How Does a Greenhouse Work?
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Greenhouses are great for many gardeners, but they are not a magical garden structure that makes growing plants easy. Understanding how a greenhouse works and its limitations can save gardener stress. Gardener Scott shows the daily changes in greenhouse temperatures and discusses how to use a greenhouse for best effect. (Video #330)
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Really good explanation! I have a 15x20’ polycarbonate greenhouse in zone 7 Utah, and I start planting in February with a tiny space heater that’s thermostat controlled. By June I need to cover the greenhouse with shade cloth, keep the doors open, and keep a fan running during daytime hours. I take off the shade cloth in September and start closing the doors at night, then in October just leave them shut. Automatic windows regulate the temp ok. I put the little heater back in late October and am able to harvest tomatoes, peppers, and melons through December. The whole month of January I clean out all plants, remove the heater and throw the doors wide open to freeze out any pests and their eggs before planting again in February.
Carolyn. Great detail. I am in Mapleton in Utah. Made a custom greenhouse myself. Going to try your details here. What kind of heater do you use? Do you have to use any lights?
@@garrisonjones Hi Garrison, I use a tiny electric space heater about 7”x7”x9” set on low. I haven’t used any lights in the greenhouse, but if I wanted to use it in January I’d need lights. I actually start some seeds indoors under lights ( brassicas, celery, bulb onions, peppers) starting Jan 1st and repot and move the brassicas into the greenhouse late February (leave the rest under lights). That’s the same time I start tomatoes indoors to move out in April with all the other plants that have been growing indoors. I leave the heater low to the ground cuz heat rises. It’s so small it mostly just keeps the air above freezing.
@@garrisonjones Incidentally I’m in Pleasant Grove, Mapleton may be closer to 6b.
How well would that system work in zone 3 Montana?
@@tommcinerney1420 you might want to use a propane heater and keep a top window open/cracked. Or get a 32 gallon black trash can and a 150w aquarium heater
As someone who eventually wants to have a greenhouse, I found this very informative. Thank you.
Would it be less informative if you didn't want a greenhouse
Brilliant explanation of how greenhouses work and why we need to manipulate the temps. Great video Scott
And , for me, reasons to use them mainly for " season extension " and learn to live and eat more seasonally and preserve foods in more ways, in particular, ways which preserve the benefits of freshness ( taste, nutrition, texture etc. ), such as basic fermenting and dehydrating.
Would you agree that during summertimes, the greenhouse temps are a must to regulate; otherwise, temps could get too high and harm or kill that growing? So... open crossflow venting, fans if necessary, for the afternoons; than, in the cool of the evening.. close those vents to assure growth and not freeze. Somethin like that? And that is probably 3/4 of the year here on the Oregon Coast... everyday. Takes commentment.
No kidding! I would have never thought it would actually get too hot in a greenhouse in the winter months.
@@timothybradek3560 You're lucky to live in the coast in Oregon. The temps stay pretty mild there year round compared to a desert climate like I live in. At least, that's what I thought when I lived in the Rockaway beach area many years ago. Plus you have the added benefit of humidity, so you probably wouldn't need to water as much (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).
At any rate, I can sort of answer your questions based on my limited experience attempting to use a greenhouse. I naively thought you could just get a GH, put the maturing seedlings in it, and "poof" they'd start growing faster and wouldn't need watering as much because of condensation. I found out the hard way that it gets too hot in a GH in the summer to safely use a greenhouse in my area. Our summers are dry and range from 88 to over 100 degrees F from June to August. I also discovered condensation can create mold or mildew on leaves unless you vent the greenhouse each day. I lost a couple of vegetables that I'd started along with a couple of succulents I was trying to propagate because it had gotten too hot. I began opening up the greenhouse door in the mornings and closed it at night, which took care of further mildew/mold issues.
Monitoring the temperatures would have been a good idea and would have made it possible to use the greenhouse in the colder months, so I'd recommend your doing that. As for the summer, I wouldn't use a greenhouse during the day - even in Oregon. I think most plants survive in the cold until there's a danger of frost. I don't recall there being any frost when we were there. We left the end of October, so it had started getting colder.
Unless things have changed, during the summer months, the temps in Oregon were around 78 to 88 degrees during the day. It may get cold enough outdoors to warrant using a GH at night. I don't think you'd have to add heat or anything unless you were going to grow things through the winter...and I think that's only if temps drop below freezing. Do they on the coast?
