What an experience

[LVVCHAP]

I, like some of you on this forum, purchased a greehouse from Harbor Freight last year. I put it together late last summer and let it sit over the winter. Other than having to keep the snow off the roof everything went well. I started a lot of seedlings inside under grow lights and Saturday 3/27 was the day to start transplanting and shifting everything to the greenhouse. I didn't count but I put about 100 dozen plants outside. I thought I was all set with a LaCrosse thermometer that has an alarm on it and an electric heater. Weather man said that night time lows were to be between 25 and 30. Well I went to bed a little nervous about my plants. About midnight the alarm went off (35 degrees). Long story short, I finally figured out that I didnt have the heater set correctly. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. Tonight's low is to be around 40. I am turning the heater on but should sleep better. I forgot to take some pics yesterday and today it rained all day. Maybe tomorrow.

P.S. I feel good now - one hour nap after supper

 

[Greenthumb18]

Lvvchap,

I'm glad to hear the seedlings are ok. Yeah it happens, but i'm sure you have the heater set correctly now. As long as you learn from your mistakes thats what counts. Good thing that your seedlings weren't too damaged because of that.
Do you have the permanent kind of greenhouse? I just make my greenhouse every year, i'm going to actually start making one soon. I make mine out of plastic and take it down around June. I don't have a lot of space for a permanent one so the plastic one suits me pretty well.

 

[digitS']

It's kind of like staying up with calving or puppies, right??

See, if you had just kept everything indoors - it would have been okay.

I have made about every mistake possible with a greenhouse. Today, at least, it was easy -- too darn cold, windy and rainy for the heat to even go off . . . oh, well. Maybe the weather will be nice in a couple more days.

Steve :coolsun

 

[patandchickens]

If you put a floating row cover or etc over your seedlings in the greenhouse, they will have a bit of extra frost protection that way.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[LVVCHAP]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions and Steve, it is like staying up with puppies.

Here it is

 

[Lavender2]

Oh that looks like fun! I wish I had a greenhouse!
Glad it's working out for you! (well except for the sleepless nights)... I can recall too many of those

I use my unheated porch later in the seedling season and when I'm hardening things off, since I can roll the racks out onto the deck for the daytime.
Occasionally I have used one of those radiator space heaters, placed closer to the more tender plants. It will keep the temp about 10 -15 degrees above the outdoor temp.
I think my weatherman is a lot farther South than me

 

[HunkieDorie23]

OK, at first I thought this story was going to have a bad ending but I am relieved that it didn't. It's really funny about the staying up all night. When ever I am incubating eggs... same thing. I lost more see with hatching chicks then I did with my own children when I brought them home from the hospital. Well except the last because she had her days and nights backwards.

 

[jackb]

I have had the smaller version of the Harbor Freight greenhouse for four years and I love it. It has survived heavy snow and ice loads here in upstate New York. There is a greenhouse heater under the shelving in the rear of the greenhouse with the thermostat set for 45 degrees. The patio block and pea gravel retain heat, and I monitor the temperature with a remote thermometer and it is usually several degrees warmer than the outdoor temperature. I am using if from early March to late November, and on occasion if the temperature inside is in the seventies during the winter, I will grab a book and folding chair and pretend I am in Miami.

 

[wifezilla]

Nice!

 

[countrywife]

are those greenhouse pictures the $249.00 model that is on the hf website? its the 4x6 one