Using a Fan?

[digitS']

A fan behind an electric heater worked great in the hoop houses last year. Not much is in the hoop house yet, the plant starts are still in the greenhouse with it's natural gas heater.

I'm trying a fan in the greenhouse over the tomato plants especially. Maybe this gray sky will allow a few sunbeams through today but, maybe not. Those things are stretching for the light!

When do you have your fans on? Would it be overly stressful to have it on after dark? The thermostat is turned down to 60°f, at night.

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

I have a fan on all the time. It distributes the heat from my duct work to the whole sun room.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Hi Steve - I like to have a fan on only during daylight hours. My reason for having a fan in the green house is to reduce the chances of "damping off" where the seedlings seem to shrink at the main stem right at the soil line. They gradually bend at the shrink location and many of the seedlings will break off and the plant will be history.

I also like to use the fans to partially harden the little seedlings in preparation for setting the plants outdoors. The breeze flexes the main stem and makes the young plants hardy. Or maybe just hardier

A fan also blends the air temperatures within the green house to offer the plants a more shock-free environment.

 

[so lucky]

I use a fan when the light is on---about 14 hours a day. I think the plants grow thicker stems and are just sturdier than without a fan. Of course, this is just in my basement with lights. But it would be important in a greenhouse, too.

 

[digitS']

The little electric bathroom heaters really need fans to move heat in those plastic hoop houses. But, I'm trying to move air many feet, from one end to the other. Those tall fans aren't set to blow much air on the plants.

These stretched tomatoes need more light and got some today .

I'll run the little fan on them through the daylight hours. Thank you, all !

Steve