Anyway, I'm personally not going to use my GH this year except for during Spring and Fall. I had hoped to keep my vegetables in the greenhouse in summer until they were big enough to not be completely destroyed by grasshoppers. I found out the GH offered little to no protection from the little beasts, which was disappointing. Anyway, I hope this information helps. 🙂
You can get a 1000 CFM attic roof vent fan for 100 bucks. It has a thermostat and humidistat built in so you can set at what temp it comes on. That's what I use for my small greenhouse tho you do have to wire it and set up some intake holes. Also I use cheap aquarium heaters in a big plastic barrel to heat the greenhouse at night.
Sand will also reportedly release its heat to warm a room or area. This is really surprising. Thank you so much!
I never thought of that, thanks, so kind of like a storage heater. What other ways can you use the sun to store heat for the night?
@@magicalrobsterAny thermal mass that isn't too conductive. Water, sand, stone, etc. You want materials that can soak up tons of heat in the day and slowly release it at night. It acts to help cool a little in the day and warm a little at night.
I have a cold frame. I added foam board insulation and along the interior backside, on which the sun shines, I made a a wall of bricks. With the bricks, the cold frame was consistently 20-40 degrees F hotter than ambient air . I live in Michigan, zone 5.
I think one method that you probably forgot is that you could create a compass thermal regulator that would produce heat from the compost that you could circulate through the greenhouse producing a more stable flow of heat even through the winter time.
Thank you Gardener Scott, I live in NC, Zone 8A. Last summer I didn’t understand why my plants died in my small walk-in greenhouse and learned that keeping them closed in didn’t protect them from the heat, but just the opposite. Watching your video gave me a better perspective on how to maintain my plants throughout the year.
THANK YOU FOR THIS! You saved me from buying a greenhouse that would not have worked for me. Great information.
For keeping a better winter heat overnight thermal mass needs to be introduced to the system. Like water barrels or rocks. Possible have a partial dugout system or an air pipe system that stores or takes in heat/cool air from underground
I've done water and rocks and it's making a big difference. I show it in this video: czcams.com/video/lU7cvF_mxyk/video.html
Heat coils in soil or heat mats on a table are a good way to keep it warmer in winter. Water bottles or 55 gallon drums of water work wonders!
My friend sells produce at the winter farmers market and she uses Christmas lights in her hoop house. She is just north of Cortez and we are about 6200 ft. I love your little greenhouse.
Great info. A greenhouse is more of a season extender than an all season growing unit the way I see it.
It's a good thing I did not just dive in and go at it. Scott opened my eyes to some issues I did not even think about, thanks Scott 🖖.
Thank you for putting the temperatures in Fahrenheit
By far one of the best if not the only one I have seen and have been searching for since I bought my greenhouse !! Everyone shows greenhouses but no one’s really showing how to run your green house … so good job mr!!! I’m still looking for more info on condensation in the green house and how to cure it and stop it in the first place … so I have learned so much from just running my greenhouse !!! You give such good info in this video and I suggest any new green house owners watch this video !! The most informational video I have seen on the subject !!! We have to understand the process of what’s going on in the green house at different times of the year !!!! Great great video !!!
You are the most educational youtube creator in gardening. Thank you so much for taking us on your greenhouse journey!
I'm slowly assembling a 8'-6" x 12'-5" Halls Magnum greenhouse and really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and expertise. Looking forward to future videos and growing along with you in this new endeavor (for me) in the upcoming season. Thanks again.
Me too. Mine is a lean to. It is 8' X 5.5' and at the high point it is 7.5' tall at the low end it's 5'. Thanks for the education Gardener Scott.
I live in Rocky Mountain House Alberta Canada and we are zone 3b. Freaking cold in the winter lemme tell ya. I have a 25 foot hoop house and am building a bigger one this summer. I will also be investigating compost heat (Jean Pain) and hoping to have more fruits like watermelon and other tender fruits. Our season is so short and we get brutal hail at least once a month. No protection = no garden. Thank you for the info!!! Well presented and easy to understand.
I've had a plastic covered high tunnel greenhouse for 5 years now. Thank you for educating me further and giving me new goals to make it more efficient.
I live in the desert zone 8a, built a south facing lean to greenhouse on the side of my garage. Rather than venting the hot air outside, I put a fan in the garage window at the top (which is part of the enclosed space of the greenhouse. The greenhouse heats the garage up to about 70f during the middle of the afternoon, and the garage retains enough heat to keep the greenhouse above freezing (when outside temps are in the mid to low 20's).
The garage would normally be around 50-55f without the greenhouse and it's so nice having it heated for free, other than the electricity to run the small fan.
This was an amazing lesson, one I desperately needed. Thank you so very much! Zone 5b 🇨🇦 You've given me great strategies for using my little plastic green house better until I can afford a poly carb.
Thank you so much for the temperatures in Celsius! I am gardening in Zone 5 in Canada. I am learning how to extend the season using an unheated sunroom as my greenhouse. (winter sowing etc.)
The air gaps also hurt heat retention for many people. I thought about giving some bubble wrap another life as insulation. One bad thing about thermal wax is it reacts to the inside temperature. On mine it takes its own sweet time closing the vents while alot of cold outside air gets in. This past year I had one of my vent assemblies get reversed from strong wind. I use the Univent variety on a 6x8 HF greenhouse. The springs got stretched and it opened so much that it looked like a knee bended backwards and couldn't close. Luckily no damage was done once I put the hinge angle on the correct side of the spring tension.
27 seconds in and I’m excited already… pretty cool to find exactly what I was looking for with ease .. ty
Thanks for telling the truth about greenhouses. I have one, and love it, but many people don't understand how it works.
I'm so happy I discovered your channel. We just got our greenhouse this year and I've been pulling my hair out. This is so helpful. Thank you!!
Wow! Thank you so much for this video! After watching this I understand now that I really should not build one in my yard. I have about 20 plants that I need to overwinter and I'm just going to pull them into the house instead ☺️ a lot less work and more efficient for my small amount of plants! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
A big thank you for putting the Celsius in it makes it so much easier
Wow! You are a real teacher. Thank you. I love it when people like you sharing principles on how science works and I simply understood and apply. Thanks heaps. No amount of reading can equal to this video.
Hi there Gardener Scott. My husband and I have the exact same green house model in our barn waiting to be assembled. This video couldn't have been more timely or useful! Thanks.
Thank you For Good Explanation . I am Planning to build the Green house in this winter . Now i know how it work . Thanks again and God bless you
My grandfather had a couple of geosmol greenhouses which he used to grow more tropical stuff. But he also had a bunch of regular greenhousehouses much like yours he made his out of a Perspex glass kind of expensive material but virtually indestructible. The perspects really magnified the sun I made those green houses really hot like your greenhouse he had vents and doors at each end so you could create an airflow. He also used to put straw around all his plants he told me it helps trap moisture in and also helps to insulate the roots. He also used quilted tarps where he would hand crank and the tarp would roll down to cover the greenhouse this extra layer of insulation really helped at night.
I'm jealous of your warm weather
Your absolutely right! I have rock and pavers which hold the heat at night and a shade cloth on the south side of the g/h. That does it for me in the panhandle of Florida.
I'm in S FL & wondered how to keep mine cool this summer, thanks for the idea. The shade cloth doesn't lead to low sunlight though does it?
Great video and answered a lot of questions I had from from constructing a hoop house over one of my small 4 x 4 beds last fall. I learned from last year that we don't get enough hours of sunlight come November in zone 5B ny state in order for a greenhouse to work--cold temperatures aside. I'd have to have grow lights along with the heat for it to be useful where I live.
I’m in the same zone and a newbie. We seem to have cloudy gray skies all winter too. I’m not yet sure what’s possible.
Great explanation and information. I live in far northern Vermont, zone 3, 3b and we can have bouts of cold for a few weeks that will not rise above -20 and could be as low as -45 for days.
Unless the greenhouse is heated, everything would still die using the 20 degrees above ambient rule.
Being the fourth least sunny State in the county, we don't always have the solar resources to bring the temperatures up even during the day.
A friend of mine built a beauty of a green house structure with an inground, 1000 gallon pool for Koi and goldfish that were part of a self contained hydroponic system.
Small pumps fed water up into the raised garden beds and the return drained back into the tank after passing through a gravel then sand filter. Fish waste was the primary nutrient for the plant base and the plants and filter kept the water clean.
A small ceramic heater maintained balanced heat day and night with, vents as you used, to allow escape of excess heat.
The water acted as a heat sink as well and maintained an average of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
I have been trying to learn horticulture and gardening for weeks now. This is the best channel so far. The best, easily.
Needed this. A cold frame used as a greenhouse sounds like a great way to start seeds until i have greenhouse room.
Great info. Not many videos addressing ambient indoor temps. Definitely will be helpful when deciding greenhouse design.
What an interesting explanation of the energy waves that are coming in. It becomes a bit of an oven in the daytime...
Excellent video...i bought a greenhouse..it was 39 degrees outside...in the greenhouse with no vents open..climbed to 96 degrees very quickly!
My 12 x 16 greenhouse maintains about 5 degrees above ambient overnight when fully loaded. The mass of the plants and soil and the biological decomposition going on makes quite a difference. I heat it with propane when the temperature drops below 45. Keeping it at 50F on nights when the temperature dips to freezing burns five gallons of propane every three days. It needs to be tightened up. It overheats within minutes when the sun hits it. My next improvement is a extraction fan on a thermostat. I'm getting tired of jumping up first thing in the morning to open a greenhouse. My greenhouse has glass walls, clear plastic roofing and a solid wall on the north side.
I want to build a big greenhouse off my kitchen that serves as 1) a place to grow herbs, veggies, fruits & tropical plants; 2) a covered "outdoor" dinning room (plants on the edges, table in middle); 3) a supplemental heat for our house/kitchen in the winter, along with air enriching oxygen from all the plants. But WOW, what a wide range of differences in temperatures! Now I know a few ways to keep the temperature more consistent and add grow lights in the winter.
Brits use this type a lot. They call it conservatory.
Well explained and very informational. I rarely ever subscribe to channels but I have subscribed to your own as the data is priceless. Thank you!
Thanks! Welcome to the channel!
Thanks for the temps in celsius, get's hard doing it in my head all the time. My old man is a fitter, so I have inches and feet, but Farenheight gets me all the time, such a strange system.
Contemplated on building a greenhouse. Limited space, more worthwhile to make a permanent bed instead.
I have a cold frame that works for now. wish I had more space, wish I was born rich, Oh well!
Good Info Scott
Yes, Brilliant and extremely useful presentation. Really a methodical (academic) presentation with clear deductions !
Thank you so much
Thanks grandpa for the information
Well brother, your presentation should be Nobel Prize worthy! Outstanding & thanks!
Very comprehensive and informative. Thank you.
Thank you for your clear explaination
I have a cheap, plastic wrapped, 6ftX8ft greenhouse.
I'm in zone 8a, in Southeast Alabama.
My greenhouse can barely keep plants alive during the winter. I just move my flower pots in when it starts getting cold, and put a small heater in when the 🌡 goes below 10°f.
It works for what I need, but I would love a larger one that could help me grow veggies during the winter
Excellent Video .. thanks. This is the kind of information greenhouse manufacturers should provide to their customers so that they know what they're getting into. I live in Arizona (desert) and purchased a fair sized one (12x24) and found it to be unusable most of the year. Temps inside would hit 120+ in summer .. and as cold as the night in winter. No way to cool it down and limited ways to heat. Wound up being a storage building .. a real waste of money.
Most simplified explanation regarding the value and troubleshooting a greenhouse!
Very interesting video! I love the automatic windows on ours. It‘s very small so it heats up quickly. Without those windows I would definitely boil or burn my plants during the summer…
I have a greenhouse in the U.K. - no idea what it’s for. (I’m new to gardening and it was here when we moved in) it’s too warm and dry for anything to thrive. I’ve done better growing outside. Hoping this helps me with the understanding of how they work !
This is exactly what I was wondering and haven't found such a great explanation until now. Thanks!
Gardener Scott - Thanks! Because of you I purchased and built a Planta Sigma greenhouse last fall. I love that the greenhouse has doors at each end. My garden is at one end and my small orchard is at the other end. This March I had a electrician wire the greenhouse. That actually cost more than the price of the greenhouse, but it was well worth it. The electrical system is totally water proof. Wires are in conduit, 6 receptacles are incased as well as the overhead lights. I have an exhaust fan at one end and 2 intake shutters at the other end. During a few cold nights I had two small heaters to maintain temps in the 50’s. For control of hot and cold temps, electricity is a must. I just ordered a 40% shade cloth to go over the top of the greenhouse to help control the heat during the day. This way the fan wouldn’t be running constantly. I’ve found out, control of heat and cold is the key factor for greenhouse effectiveness. If plants get to cold or to hot, they will most likely not survive. The greenhouse is a powerful tool and I’m still learning how to use it. Great video! Gardener Chet
You are right that heat and cold control is key. Your efforts sound amazing.
