A desalination greenhouse of the invention provides both winter and summer crop growing operations and to produce a source of potable water given an input of only brackish or sea water. A consistency of temperature is produced by insulation and compensating absorption of heat in summer, with the release of heat in winter to keep crops more isothermal, but without obstructing natural light transmission to the crops. A very thin layer of brackish or salt water is evaporated from an inner shell and condensed onto an outer shell. Supplemental heat exchange can be applied to cool water used for crop irrigation.
