Heating a green house

[Denim Deb]

For those that have hoop green houses, how do you go about keeping it warm? I've tried various things to keep mine warm. The best thing I've found is a kerosene heater. But, I have 2 problems with it.

1. The smell. I can't work in there when it's running because it gives me a headache.

2. The cost. When it's really cold out, I have to run it almost constantly. W/the price of kerosene, it's not worth it for me to start plants.

I've tried electric heaters. They don't do a good job, plus they're expensive. Ditto for the propane heater I tried.

What I'd really like to do is turn a metal barrel into a stove, and use that, but hubby is against this. He's afraid of having a spark catch his work shed on fire since it's right next to the greenhouse. I figure if I had one w/a spark arrestor, it shouldn't be a problem.

Right now, I'm bringing plants in and out every time it's sunny out. But, that's getting old! So, how does everyone else heat theirs, or don't you bother?

 

[Joel_BC]

We use just a little overnight electric heat in fall, to extend that season. We've opted out of using heat in spring, because we're up north and we'd have to provide it for too long, in order to start tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and such in the GH. We just start early lettuce and spinach in there, and add some radishes a bit later.

Instead, we have shelves with full-spectrum fluorescent tubes above them - in our house. Once danger of real low overnight temps is past, we move things into the GH. By that point, the starts are getting to big too keep indoors. Works out okay. We got the shelving real cheap, secondhand. The fl tubes were not a very big investment, by comparison with what that for equipment and fuel for heating a GH.

I hope you get a better answer than this though, Deb - something from an experienced person that more squarely hits the nail of your question on the head.

 

[Denim Deb]

I don't have room to keep them in the house. When we first built the green house, kerosene was so much cheaper. But now, the only place I've seen it for sale is for almost $6.00 a gallon!

 

[txcanoegirl]

We don't have a greenhouse. Our plant starts are kept in a small garden shed with a grow-light above them. When it's going to be cold, we turn on a small electric ceramic heater. Our temps don't get at cold as yours, though. I've used incandescent work lights and another one that might be halogen (?) to keep outdoor plants warm enough (plus frost cover) and to warm a dog house in the past.

 

[Marianne]

What about a rocket mass heater?

 

[Joel_BC]

I don't have room to keep them in the house. When we first built the green house, kerosene was so much cheaper. But now, the only place I've seen it for sale is for almost $6.00 a gallon!

Hmmm... Well I really don't know your indoor situation, and you could be right that you have no room. We've gone vertical, indoors. Our seed-starting unit doesn't take up much space - three feet by one foot, on the floor, and pretty snug to the wall. But we start a couple dozen vine-type tomato plants, an equal number of peppers, also our cucumbers, green onions, and assorted other things.

This isn't a very good or complete picture, since our unit is four shelves high. It stands about six-and-a-half feet, and is about three feet wide, and a foot deep. Each shelf has a single fluorescent tube above it, which can be raised or lowered. It's very effective at its job. Once the frosty nights are past, most of these things go into the greenhouse (though some get replanted in the outdoor gardens).

The shelves don't take up that much space, and since the important lighting is provided by the tubes, it probably wouldn't have to be next to a window like it is.

Just thought I'd post this, for what it may or may not be worth.

 

[Wannabefree]

I'm using a tiny electric heater fan. It's keeping the temps bearable on cold nights, and everything seems to be thriving. It IS expensive....but so would it be if I lost all my plants

 

[pinkfox]

im planning on making a few of these when i start building my hoop "greenhouses"

http://lifehacker.com/5574597/build-your-own-soda-can-solar-heater

they apratently work realy well
add to that im planning on putting in some black stock tanks for raiing catfish/tilpia in and hoping the combination of thermal mass will also help.

 

[Denim Deb]

Joel, while that's a nice set up, it's not even CLOSE to being big enough. I didn't start a lot of plants this year, but normally, I'll start a ton of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, various melons and squash as well as a bunch of flowers. And, I might also start some herbs. Then, if I have any left over, I try and sell them.

 

[Joel_BC]

Joel, while that's a nice set up, it's not even CLOSE to being big enough. I didn't start a lot of plants this year, but normally, I'll start a ton of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, various melons and squash as well as a bunch of flowers. And, I might also start some herbs. Then, if I have any left over, I try and sell them.

Okay... yeah, we're only growing for two people (DD has left home, lives on her own) - and, while we do have stuff to give away (from vine-type tom plants, for instance), we don't sell anything. And we start squash and flowers etc later, in the GH when night temps won't kill.

I'm not dense, I get your point. One last thing though: if you had foot-deep shelves that were six or eight feet long (instead of three), several going up vertically, would you still have no room for this kind of set-up inside? Sure is cheaper than elec or fuel for GH heating!