Gardener Scott, thank you so much for this information Sir! I absolutely love your videos and the rich content provided. This video helped answer so many questions I had regarding green houses.
Thanks for the info! I do not need, nor will I need a greenhouse in Los Angeles, but the information was great! Thanks for sharing.
An excellent video! Extra appreciation from using both temperature units.
Thank you so much for this video. This was very informative and easy to watch.
Very informative. I loved it. I've thinking of helping my Mom build a greenhouse but I wasn't sure how they work. Now I know. Thank you.
Nice the way you pass the know how…
I really never got involved in green house gardening..
Wife wants to move to the country so we have space…
And of course there will be a green house…
Lucky I don’t have much hair to pull out…
Good info
Thank you. This video gave me a glimpse of hope to grow a mango tree in my 5b zone (Illinois).
I just started seeds roughly a month ago and have a few 3 in trees at zone 5b. (Have them indoors as of now though) I've heard the trees have toxic sap so be safe my friend.
@@codysanford1988 Great, thanks! I just set up a greenhouse, will definitely give this a try.
Interesting. Looking forward to more videos in this series.
Thank you! This was very interesting and informative. Looking forward to learning more about the subject.
That was really helpful, Scott! I haven't ever grown in a greenhouse. There's a lot more to it than I realized.
Hey Jeremy, tuned in just shy of being late ...Green house is CRAZY !! Tell the wifey the community see the hard work she puts in and everything looks amazing 😊👍😊 & I am a cucumber lover🤓 thanks for all you do Jeremy I always feel smarter after every episode...
Thank you for this! I put up a high tunnel last fall and have been tracking the temperatures wondering when it would be safe to plant some cold hardy plants. I didn't know about watering the soil to retain the heat. I'm going to water today to see the difference.
Great information, thank you!
very interesting. I grow in a portable greenhouse-thermos. I recently tested the first module on my channel and on the snow in February.
Thank you🙏
That was very valuable information
I Saw A video of someone who painted 55 gallon barrels black and put them on the south side of the greenhouse it held the heat in all winter in a cold zone. I saw another where he dug 6 feet down and grew oranges in like zone 4 plus other things. Thank you for this video.
The water in the barrels makes a big difference.
Very timely info as we are building our greenhouse this month. Thank you!
Very informative. Well worth watching
Love this explanation! Best one i have heard. I love how in depth you get
Can't wait to see the future installments. Nice video, thanks for posting.
I'm in the process of building a window greenhouse and this has been very helpful!
Looks like your green house be really nice for growing strawberries. 🍓😋
The passion!
Thanks for Celsius units, for us in Europe it"s really convenient, best regards.
Very helpful!
Thank you!!!
thanks
Wow !! What an informative interesting video
Thank you! Very informative
I use a small electric heater than maintain the inside temp @62-65. When the sun hits the GH & the temp rises above 65 the heater shuts off for the day. I watch the inside temp from
the house w a remote thermometer. When the temp hits 80F, I go out & open it up & get some fans going as necessary.
!
Wonderful video! Thanks so much!
I just watched your passive heat video and watched this one. I am in Alaska Zone4a so i am here for the journey. Thanks for sharing your experience through your experiment. 👍🏾
Simply, you're the best greenhouse house gardener. Thanks
Very good info and very well done. Thank you!
Excellent
Thanks for the knowledge.
I'm about to make my first greenhouse and these are opsticals I didn't think of.
I'd love to see a 24 hour video of u doing all the things u mentioned to keep climate suitable for growing.
Thanks
That video is coming soon. Thanks.
I am adding a greenhouse as well this year. I will be heating mine.
Thank you so much. Excellent!
Good work ...cheers
oh this was really interesting. It is so intriguing to see the differences in your greenhouse and mine. I record the temperatures and have a record from over the last year, but it was interesting to look at a single day :D I think this is soooo useful for people who are thinking about buying a greenhouse
Great information!!!! Thanks for the video!
Really good video I guess one thing people forget is that greenhouses are not magic and you have to constantly be prepared to adjust the temperatures
Man this was a greatly appreciated video, i learned a lot..Im considering a green house, and this video is really going to shape what i want, now that i understand ...Thanks Brother