Greenhouses can still be useful if you pull the right parts. The glass is usually the easiest—just replace broken panes, seal the edges, and clear the vents. The frame, those old steel or aluminum beams, is where the real work starts. Corrosion on the joints and misaligned angles will need careful straightening and welding. Pumping and irrigation systems are the trickiest; the pre‑war electronics are stubborn and often wired backward, so you’ll have to reverse engineer the circuitry, check the pressure regulators, and clean up any clogged valves. If you can get those parts running, the whole structure can breathe again. Just keep the work to yourself, don't let anyone else meddle, and test the system with a full load before calling it finished.

I’ll start with a small batch, just to make sure the valves and pumps are running right. If I hit a snag, I can fix it before I hit the whole system. After that, I’ll do the full sweep. It’s easier that way, and it keeps the pressure on me low. No rush, no fuss. Just steady work.