Greenhouse is up... now what can I grow in zone 5?

[seedspreader]

My lean-to green house on the south face of my house, is up. It's November 1st in Zone 5 (theoretically zone 6 due to my proximity to Lake Erie, but I haven't been here long enough to see it)

First frost was October 20th (ish) followed 3 days later by the first snow.

Brassica family plants... how will they do?

Any discussions, ideas, etc from those who have done this before?

I have a mini propane heater (the kind you use in a tent) if we get real cold, but I need to get a thermometer and monitor the temps in there. It's about 9 x 5 (the patio that it's sitting on) and uses conduit bending up to the house (at aobut 6' 8" or so).

I have pictures and will post a link to them shortly.

Anyone have a good link to the additional light I would need to supplement for growing.

Oh, and my son planted some peas in school just a couple of weeks ago. They are growing well in our south facing window. Would they be prime material for the greenhouse?

As usual, I'll experiment, but you could save me from some of the simpler mistakes!

[MELOC]

i asked a similar question, about length of daylight, in regards to growing indoors in the fall and winter. i think the advice given was that you should have a total of 18 hours, but i think you could cut that back a bit...maybe as far as 14 hours. so you may want to run lights for a few hours everyday from right before sunset until ???
or depending on the type of lighting, maybe it is a good idea to start them before dawn to gain the benefit of any heat they make.

[Shepherd]

No experience here Seedspreader, but I'm sure anxious to learn and see pictures!

Me too..!!

[seedspreader]

Here is the framing with the conduit. There are a lot of pictures.

You can read the rest over here on my blog.

[HilltopDaisy]

Hopefully CowboyJoe will chime in, he had a nice article in Countryside a couple of years ago, and he's in zone 4/5, if I remember correctly. He grew greens, that much I'm sure of. I don't think you can start with seedlings this time of year, they need to be half-grown plants. Have you looked at Elliot Coleman's books?

[zukgod]

Looks great.

[chicky momma]

Seedspreader, check out fedco seed they have a whole bunch of seeds marked with a snow flake meaning they grow well in the winter. They are grown in Maine which is similar climate. I just started doing this and am zone 5 too, southern mid Michigan.
I've grown lettuces, spinach, kale, swiss chard, houkeri turnips, radishes. Have heard chinese cabbage, other brassicas lots of stuff likes the cold. I put plastic over more hoops inside the greenhouse. Best to get the seedlings going now, they don't really grow much in the supper cold/low light just basically hold on. But as soon as it warms or the days lengthen they're off like a house a fire. Good luck! Lisa

[Tracy]

What about snow sliding off the roof? Dont you think the heavy weight of the snow will colapse the plastic film? Just curious?

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by Tracy

What about snow sliding off the roof? Dont you think the heavy weight of the snow will colapse the plastic film? Just curious?

No, they seem to stand up pretty well to snow load when they are a complete hoop house. The fact that the top is tied into the house and that it's all sloped leads me to believe that it should do fine on that respect.

I always reserve the right to be wrong though.

[Shepherd]

Wow, great job on the frame design.

[mdharris68]

I like how the conduit has a curve inward on the downside. When the snow dumps it will actually land a little farther out and not pile up and block the sun. I didn't read every post, so did you recycle the conduit or buy it and what size is it?

Also we grew lettuce all winter in ours. Find books by Elliot Coleman, he writes about the growing in different zones with hoophouses

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by mdharris68

I like how the conduit has a curve inward on the downside. When the snow dumps it will actually land a little farther out and not pile up and block the sun. I didn't read every post, so did you recycle the conduit or buy it and what size is it?

Also we grew lettuce all winter in ours. Find books by Elliot Coleman, he writes about the growing in different zones with hoophouses

The conduit was recycled, it was either 1.25" or 1.50" o.d.

I'll have to see if the library has the Elliot Coleman book or not.


We've got the door open today and are gaining heat in the house from the greenhouse.

[HappyFarmer]

I enjoyed reading your blog. Very nice greenhouse-We've been toying witht the idea all summer-still don't have ours though.
Great job!
HF

[MelissaT]

Another great book is Successful Cold Climate Gardening by Lewis Hill. Lots of good ideas for colder climates.

[MelissaT]

Some good greens to check into Minutina, Arugula, Sorrel, Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia), Kale, lots of different types of Asian Vegetables, Upland Cress (Belle Isle), Mache, some lettuces, some cabbages, some broccoli... I found a good local seed company for my region. You can usually get catalogs for free and they have tons of good info on specific seeds/bulbs/tubers. The better companies will make it clear if the seeds are open pollinated, heirloom, hybrids, etc.

[jasper]

seedspreader as a single female i love your design but am wondering how you bent that conduit so symmetrical. did you just put one end in the timbers and ease it into place at the top, much like what would be done with pvc pipe?

[cowboy joe]

Nice job Seedspreader! I'm in zone 5 and have grown pak choi, kale, spinach and leaf lettuce with great success throughout the winter in a similiar setup. Stuff does grow slower but it grows. Pick off the outside leaves and let the plant keep growing and you could have greens through the entire winter barring any major castrophies. I added broccoli and cabbage to the mix this year...we'll see how it goes.

Looks like a concrete floor so I'm assuming you'll be using planters. It's a bit of a pain but you should be able to start seeds if you move the planters into the house before dusk or at least cover the seedlings at night once they sprout.

Are you going to vent the excess heat into the house? 100+ isn't uncommon on a sunny day in the dead of winter. Beleive it or not, the heat can be a bigger problem for the plants than the cold.

[NEOhioSmiths]

I have "Four Season Harvest" by Elliot Coleman which outlines strategies and plants that you can grow in winter. He lives in Maine and uses moveable greenhouses so that every few years he can move the greenhouse over new ground. I believe that he was growing mostly spinach, cold-tolerant lettuce varieties, raddishes, etc. in the winter months. He also did not heat his greenhouses (other than passive heating).

[edcopp]

If you have any greens that are still survivnig in the garden, cut them back and transplant them in the new green house. The new growth will make fine salad greens as well as being good for cooking. Things like spinach, swiss chard, mustard, parsley and so on should work. There is also a lot you can do from seed.

Have you considered hooking a "chicken tractor" to your greenhouse so that you can use the extra heat that the chickens generate?