Enclosed Greenhouse in the winter?

[WhiteWillow]

I have what may be a rather silly question. If there any way to build a greenhouse that would survive (and thrive) a northern Ohio? Would it be possible to grow things like tomatoes, green peppers, and vines?

I am not too worried about the cost right now. I am more curious to know if it can be done.

[wes917]

Not much to add other than I would like to know as well. I have been saving glass in the hopes of building one some day in the future.

[WhiteWillow]

Wes917 - you may want to do a Google search for "greenhouses in the winter". There are a few websites that offer decent explanations. Still looking for those on HT that have either the personal experience or the technical knowledge to determine if it can indeed be accomplished.

[Pam6]

A friend of mine is building a greenhouse on the south side of his house. It will be located so that he can actually open a window from the house into the greenhouse and he has a wood burning stove about 5' from the window so he can open or close the window as needed! He also has grow lights to use for when the daylight is not long enough.

[WhiteWillow]

Hey Pam - I am from NE Ohio as well. Very cool. Does your friend with the greenhouse live around here?

I need to be honest - I am not just doing this because it would be awesome to get fresh vegetables in the winter but also because I envision selling produce to the public. It would certainly be more expensive than going to Aldi's but if you have the money a fresh tomato in the dead of winter may be worth it.

[lemonthyme7]

You need to consider how much sunlight your area gets in the winter. I am in NW Pa and even if I could afford to heat a greenhouse in winter I'm not sure I could produce warm weather crops simply because we don't get enough sunlight here in winter. I guess you could add in some lighting but for long term tomato growing you would probably need something more than flourescents. I'm no expert so you can take this all with a grain of salt. LOL! Just what my concerns would be. I DO know there is someone not far from here that raises tomatoes hydropontically and I believe they go year round so I'm sure there is some way to do it. Good luck.

[WhiteWillow]

Yes - lighting is a very real concern to me. We get only minimal sunlight during the winter. Lots of cloudy days. I wasn't sure how powerful grow lights are.

[Glacialtill]

I've got a cold frame, and it's fun, and so far so good, but that's all I can offer from a personal perspective.

Check out Eliot Coleman's books. He is the master of the low tech hoop house: http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/


Also I got this book from the library about some sort of amazing greenhouse:
http://www.solviva.com/

[foxtrapper]

Sure, it can be done. Money as no object certainly helps.

[Roadking]

I've been in the planning and material collecting stages...great site by a fellow HT member is www.builditsolar.com lots of great info, plans, etc.
BE WARNED...the site is quite addictive if you are interested in solar heat/greenhouses/ etc...LOL!
Matt

[CesumPec]

you need two things, heat and light. I'm sure someone has already done a study somewhere, but I've never seen a comparison of the energy required to keep a greenhouse heated and use as much natural light as possible vs growing in a super insulated shelter using less heat and all artificial light.

I haven't done this myself but have been reading a lot about greenhouses and plan to construct one. But the amount of light needed to veggies is HUGE. A 1000 watt hi pressure sodium or metal halide light is needed every ~100 sq ft, and preferably you use both types of lights to achieve the correct color spectrum required. Lo pressure sodium (yellow street lights) won't get it done.

more info here: http://nwrec.hort.oregonstate.edu/tomatogh.html

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by WhiteWillow

I have what may be a rather silly question. If there any way to build a greenhouse that would survive (and thrive) a northern Ohio? Would it be possible to grow things like tomatoes, green peppers, and vines?

I am not too worried about the cost right now. I am more curious to know if it can be done.

Sure it can be done but you would need to build it along the same lines as commercial greenhouses are built for northern climes, such as those operating in Canada during the winter months. I don't mean that you would need to build it to the same scale, just built in the same manner. That might mean double paned glass (or acrylic), supplemental heating, spot lights with reflectors, adequate venting appropriate for winter.

You can get some ideas for how they're built by looking at websites for commercial greenhouses or winter greenhouses.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5234212_heat...se-winter.html

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&sugexp=g...d4b45ce93507a6

.

[Callieslamb]

An doubt if an unheated greenhouse would be able to do tomatoes and peppers unless you use double layers of plastic with air blown between them or the double walled plastic siding and even then it would be iffy. You would probably have to heat it - depending on how much you wanted to spend heating it. You can grow other things, but the warm season crops are very difficult if your area has sustained temperatures below freezing. But do check with your county extension service or state department of agriculture - they will have information pertinent to your specific location.

I put up a simple wooden framed greenhouse this year. I hope to overwinter spinach, beets, lettuces, onions, leeks, carrots, radishes, turnips and some other greens. I have one layer of greenhouse plastic only. I hope to convert it over to the double-paneled plastic siding and probably just use regular siding on the north side. I will use a second layer of plastic over my plants suspended on hoops just above the plants and towards the coldest parts of the year- place remay fabric over the plants with the plastic tunnel. Even with that, iw ill only be able over winter plants, not actually get them to grow. Eliot Coleman's book "Four Season Harvest" is a great resource.

[TnAndy]

Yes, it can be done, but you'll need a lot of energy to do it ( heat/electric ).

There are new LED grow lights that use a LOT less power than the traditional metal halide/high pressure sodium.

On heat, what we did was build into a bank on the north side, and use triple wall Lexan panels for glazing. It keeps our greenhouse above freezing in outdoor temps down to zero, but still needs supplemental heat to produce crops like tomatoes.....most varieties simply won't set fruit if the temps get below mid 50's at night. We used a small propane heater, but I plan to add solar hot water stored in stainless steel drums under the plant benches this winter.

Laid block in a cut in a south facing slope. Front wall is earth bermed as well, strawberry bed in the outdoor section.


Made a rafter/truss out of treated 2x6's, placed 24" OC.



Inside is about 12 x 20.

[TnAndy]

Cont:

Tomatoes growing:





The above, we grew the first winter. After that, we decided it made more sense to just winter over her flowers, and raise bedding plants for the outside garden to get a good head start on the spring garden, due to the heat requirements.....and remember, this is a WELL insulated, planned greenhouse.....and the propane requirements are still ridiculous. We're in the mtns of East TN, and probably very close in climate to Ohio/southern Michigan.

[Callieslamb]

Wow!! That's a great greenhouse.

[siletz]

I loved those pics!! What a great space to work in!

I would also suggest reading Eliot Coleman's "The Winter Harvest Handbook". He does a market garden out of his greenhouses in Maine. It has a lot of the info I think you would be interested in.

[Bearfootfarm]

It might be possible to use a propane water heater to run radiant heat either in the flooring or beneath the plant beds, and with a heat exchanger, to use the flue gases to help warm the air too.

It wouldn't be hard to tie it into a solar system as backup for cloudy weather

[willowworker]

There was an article a few years ago in MEN. Woman in Wyoming I think.....gardened throughout winter. Can't remember much more than that.

[Pouncer]

Yes, you can grow anything if you provide the correct environment for the plants to flourish. It's just a matter of expense and effort

Check out Citrus in the Snow too.