I don't know much about Rion so I can't comment on that. But I can say that it sounds like you are doing a good job in thinking through all the important elements of a good setup.

Will you be getting a water line installed? And electricity? (I assume yes if you are considering a radiant heater.)
I assume you'll add shade cloth in the summer too?

For winter, what will you be growing and what minimum temperature will you be aiming for?

If you dig your foundation deep into the ground and insulate the perimeter (underground), then you can skip insulating the floor. This method is warmer than insulating the floor because you are making use of the fact that the ground is warmer than the air in winter. You can learn more about this by searching here or in Shane Smith's greenhouse book.

Thanks for the tip!! I will look up that book. Yes, I will have electricity ran to the greenhouse, and as far at is not water, I am calling a plumber to get that worked out. Currently, I do not have a frost-free spigot/line in the yard, and there is not a real direct shot to the greenhouse. I do have water at the greenhouse location currently, but it is not frost free. I can use that source of water March-November, so I am thinking worse-case-scenario, I hand water through the winter months.

As far as what I am growing... good question! I figure this year I am just going to give everything a try and see what happens! I keep getting conflicting information from people on what will, or will not grow, so I want to learn for myself. BUT, I am certainly open for suggestions! As far as plants like squash, watermelon, pumpkins, etc... I will just start seeds, and plant those outdoors next spring.

Thoughts?? My thinking is, try to keep the greenhouse above 50 F. I do not think that will be THAT hard to achieve, and I think the majority of the time it will easily stay around 70 inside (during the winter) because of the location. It is also very protected from the wind (not that we get that much wind anyway) so I do not have to worry about that.

Am I way off??

I do the same thing with water. I drain out the water line in December and hand water until late Feb. There is so little growth during that time that it hardly matters. One year I turned the water back on during a midwinter cold spell and I forgot to drain it out again when cold weather resumed. So I had a broken pipe but it was not hard to fix.

As for the heat and the winter growing - before you commit to heating your greenhouse all winter, and paying the money that goes along with that, I would give some serious thought to why you want to do that and what will be possible. I agree, experimenting is a great way to proceed. But I'd caution you to not get yourself locked into something that ends up being a lot of energy use for a small gain. Sounds like you are in a warm spot anyway, which is great. Another book for you is Elliot Coleman's 'Four Season Harvest.' He discusses various methods to keep your winter greenhouse productive without adding heat.

My approach to getting the most out of the greenhouse is to be as clever and efficient as possible, and to use added electricity only as a last resort - that way I am not dependent on having added heat to make it all work. Everyone's approach is different - that is just my viewpoint!

Enjoy the planning - certainly it is all very exciting.

Thank you! I will look into that book. The temperatures here are still 70's during the day, and 40-50 at night. Easily could have a greenhouse producing. Too bad I do not have it yet! I am just nervous to commit to anything yet without researching EVERYTHING. I should just go for it, and learn and adapt as I go, I guess.

Now my thoughts are - double doors...necessary? I am assuming to get proper ventilation in the summer, that is a must-have.

I have a Rion Prestige 8 x 16, which is now on its fifth year. The only major difference between the Prestige and the Green Giant are is the use of transparent single thickness side panels versus double thickness panels throughout.

Providing that the Rion greenhouse structural members are assembled with a lot of care and attention to detail, the end result is an unbelievably strong structure. But another 'secret' to this strength is attaching the base members of the Rion greenhouse to an 'immovable' surface. If the base isn't absolutely rigid and allows the sidewalls to 'bow out', the roof can 'sag' slightly which can allow roof panels to shift and roof 'caps' to pop. This is the primary cause of the roof leaks. In my own case, I used a 4 x 4 base frame with cross braces supporting a cedar deck 'floor'. If you plan on excavating down a couple of feet, something like poured concrete 'side walls' which cannot / will not 'bow out' is highly recommended.

I run an overhead mist system that works beautifully ... providing that you have plenty of water pressure available to allow the mister nozzles to spray properly.

