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Considering a Greenhouse
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Posted by wonkette z10 CA (My Page) on Sat, Nov 7, 09 at 21:13
| I'm considering putting a greenhouse in my backyard and am looking for some recommendations for good brands. I saw the models of the Harbor Freight greenhouses last week and it looks like they are a good price compared to the thousands of $ that I could spend on another brand, but are they a good value?
I'm considering getting more than one because I want to have different types of plants in each -- one for tropicals that like warm/humid temps and one in which I can grow tomatoes, peppers, etc. year round.
I live in coastal southern California, where it rarely dips below freezing. My backyard gets NO shade at all in the summer (other than the morning marine layer), so I realize I will need to put ventilation in to keep the GHs from getting too hot, and may need to remove panels and use shade cloths in the summer.
I'm also wondering whether it will be necessary to use a heater in either GH during the winter, or will keeping them closed retain enough heat to keep the plants happy? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Considering a Greenhouse
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Hi
have been trying to operate a GH in 10 florida for many years . The best long term operation is a shadehouse with no permanent covering. The runaway worst problem is heat buildup even in winter. I would bet you'd have similar problems though I think your winter highs would be much lower and for longer periods of time. My all time low was 27 while the day low was 55 never lasting over 3 days.
have tried several heating methods the best being electric radiant with a temporay cover of medium frost cloth. Cooling has proven impossible even with refrigeration due to high humidity.
Commercial GH use very high ceilings as heat traps with gigantic ventilation fans. Not possible in my situation.
So I stick with heat tolerant tropicals and the more tender in pots so they can be moved into the house during
cold fronts.
You might look around locally to see what others are doing. Though we are in the same zones the climates are really very different.
Why can't you grow winter crops outdoors?? Most vegetables are quite tolerant of cold as opposed to heat ??
I can ONLY grow winter due to the heat but wouldn't dream of using a GH.
gary |
RE: Considering a Greenhouse
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| I can grow winter crops outdoors, but I would like to grow summer vegetables year round, have a place to germinate seeds and a place to germinate and grow plants that need more heat and humidity than we get in the winter months. I have an acquaintance who grows tropicals in a greenhouse here. He heats it in the winter. I don't have a place to bring my tender plants inside during winter, but I do have a large lot, so I have plenty of room for a greenhouse. |
RE: Considering a Greenhouse
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| Have you thought about building your own. I was on a limited budget and built my own in the backyard last fall. The least expensives kit I found was in the $1,000+ range, so I looked into building my own out of PVC, door frames out of red cedar (moisture and mildew resistant), covered with 6mil clear contractors plastic (2 layers) and secured at the base with two layers of 16 inch concrete bricks that are 1 5/8 inch thick. I covered the bottom with about 2+ inches of pea gravel, which helps retain heat and is good for drainage when watering. I did it all for about $700.00. And I heat it with a simple little electric heater bought at a garage sale for $7.00. I run an outdoor wire from the greenhouse to the garage about 30ft. away for the heater. It only got down to 40F on one night last winter, and our lowest outdoor temp was 26F last winter. It kept my tropicals, including my coconut palms just fine over the winter. If you leave the contractor's plastic up in the summer, you will have to replace it each year, but if you take it down off the frame in the spring, you could probably reuse it for another season. John |
RE: Considering a Greenhouse
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>I'm considering putting a greenhouse in my backyard and am
>looking for some recommendations for good brands. Two companies online to recommend..
http://www.igcusa.com
http://www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/cat1a;gs1_hobby_greenhouses.html We have the 'Elite Greenhouses' from Growers Supply. Only complaint is I should have bought bigger one as I've run out of room. |
Here is a link that might be useful: white greenhouse
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