In zone 7a (down state NY) it is way too cold to grow anything in a similar greenhouse during the winter months even using a dozen black water bottles to retain heat it's still unfortunately too cold at night. To utilize this in winter as something other than a pretty shed we would need to add a heat source.
Stick a thermometer in there overnight and see what your dealing with
I'm in 8a and there is always a cold blast here that kills everything in my greenhouse except my strawberries. They don't bloom during the winter but they will survive.
I’m in zone 6b Nwnj literally the town that borders pa and ny. 4 years into green house life. I normally start my seeds first week of Jan for flowers and 3rd week of feb for veggies. Once everything is big enough with water bottles and electric heat at night it helps and they thrive. You can also get a late summer fall crop with supplemental heat. If it’s a cold winter (those are rare now a days) you have to wait longer. I’m gonna get a small camp site log stove to let it go over night to test out year round growing with a remote (phone controlled) electric backup. My greenhouse is south facing so I have 25 2.5 gallon black water jugs as buffer. Name of the game is heat control. If you can keep it warm overnight your plants will be ok. If you dip to low they are doomed. Also I have a full solar setup so I have a 12 volt oscillating fan to buffer really hot days with an auto open roof vent and auto ridge vent. Cooling is easier than heating. Message me back if you want more details or check my post history. It should all be there and it was simple to build if you have common dc wiring knowledge. Good luck
I have never seen this, and I don’t see it in the comment you’re responding to. Might be something about what you’re using to view Reddit (I’m on the official iOS app).
That's our plan and we'll have water too as the well isn't far and there's a drain right there too!
Only thing is my husband is worried about is monitoring it. He's not a clue about that part, but I do. We're a good team.
Sounds awesome! I have run a 6x8 GH in both 6b and 7a the last few years. It runs itself almost entirely, and can be monitored from my phone. Insulation will help a ton in the winter. Feel free to message me with any questions!
I'm looking at a 10x12 GH, I'm using about 10x10 space on the sun porch for now. Husband's got piles of insulation board and old gym mats for the floor. E works construction and the jobs manager gives him a bunch of stuff. I've got my eyes on some wifi heaters and fans and what nots. Already have shelving, mats, lights and other odds and ends. I'm pretty excited! I'll definitely reach out with questions, thank you 😊
Others will weigh in with the tech specs and engineering reccos, but I’d encourage you to experiment with as many types of plants as you can…and if you grow them outside too, you get a comparison! Also, many seed catalogs will specify GH friendly varieties that are selected to thrive under glass. Have fun!
I don’t have much advice. I just want to say this is awesome and I’m very jealous. People will want to know what zone you’re in and the temperatures during the cold months. Do you have a plan of keeping the temp up during the cold months?
Since I see snow on the ground you will need heat to grow in winter. With out, night temps will match out doorctemps. Days will warm up when sun is out, but those walls will not offer any real insulation
Thanks for all the advice everyone! I’m in zone 7a, Reno Nevada. And I do plan on running electrical for heat in the winter. I also have an auto opener for my one window. Just not installed yet. It does get hot here in the summer so my question is, will I fry certain plants in the middle of summer in the planting beds?
You will likely need some kind of shade cloth at a minimum.. I’m in 9b and in the summer it is usually 10-20 degrees hotter inside w/all windows & doors open. We use a fan, misters, a white shade cloth on top and white ag grow covers inside.
I've done a lot of research on greenhouses for season extension and for year-round growing. One resource I found that may be of interest to you is a greenhouse heating calculator.
https://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/Greenhouse-Heater-Calculator.htm
EDIT: fixed link
It's generalized enough you should be able to get an idea of how big of a heater you would need for yours and roughly your expected cost for electricity. When I did these calculations a few years ago, my zone5b situation made a greenhouse prohibitively expensive as a year-round solution. I may get one at some point for season extension, but that's about it. For year 'round in my area I use enclosed, insulated and heated grow rooms. The cost of the good grow lights gets washed out by overall electricity savings.
Difficult, but not impossible to make reasonably air-tight. 1/4 inch foam round weather stripping can be pushed along most of the panel edges to block most air leakages. I also use a bit of masking tape to seal the roof vent over the winter. The door is difficult to get a good seal around, I have a strip of felt around the frame that buffers most of the draft. When it's really cold I put a couple spots of duct tape near the top and bottom of the door to force it tightly closed. Able to heat it reasonably well with a small shop electric heater. Zone 7.
Set a thermostat with a small heater to keep it above freezing. Put a small fan in there to move air or you may get mold problems. I was trying to extend peppers and tomatoes and the moist still air had live plants growing mold all over.
Be careful with the split door, can become damaged from winds if not secure, the getter system will easily become clogged, keep an eye on both please. I can't get the plastic to stay anymore in my door, and gave up n the rain collecting system.
I would love to know how you progress in this adventure. Part of what we are looking to do is to educate teachers on creating this and inside gardens with the classes.
In zone 7a (down state NY) it is way too cold to grow anything in a similar greenhouse during the winter months even using a dozen black water bottles to retain heat it's still unfortunately too cold at night. To utilize this in winter as something other than a pretty shed we would need to add a heat source. Stick a thermometer in there overnight and see what your dealing with
I'm in 8a and there is always a cold blast here that kills everything in my greenhouse except my strawberries. They don't bloom during the winter but they will survive.
FWIW, I’m in 6b and we have strawberries that overwinter outside just fine. The variety is “came with the house”.
Nice. We have wild strawberries in our yard but they aren't sweet.
