Bryan wrote:
Hmm, just a thought, but is it possible to fabricate some type of heavily
insulated blanket that can be easily thrown over the greenhouse at night.
Yes, it is possible with a smaller structure. It becomes increasingly
difficult with a bigger structure. It takes me two people and half an
hour to get the shade cloth on my greenhouse, another half hour to fold
it up, and I really don't want to do that every night. If you want to
go that route, try it a few times with a plastic tarp or shadecloth, to
get an idea of how much effort it will really take, and if you are
willing to spend that kind of time.
I think keeping large amounts of water in the greenhouse is an
excellent idea. In containers painted black if you can, but for
simplicity I've just been filling gallon milk jugs and putting them
under the benches. With a toddler, I have lots of milk jugs. Or
(around here at least) I've seen them in the recycling center in
thousand quantites, waiting to be melted, they don't mind if you recycle
a few hundred yourself. In small units of a gallon, the water is easy
to carry, and you can move the milk jugs (or throw them away) if you end
up needing the space that they are in. If algae or other stuff grows in
the jugs, more the merrier. They will absorb heat better...
For our way up north people (like me), I also suggest covering vents
with styrofoam board. Only if the vents aren't going to open, of course
(I have two sets, and cover one set). Get some weather-stripping for
your greenhouse door, if it opens to the outside. If your walls are
rigid plastic or glass, get some bales of straw and stack them two high
around the perimeter of your greenhouse after the first week of hard
frost. Higher on the north wall (three or four bales high). Any
earlier and the mice and other rodents haven't found their winter homes
yet. If your greenhouse is soft poly, like mine, then the straw is
probably a RBI (really bad idea), due to rodent issues. You can recycle
the straw as garden mulch in the spring, and straw is cheap.
Rabbits... No, I'm serious. Or chickens. Both give off a lot of
heat. Of course they would have to be in cages, under the benches. I
might try rabbit heat someday when my daughter is old enough to
appreciate the rabbits. I used to raise rabbits as a kid.
Remember to consider how expensive your improvements will be, and
justify that by how expensive your heat is. A one dollar piece of
styrofoam that saves you 20 dollars of fuel is an excellent investment.
A two dollar bale of straw (that you can reuse as mulch) that saves
you even two or three dollars of fuel is an excellent investment. A
high capacity active solar heating system that costs you 10,000 dollars
might save you 500 dollars a year in fuel... That might not be such a
good investment (but it would be a neat thing, indeed).
--
Rob's Rules:
http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit