Greebhouse or Lights?

[ididntdoit99]

Just wondering of anybody has a greenhouse? I was thinking about possibly buying or trying to build one, I usually grow cucumbers, onions, herbs and mainly PEPPERS,

I love them and everybody at work does too, Everybody around here grows peppers during the summer and bring in bags full and we trade them back and forth.

I started with the normal jalepenos, cayenne, serrano, but this year i bought a Carribbean red and i read that if i keep it alive it'll get 4 feet tall and have hundreds of peppers on it at once, so it is now in a huge pot siiting right by the sliding door in my house getting plenty of sun.

Now, i just bought some bhut jolokia seeds, and if i can get them to grow, im definatley going to want to keep them alive also, so in the interest of not filling my sons toy room with pepper plants in the winter, I'm going to need somewhere to house them.

its either a greeenhouse outside (which i dont know much about, would it even stay that warm in the winter?) or tons of artificial lighting for the basement so they could stay alive down there.

 

[fishin4cars]

I tried inside under flouresent lighting for a few years then built a small 8'x8'x8' greenhouse. Since then I've lost far fewer plants during the winter and a lot less hassel. I got a book from Lowes that had a how to design a green house and went with it. Total cost to build about $500, I've been using it for 7 years and it's still working great but need to have the flooring redone this spring. Overall, I'm very happy I built one. I heat mine with a small electric heater with a thermostat control that only allows it to come on if the temp drops below 40 degrees. Most months down here I don't even really notice a increase in my light bill.

 

[j.w]

I have a green house but don't use it in the winter. Can get below 20 here at the coldest but usually in the 30', 40's, 50's but all it takes is a few days of that super cold to kill everything or run the heat bill up. Just too cold to run heat all winter here. I'm thinking it's even colder where you are 99. All I have to use tho is one of those electric heaters that look like a water radiator. You'd have to figure out somehow how much it would cost to heat it using whatever the cheapest kind of heat there is and if it's economical for how much you are growing. Maybe if you have a county extension agents office in your area you could ask them about what you propose to do. They are very helpful.

 

[Waterbug]

I've never had a greenhouse but it's on my to do list. Here in Phoenix it wouldn't take much heat gain in the winter and I might integrate some aquaponics.

What I've read is the same as J.W said which surpised me. Previously the one story that stuck in my head was from a very old (Bob Villa I think) This Old House episode. They visited a greenhouse in the far north and said it stayed warm in winter. But they had huge water tank as a thermal mass. They had tilapia in the tank so it must have been fairly warm. Other greenhouse projects I've seen recently they pretty much all did say a heater was used.

For the bhut jolokia...whenever I need non standard growing conditions for a specific plant I head to gardenweb.com forum. Sometimes they even have a specific group just for that plant or family of plants.

 

[j.w]

I tried putting 4 - 55 gal metal black barrels w/ lids in mine under my table to collect heat in the summer and carry over into winter but I don't think it helped much. Still needed the heater. Like Waterbug said it would prolly take a huge tank and a hot summer to keep it going or some kind of heater in the water.

 

[addy1]

As quick as a well insulated house can cool off, a green house would cost some bucks to keep warm enough for plants, in our weather, imho.

I only do starts in the winter, when it is getting close to time to plant outside, tomatoes etc, get them going in our sun room/living room. Put them on a stainless wheeled cart so I can move them around as needed.

 

[taherrmann4]

I have never had a greenhouse association won't allow it, but I would if I could. Good luck and let us know how it goes if you do decide to build one. I have seven raised beds that I use for my vegetable gardening.

 

[Waterbug]

I saw greenhouses like JW said, with 55 drums of water, and they said it only helped a very little bit. Didn't seem worthwhile. And even that greenhouse I saw on This Old House...I don't like to take what a single person says as fact. So although they said they weren't heating they may have been. Especially when it comes to TV I know things can get spun.

 

[ididntdoit99]

I know flouresent lights like shop lights work "okay" its not the best spectrum of lights for plants, but will help them grow, What about compact flourecent?

Just wondered because since I brought the fish and plants inside from my pond last week, I have had a small lamp with one of those energy efficient compact flourecents above the fish, and my lilies and water irises are growing.

 

[addy1]

Get the bright white, natural white bulbs, Daylight (color temperature 6500k) above 23 w , they help with vegetative growth.

 

[rebelangel_3733]

I'm lucky my significant other works part time (mostly spring early summer) at a greenhouse and he brings me all kinds of kewl stuff and for the garden (I just put my order into him lol) and he brings home stuff they have to much left over or that need extra help. Way easier than having a greenhouse of our own!

 

[ididntdoit99]

A lot of the greenhouses and nursieries around here don't have a variety of herbs and vegetables, and some of these peppers these guys at work grow I have never even heard of before, That's why if i can get my hand on seeds, and get a plant growing, I'm going to want to keep it alive for the next year.

My Bhut jolokia seeds showed up today, and they gave me a free bonus of some black sea man tomato seeds, so I guess I'll have those this year too. I think im just going to go with some decent lights for the basement.... i have plenty of room down there, and its probably cheaper to run lights in the basement, than to heat a greenhouse in our weather.

 

[j.w]

I think you are right on there 99 and the heat will rise and heat the upper floors of your house instead of being outdoors. You'll have to let us know how they grow and how they taste being grown indoors like that w/ no real sunlight. If you can keep them alive til summer then you can move them out there for the good blast of real sunshine and then maybe bring them in to the basement again in the winter. The only thing you might be concerned w/ is some kinds of bugs like it inside also and you may have to keep an eye on that and maybe spray w/ a natural non harmful bug killer made from soap/oil or something. White flies, spider mites and aphids come to mind. Or if you get the seeds from the fruit of your crops you could save those and regrow in the Spring unless of course they are hybrids and don't come true when regrown.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Yeah, they will be outside this summer, just buying lights to get them started now, and then to keep them alive next winter.

The only reason, like I said before is that I read that the carribbean red I have now is supposed to mature and be around 4 foot tall the second or third summer and produce way more peppers than if you just grow a new one each year.

I'll tell you what, I'm pretty excited to have some bhut jolokia peppers, I've oredered dried ones from the interent before, and had many hot sauces with them, and these carribbean reds are pretty dang hot, and these naga jolokias are supposed to be at least twice as hot.

 

[j.w]

Might just work out for ya if you can keep them going and healthy enough to get through til summer. No thanks for me and the hot stuff. I like everything mild mannered like Clark Kent,lol!