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Heating a 40 x 25 greenhouse (double poly)
Comments (3)propane catalytic heater as described might be OK for marginal nights but for a 25x40' structure and 0*F nights you had better invest in a unit capable of 80K BTU or better just to be safe. Since yoiu don't count on more than 3-4 nights like that you might want to have a propane turkey fryer base handy or even a gas grill that you could set in just for those nights. I've never had any night below 20*F to contend with but I have scrambled everything available on some nights. Also get a couple of cheap box fans, or better versions if you can, so that you can move the air to avoid cold spots within the greenhouse. When I experimented with Fruitnuts suggestion years ago (plants under row cover under a tunnel within the tunnel) I lost about 10% of my tomato plants because I was monitoring temperatures at on spot and other spots just got too cold. Even the best of setups fail if the temperature drops below capabilities of your system. A Minn. researcher reported on a project using solar panels to heat water pumped under greenhouse soil during a very cold winter period. Although the circulated water reached very high temperatures during many days the extreme nights were just too cold for the setup to succeed. A few things you might consider are to develop a backup plan which may include moving your plants into your basement, etc. Also consider starting them in your house anyhow since 50*F is much too cold to germinate seedlings. From a comfortable vantage point you can look at weather forcasts and determine if conditions are favorable to move plants into your greenhouse. I have 3 greenhouses yet my house setup of 28 shoplights is maxed-out even as late as April 1st. when my greenhouses are either planted full or reaching capacity....See More;( my greenhouse dipped to 40 degrees last night
Comments (5)Oh you'll be surprised how cold things can get and still survive. I've seen 26 degrees in my home made simple greenhouse and my super tropicals came through without a scratch and some of my supposed-to-be hardy plants died. It all depends on what kind of cold it is - is it humid? is the air moving around inside the greenhouse? how long did it stay cold? Portable electric heaters usually top out at 1500 watts and all pretty much give you the same amount of heat. You can't run anything stronger on a normal power cord. I use one under a tent of thin plastic sheeting set up inside the greenhouse. Sort of a greenhouse inside the greenhouse. You'd be surprised how warm it keeps things (you have to keep it small, I use it mainly for orchids). I use a regular kerosene heater for back up when things get really cold (I'm in zone 7b, Raleigh NC). A standard room heater cost around $135 at any hardware store. The killer is that you HAVE to buy the super expensive fuel - 5 gallons for $45. It will be clear and usually low odor. The cheaper red-dyed stuff will clog your wick in a couple of months and wicks are impossibly hard to change. Though stinky and messy they give off a huge amount of heat. Keep in mind that some plants are very sensitive to Ethylene gas which is odorless and given off my burning kerosene. My current greenhouse is large and I can just move anyone having a problem 10 feet away and the problem goes away. I now have an old massive wood burning stove as my primary heat source and love it. Wood is next to free for me and the blower unit on the stove moves a lot of air. I can normally get a 20 degree gain with just the wood fire and an extra 10-15 if I run the kero heater at the same time. Last night was 24 around here and the greenhouse stayed above 50. The downside (besides being very messy) is that the fire has to be managed all night long. Sometimes I can damper things down and get 3 hours of sleep between fire tending but other times everything burns up in an hour - it all depends on the wood and the humidity. You always want to have a small fan blowing the air around no matter how small your greenhouse is. I find the cheap plastic floor fans with the largest blades move the most air. A lot of "tropical" plants can handle a light frost without damage, even orchids and bromeliads. They just can't handle it every night. Once or twice is about all....See Morehostas 40% off
Comments (59)Yeah ken, like you're NOT one of 'US' ("you people") with all your gorgeous photos of what you have!!! There can't be much you don't have to wave under our noses and drooling mouths to entice us with ! You are probably one of the BIGGEST enablers we have in this 'family'--dysfunctional as we sometimes are, as well! ROFLMHO...See MoreFinished uncovering everything today
Comments (4)Mnpalms Got it,checked in.(-: Yea,T7(Name?) I think it looks good for the next 15 days,of course that can change in a hurry this time of year as we all know! Nothing to much below freezing after tonight and the end of the snow cover should put us back to around normal if it doesn't get to rainy. My enclosures get to hot once we get in to March(90s(f)and it is not possible to keep them cool enough,besides they have all seen worse cold then they will from here out(-: All the covers are ready to go if need be and the cactus cover is laying next to the framework ready to go up when it rains,or worse! Pulling the X-mas lights up allows me to move the mulch back so the sun can hit the bare ground as you can see in the pics. The ground temp right now is between 35-40f depending on the size of enclosure that was over the palm/cactus. It is surprising how warm the ground gets(and how fast)by letting the sun hit it,even 50f days can bring it up to the upper 40s/low 50s and this is what gets the palms jumping again! Dennis The Butia is a pleasant surprise,it was covered in hast and on the same thermocube as the Washy,who would have thought a kitchen trash can and a rubber yard "can" would do the trick so well? I knew it was going to make it when I saw it after the brutality of early January!...See Morelovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
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