How Do You Heat Your Greenhouse?

[jackb]

@Smart Red Wrote: Heat has always been more of a problem for me in the greenhouse than cold has been. I like your set up, jackb. I hope it works and you tell us all about it.

Red,
Friday night the temperature was to drop to 29 F, but it actually got to 24 F. When I checked in the morning the greenhouse was at 37 F, so all was well. The lowest temperature recorded in the greenhouse was 34 F, not exactly tropical but good enough for what I am growing.
Jack

 

[digitS']

Jack, I've killed tomato plants at 37°.

I tell about it here: Nov 3, 2012. However, it was several years prior to that. It's one of those bad memories of a mistake.

The problem was mostly that the plants had been moved from the heated greenhouse, where they had never experienced cold below 60°, to an unheated hoop house. There was a lot of wilt amongst those tomato plants the next morning!

Steve

 

[jackb]

Steve,
I only have olives and figs in the greenhouse, with no plans to move the tomatoes in until mid April. At that point I will place an oil filled electric radiator in there on a timer and keep much closer tabs on the temperatures. The olives can take temps down to 22 F, but even so I am still very careful.

 

[aftermidnight]

Guys, thanks for the heads up on the Themo Cube, we bought one, tested it to make sure it worked and hooked it up to the heater in the greenhouse. Before this we had the heater set to come on at 10 at night and off at 8 in the morning just in case it went down to freezing during the night. Since installing the Thermo Cube the heater hasn't had to come on once, it's going to be a big savings in electricity. By the end of the month the heater will be out of the greenhouse and stored until the fall .

Annette

 

[jackb]

Annette,
That is exactly why I am using it, as I also used a timer, but on many nights it turned on when not necessary. Now, I sleep peacefully.

 

[catjac1975]

I do not have heat in my greenhouse but, it is connected to the house by an open door, therefore it is heated. It is heavily insulated and faces due south. Even before it was finished it never went below 40 degrees. I use bottom heat to start heat loving plants and I would say in never goes below 60. The sun has been bright on and off the last 2 weeks and there were days it was well over 90 degrees in the greenhouse and maybe 70 outside. What a difference in plant grow from those days. Some things are just coming up-like tomatoes. It was a bit early for me to start them but it is always so hard to wait. If they get lanky I just plant the deep. Take a look!

 

[Nyboy]

Cat I am turning green with envy .

 

[digitS']

I don't envy her the work needed to keep it neat and clean. You are doing a champion job with having things beautiful, Cat'.

If you have a need to hire help, don't feel guilty. See if you can find a horticulturalist for the job(s) around the place. Yeah.

Me. I just figure that anything that falls on the "floor" will just be fertilizer for that bed after the bench is pulled out and the "floor" turned over in the fall. I have to worry about the bench turning into compost before I and the plants are finished with it in the spring!

Shoot. I was down on my hands and knees yesterday, cleaning under the table in the South Window here in the house.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

I had a great guy last year but, he got a full time job. Good for him-he was a hard worker with kids. Just had a tough time finding decent employment. I will miss him. CCraig's list charges now for help wanted. I kept telling my husband that the old lady ((me) kept weeding the young people under the table. Many never came back a second time. We will start looking now. I thought the floor was rather dirty after posting. But I empty in the spring a do a through clean.

 

[Nyboy]

Cat its funny how one person's dirty can be another persons clean