Growing time gained by greenhouse?

14 years ago

This is our first spring/year with a greenhouse. It is 15x33' and we put 3 barrels filled with water for heat retention. We are located in CT.

Can anyone wager a guess on how much time we've added to the growing season in both spring and fall? I know we were able to overwinter broccoli & spinach (which froze & re-coperated).

I know there are many variables-I was hoping for your best guessimate?

Brendasue

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Comments (5)

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
14 years ago
I've heard many people refer to a month gain on either end of the season but you can always stretch anything further. It all becomes a matter of cost and economics. I've tried the water barrel thing but you really don't get much unless you cover the walls with water barrels. If you don't have a backup heat plan for frost sensative crops you can loose your crop in one night so I'd advise at least a propane heater.

Two film layers, inflated, save a bit more heat and you could even plan to use row cover material within the greenhouse.

I rely on woodstoves for heat and so I better go check on mine now.
brendasue
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Bmoser. I was wondering how much sooner to plant my seeds than normal-looks like a month. Working in the soil in the barrels it's really warm-matter of fact I don't think it ever froze.

It's not heated. I am thinking of a small heater though for that month or so extension you are talking about. We'll see....unattended heaters make me nervous I just need to get over that.
Brendasue
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Think of those crops you'd normally put in a vegetable garden considered 'cool weather' crops. Where it says can take light frost, or put out after danger of frost. We don't get consistent night temps of sixty until may or later. And our nights then are anything above freezing. Anything you'd plant out by then in your garden is going to do fine with cool and I mean COOL night temps. You'll get sufficient day temps with just the solar gain on sunny days and a little help from your heaters on dark ones. You'll also want to consider that there won't be any pollinators in your g'houses over winter. Leafy crops are cool, because who cares? LOL. Your seeds will be germinated before winter sets in and even at 55, with domes you'll have sufficient heat to germinate most everything. If I am actively growing tender seedlings, I set my stat at 55. If I am not, I may even set it lower. If I am just running cold crops and holding over annuals for the next season forty five is fine. At those temps I find things like lantana get purplish from the temps, but survive and quickly snap back when temps are raised.
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If you're looking to farm in there, plant some things that don't need a lot of heat. 1 plant of a hundred things is not a good way to do it until you learn what your greenhouse climate is. Keep in mind that good air circulation is as important as any heat you may be trying to capture. Lettuce is easy, but also prone to aphids. You could really extend your season if you pick plants like Brussel sprouts that can take heavy frost without turning into a brown worthless plant. The other members of the Cole crops are also useful (cauliflower, brocolli, etc). Leafy greens and radishes are quick and will grow in cool soil. Since you will gain about one zone, even without heat, when you see us planting outside, it will be time for you to sow indoors (springtime). If you heat it even a little, you will be surprised at the gain. Mine is glass (poorer insulation than a double wall plastic), and I figure that the temps have to drop to very low 20's F (about 22Â°F) before it would freeze inside. So even without heat, I gain about 10 degrees F.
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kudzu9
14 years ago
Three barrels in a greenhouse that size is not adequate to make much of a difference. A supplemental heater would help, although a small one may not do what you need. You really need to do some calculations to determine how much heat you need to supply to get the effect you want, and thus determine the minimum size heater that will work.

Here is a link that might be useful: GH calculator
karin_mt
14 years ago
Brendasue,

We also have an unheated greenhouse in chilly zone 4, augmented with lots of 5 gallon buckets painted black and filled with water. This has extended our growing season enormously.

I start cold-hardy plants like spinach, broccoli and salad mixes in late Feb/early March. I will start my tender seedlings tomorrow. This is more than a month ahead of my old schedule for the cold-hardy stuff and exactly a month ahead for the tender plants (which I used to start indoors under lights).

On the other side of the season, we keep tomatoes growing until Nov, enjoy salads into December, and grow carrots year-round. Basically we turned our 6 month outdoor season into a 10 month season.

We don't want a heater for a bunch of reasons, but when it's colder than I want I can adjust by moving containers into a warm part of the GH, covering things, using heat mats, or as a last resort, bringing containers in the house. This all seems to work very well and I have no desire to make the GH warmer.

Over time you will figure out the schedule. My best advice is to keep detailed notes so you can learn from year to year.
brendasue
Original Author
14 years ago
For next winter I'll add more barrels, I have many just hanging around. I didn't realize 3 weren't enough! I have this fear of something going wrong and a fire starting...I really really don't want to put heat unless absolutely necessary.

Karen in MT, I'm glad to see it's working for you. I was hoping to get similar useage from the GH-I think I'll model yours and take it from there. We're in Z6.

Thank you all for your advise!
Brendasue

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Growing time gained by greenhouse?

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barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

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Growing time gained by greenhouse?

Comments (5)

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

brendasueOriginal Author

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brendasue
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