Re: Installing our new greenhouse today

Marc Iverson 10/15/2013, 2:07 pm

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:
I don't think that the straw bale heat would be enough to warm the volume of space, but they can heat a smaller space within the space if we set up plastic over the top. It's all a big experiment. The summer crops are simply already growing and we'll see if we can keep them producing. I don't necessarily expect the beans as an example to make it all winter, but they should last enough to give me a crop as they're getting close and our first frost is usually late November.

It'll be interesting to see how that works out. Over here, I have plenty of tomatoes on the vine, but the cold seems to have sent the plants dormant, making me wonder if the fruits will ever ripen.

audrey.jeanne.roberts 10/15/2013, 5:30 pm

Boffer;
Thanks for sharing your experience - it confirms my fears about the trash cans. The only thing we might have differently than you seeing you're in Washington is we get a lot of sunshine during the winter so it might get warmer. Not sure it would still be enough.

The interior hoop house producing 5-7 degrees higher temps might just be enough for us with our winter temps.

Mostly, other than the plants that were already growing in these beds, we've planted things that will do well anyway in our winter, so worst case we extend the season on both ends. I was thinking that I might consider doing a few cold frames set on the bales and open them during the day, closed at night. My daughter's father-in-law owns a window replacement company so I should be able to tell him what sizes I'm interested in and get them from him.

audrey.jeanne.roberts 10/15/2013, 5:32 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:
It'll be interesting to see how that works out. Over here, I have plenty of tomatoes on the vine, but the cold seems to have sent the plants dormant, making me wonder if the fruits will ever ripen.

I had a lot of green Roma tomatoes when my tomatoes finally kicked it late last Jan. I picked the good ones, tossed the rest and kept them in the fridge bringing them out a bit at a time and putting them in a sunny southern facing window. We had fresh tomatoes well through March.

I even bought a tom "A 'Grappioli" (I think it is) that the plant can be pulled up and hung for the winter. I'm going to see how that goes this winter. The only issue we have is our garage has a window :-( and they should have dark to store.

audrey.jeanne.roberts 10/16/2013, 8:02 pm

I had an epiphany when I was working in the greenhouse today. Euring the cold snaps we get, I can move the planters from on top of the bales to on the ground between the bales and the planter box and cover them very easily.

I might even do the inner hoop house set up so that it comes to just in front of the bales and all I have to do is pull the plastic back during the day.

That should make a good difference - and then when I need to run the heater, if I put it under that inner cover it shouldn't take much at all to keep things going.

Marc Iverson 10/16/2013, 11:51 pm

It's cool that you have so many options to keep things warm.

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