Happy 50th Birthday to Air-inflated Double Poly Greenhouse!

Chris Beytes

In 1964, Rutgers professor Bill Roberts was looking to improve the efficiency of plastic-covered greenhouses. Single-layer polyethylene would drip condensation, which wasn’t good for plants. Some growers would staple a layer of poly inside the greenhouse to catch drips and provide a layer of insulation, but this was a cumbersome process.

Bill attached two layers of poly to the outside of a small greenhouse at Rutgers, then used a small fan to inflate the two layers, creating the insulating effect that helped prevent condensation inside. An added benefit was the reduction of flexing and flapping in the wind. Bill next tested the concept on a portion of gutter-connected greenhouse at Kube-Pak in Allentown, New Jersey, then owned by Aart Van Wingerden. The rest, as they say, is history.

That first double poly house, which still stands at Rutgers, was named an American Society of Agricultural Engineers Historic Landmark in 2004. GT