Greenhouse

[Caz]

Morning all i have some seedlings prepared with the weather being so cold when would anyone advise to put out in greenhouse as dont want to kill them off.
Thanks

 

[Silentrunning]

I have some of the cheapy greenhouses you can buy on eBay. If the weather prediction is for 30f or above I do nothing. If it goes down to 20f I put in a heat lamp. Below 20f I have the heat lamp and a little space heater. The covers on these houses are thin plastic so they offer no real insulation. Everything in my greenhouses has survived this winter and it has been quite cold here in North Carolina. I should also add that the floor of my greenhouses is the ground so that may help to elevate the temperature inside.

 

[CanadianLori]

Maybe you could add your growing zone to your profile so people would know what you're dealing with ?

 

[Perki]

Depends what your seedling are ? and how big are they. All my are still in the house

 

[Caz]

Hi there thanks for reply they are
Garlic beans. Spring onions.
Spinach and sprout and some herbs they in house at mo cause going to 0 tonight so brought in.

 

[Caz]

Just had greenhouse built and got a small tube heater in there at mo im new to this so not sure what to do

 

[CanadianLori]

If you can keep the temps over 50f with your heater, you are safe. I use a fan in mine to keep the air circulating.

 

[Caz]

Thanks for reply and advise hopefully will do good this year and learn more

 

[TammyWy]

I would use a propagation mat or heat mat under the seedlings in your greenhouse. These will warm the soil and help keep your seedlings warm. These are available with or without a thermostat for more control. I use mine even when I am starting my seedlings in my house. They make a tremendous amount of difference in the germination process. You get healthier plants which will grow faster. If using this in your greenhouse you will find that you do not need to have your supplemental heating turned as high as you would without the heat mat. You said you are growing your seedlings in your home, but you did not mention any light. You will need to use supplemental lighting, such as florescent lights when growing indoors.

 

[CanadianLori]

If your electricity is cheap, heat mats are the way to go. I use mine sparingly because our cost for electricity is prohibitive. I also have temperature controls for the indoor heat mats in order to reduce the cost when using them.

 

[Caz]

I would use a propagation mat or heat mat under the seedlings in your greenhouse. These will warm the soil and help keep your seedlings warm. These are available with or without a thermostat for more control. I use mine even when I am starting my seedlings in my house. They make a tremendous amount of difference in the germination process. You get healthier plants which will grow faster. If using this in your greenhouse you will find that you do not need to have your supplemental heating turned as high as you would without the heat mat. You said you are growing your seedlings in your home, but you did not mention any light. You will need to use supplemental lighting, such as florescent lights when growing indoors.
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[Caz]

Thanks for response will look into heat matts hopeing for improved weather soon

 

[TammyWy]

I have to say that I was intrigued by the thought of a heat mat being an expensive item to use. So, I did some research. I used values for an Agritape heat mat specifically. This is a favorite of commercial growers because it can be made long enough to fit a bench. So, it is rated at 40 watts per square foot. To do one flat you would need a 2' x 11" or 2 square feet. So, it will take 25 hours to reach one killowatt hour, or 1000 watts per hour. I found that the average price per killowatt hour in Canada is 11.85 cents and in the US is 13.56 cents. So, for about 15 cents you can run this in the average cost US location for an entire day.

 

[Caz]

They sound ideal im in england so will look into this ive only just started greenhousing really so getting well into it now i need all the help ii can get thanks

 

[CanadianLori]

@TammyWy you used some pretty ambiguous data for your conclusions. Here in Ontario we pay higher rates at different times of day and at different times of year. I also have the equivalent of 24 1020 trays going at the moment so that would certainly make a huge difference in the end. Plus the actual billing is about three times the rate because there are delivery charges, maintenance charges, debt retirement charges and both federal and provincial taxes on top of that. I'm sure they would add on charges for each time we switch on a light if they could figure out a way to do it. Some of the reason we have higher rates is because we do not have any power produced by dirty coal plants in our province and some of the reason is government incompetence.

The heat mat for each tray would cost about $26 plus taxes and shipping. This would entail a large investment.

I see you are in 8B that is almost three full zones milder than where I am so perhaps that is why our opinions are so opposing. I've only been running greenhouses for about 8 years now so I am still learning.

I think @Caz if you were to add your zone, you might get advice tailored to your growing conditions.