until someone with more relevant experience wades in! We have a 20 x 24 foot hoophouse, intended for use year-round (deep winter slowdowns are expected of course). We have doors at each end and roll-up sides. The layers are plastic with a blower fan to inflate some space and keep the plastic taut. Ventilation We do not have any form of mechanical ventilation and we do fine. Our hoophouse does not get any shade in summer. Air temperatures peaked at a little shy of 120 F last summer--hot, but all the plants--including cool-weather varieties--lived. It is often safer to keep the ventilation means simple, to avoid complications if something goes wrong (power goes out for example). But if there is not someone who will be around to correct things in case you forget to open doors or roll up sides, then a backup system (like an automatic vent) would bring some peace of mind and perhaps save some of your gardening efforts from setback! Securing plastic Ours does have the baseboard and roll-up sides. I wouldn't do without them, especially since it's so easy to make adjustments. In fall and spring, yes, one typically rolls the sides up every morning, and back down by late afternoon--all depending on the temperature in the hoophouse, ambient temp, and cloud cover. It's not a difficult task--only takes about 20 seconds a side (not including walking and checking out what's going on in the garden). But if someone isn't available, then once again some automatic system might help. The sides typically stay up in late spring, summer, and fall. But if a severe storm threatens, or even just a strong winds, then one has to run out there and roll down the sides and shut the doors to keep the structure safer. Insulation Particularly with the winds around here, I wouldn't consider doing anything but two layers with inflation. I don't know what wind conditions you have there--that might be something others will like to know in discussing your project. :) I hope that helped somewhat and didn't muddy the waters. I love hoophouse growing though and am always very happy to talk about them with others. May your project bring you much pleasure and many wonderful veggies!

jungle: That might work if you can stand 120-130F in your greenhouse. It will not do better than that. If you want real cooling buy a 36 inch slant wall exhaust fan to go with an appropriate size wet wall. I'm in Alpine TX at 4500ft elevation. My 1725 sqft greenhouse has three 36 inch exhaust fans with 1/4 hp motors and a 4x28ft wet wall. Two of those fans are adequate until it gets above 90-95F then I turn on the third. Last year when we were near 100F many days I could hold mid 90s on the hot, exhaust end. Mount the top of your wet wall and top of the exhaust fan as high as you want cooling. It will not cool higher than that. Mine are mounted at about 7ft and I wish it were 8ft. The upper air in the greenhouse is 120F+. Your exhaust fan needs to achieve one air exchange per minute to hold warming to 10-15F above outside. The wet wall provides air at 15-20F cooler than outside. My electric bill for fans is about $50-70 per month but it is the only way in our climate to keep a greenhouse usablely cool in summer. Run it on 220V if possible for economy and long motor life.