I also run a 16" ventilator fan on a thermostat behind a side wall vent panel installed next to the double door ... because the 16 ft length makes for too many 'dead air' zones if you're depending on just the roof vents and side wall vents during the peak heat of summer. I actually keep the double doors closed when the temperature starts pushing 90 degrees in order to allow the ventilator fan to create an end-to-end cross-draft ( drawing outside air from sidewall vent panels at the opposite end of the greenhouse.

I ordered my 8 x 16 green giant yesterday. I'm excited! Do you think the rion base will be sturdy enough? There really IS too much to learn!

I ordered a Rion 6' x 8' Lean-to greenhouse a few weeks back, and have already completed the foundation and have the greenhouse completely assembled, but am finding that the temperature spikes up above a hundred even when the outside temperature is in the 70's.

If I open the door and the roof vent, then it usually stays in the high 80's to low 90's, but it makes me wonder what it will be when the outside temp is in the 90's.

I have been looking at ventilation, shade cloth (inside or outside), and am just not sure the best way to proceed.

I'm not really sure that I will actually grow anything in the hottest part of summer in the greenhouse, but I also don't want it to get so hot it damages the greenhouse.

My primary use will be seed starting in the spring (although I still have all that indoors right now, even though the greenhouse is complete), and then would like to attempt to grow greens year round, so start some in the greenhouse each fall (I left a 42" x 96" section of the floor soil so I could just grow in the floor, the rest of the floor is pavers).

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:306242}}

Cooling is a bigger challenge for me than heating. I keep plants in my 10x12 greenhouse year round, but to do so I have to use shadecloth (roof and west end), an exhaust fan, and I replace some panels on the south side with screens in the summer.

I also keep two inexpensive rotating fans running inside, 24-7, for air circulation.

I grow plants (cacti and succulents) that tolerate a lot of heat. If we have a 100F day, the temp inside my greenhouse can get to 110-115 even with all of the above, for brief periods.

I use Aluminet shadecloth, but there's a lot of good info in this forum on other types of shadecloth as well. I started with enough to cover the roof, then added as I learned what my plants needed, and as I learned how the sun intensity changes throughout the year.

If you don't get enough response to this post, you might consider starting a new thread about cooling, since your questions are good ones that affect any type of greenhouse (not just Rion.)

Pretty greenhouse!

DH bought a 24" fan and a stand for it from megagreenhouse. It has really handled the cooling problem well in my Rion. Living in Alabama, cooling is more of a problem for me than heating. I do use a small electric heater when necessary in my greenhouse. Five years later, I still really like mine.
kay

I've had a Rion greenhouse for 4 years now and it is unfit for purpose. Although in a sheltered position I have lost both roof vents every year. As they are no longer repairable have ordered 2 new ones..... and can't get them!!!! It leaks like a sieve. I certainly would never buy this type of greenhouse again.

tarabelle, Three quick suggestions.

1. Consider an evaporative cooler...(swamp cooler) or what ever they call them in your area. It will require water and electricity. Mount it at ground level, preferably on a front or back wall. It will blow cool moist air into the house at the base, and it will push hot dry air out through an open vent at the top. Regulating the opening of the top vent will aid in controlling inside temp and humidity. this system keeps a positive pressure in the house, discouraging outside bugs from entering.

2. Insulation....If you can figure some way to double insulate the house it will save you many $$$,especially in winter. If you can figure some way to attach something as thin as a sheet of painters drop cloth plastic inside the house it will really help. 4 inches of trapped "dead" air Is the best insulation you can buy.

3. Shade cloth....You will find you need much more shade than you ever thought. Shade cloth traps heat against the outer wall of the house unless you mount it off the outer wall so air can circulate between it and the outer wall. Just getting the shade cloth 3 or 4 inches above the outer covering of the house will reduce the heat inside noticeably....Get even more space if you can.

Be aware, you can plan yourself to death, but when you get the thing all put together its going to be the boss...especially for the first few seasons. You will have to think quick and act even quicker to stay ahead of the house especially in very hot and very cold weather. Its a very rewarding challenge.

Have fun.

Bill