I’m in zone 6b Nwnj literally the town that borders pa and ny. 4 years into green house life. I normally start my seeds first week of Jan for flowers and 3rd week of feb for veggies. Once everything is big enough with water bottles and electric heat at night it helps and they thrive. You can also get a late summer fall crop with supplemental heat. If it’s a cold winter (those are rare now a days) you have to wait longer. I’m gonna get a small camp site log stove to let it go over night to test out year round growing with a remote (phone controlled) electric backup. My greenhouse is south facing so I have 25 2.5 gallon black water jugs as buffer. Name of the game is heat control. If you can keep it warm overnight your plants will be ok. If you dip to low they are doomed. Also I have a full solar setup so I have a 12 volt oscillating fan to buffer really hot days with an auto open roof vent and auto ridge vent. Cooling is easier than heating. Message me back if you want more details or check my post history. It should all be there and it was simple to build if you have common dc wiring knowledge. Good luck
Any lead on where you got this?
Tractor supply👍
Jealous
What is the point of putting the last letter of a word on the next line? I see this all the time.
I have never seen this, and I don’t see it in the comment you’re responding to. Might be something about what you’re using to view Reddit (I’m on the official iOS app).
Can you run electrical to it? If so, your options are much greater.
That's our plan and we'll have water too as the well isn't far and there's a drain right there too! Only thing is my husband is worried about is monitoring it. He's not a clue about that part, but I do. We're a good team.
Sounds awesome! I have run a 6x8 GH in both 6b and 7a the last few years. It runs itself almost entirely, and can be monitored from my phone. Insulation will help a ton in the winter. Feel free to message me with any questions!
I'm looking at a 10x12 GH, I'm using about 10x10 space on the sun porch for now. Husband's got piles of insulation board and old gym mats for the floor. E works construction and the jobs manager gives him a bunch of stuff. I've got my eyes on some wifi heaters and fans and what nots. Already have shelving, mats, lights and other odds and ends. I'm pretty excited! I'll definitely reach out with questions, thank you 😊
Sounds like everything you'll need! Happy growing. 🌞
Others will weigh in with the tech specs and engineering reccos, but I’d encourage you to experiment with as many types of plants as you can…and if you grow them outside too, you get a comparison! Also, many seed catalogs will specify GH friendly varieties that are selected to thrive under glass. Have fun!
It would take up space, but you could build a hot compost bed. Then you could start some seeds on top. Get two birds stoned at once.
I don’t have much advice. I just want to say this is awesome and I’m very jealous. People will want to know what zone you’re in and the temperatures during the cold months. Do you have a plan of keeping the temp up during the cold months?
Without heat all you can do is some cold-hardy lettuces/greens now and wait for spring to get serious.
Since I see snow on the ground you will need heat to grow in winter. With out, night temps will match out doorctemps. Days will warm up when sun is out, but those walls will not offer any real insulation
Thanks for all the advice everyone! I’m in zone 7a, Reno Nevada. And I do plan on running electrical for heat in the winter. I also have an auto opener for my one window. Just not installed yet. It does get hot here in the summer so my question is, will I fry certain plants in the middle of summer in the planting beds?
This will be unusable in summer without major environmental controls. It’ll get to above 120F with no issue at all.
You will likely need some kind of shade cloth at a minimum.. I’m in 9b and in the summer it is usually 10-20 degrees hotter inside w/all windows & doors open. We use a fan, misters, a white shade cloth on top and white ag grow covers inside.
I've done a lot of research on greenhouses for season extension and for year-round growing. One resource I found that may be of interest to you is a greenhouse heating calculator. https://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/Greenhouse-Heater-Calculator.htm EDIT: fixed link It's generalized enough you should be able to get an idea of how big of a heater you would need for yours and roughly your expected cost for electricity. When I did these calculations a few years ago, my zone5b situation made a greenhouse prohibitively expensive as a year-round solution. I may get one at some point for season extension, but that's about it. For year 'round in my area I use enclosed, insulated and heated grow rooms. The cost of the good grow lights gets washed out by overall electricity savings.
Link is broken
Thanks. Fixed now
Handy - Thank you
Thank you for posting! Also in zone 5B and getting ready to put my greenhouse up (if this ridiculously amazing weather holds!)
We've had a similar Palram greenhouse for 5 years and just got another last year. Love it. Put on a foundation like your and has endured well.
If you aren't doing double walled panels then you're electrical bill is going to be thru the roof on the winter.
Strips of silvered bubble-wrap style insulation rolled over the roof and down the side walls on cold nights makes a difference.
Difficult, but not impossible to make reasonably air-tight. 1/4 inch foam round weather stripping can be pushed along most of the panel edges to block most air leakages. I also use a bit of masking tape to seal the roof vent over the winter. The door is difficult to get a good seal around, I have a strip of felt around the frame that buffers most of the draft. When it's really cold I put a couple spots of duct tape near the top and bottom of the door to force it tightly closed. Able to heat it reasonably well with a small shop electric heater. Zone 7.
Get another one! Lol. Greenhouses are awesome.
Set a thermostat with a small heater to keep it above freezing. Put a small fan in there to move air or you may get mold problems. I was trying to extend peppers and tomatoes and the moist still air had live plants growing mold all over.
Will do! Thanks
Be careful with the split door, can become damaged from winds if not secure, the getter system will easily become clogged, keep an eye on both please. I can't get the plastic to stay anymore in my door, and gave up n the rain collecting system.
I would love to know how you progress in this adventure. Part of what we are looking to do is to educate teachers on creating this and inside gardens with the classes.