What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Greenhouse help

I am Bob

Not really
My dad finally said I might be able to build a greenhouse, and I need some help.

1. I am on a budget. does anyone know where to get plans for a cheap greenhouse (is it possible to use those words together)

2. as it gets cold in winter I will need some form of heater. are there any that don't use electricity (anyone heard of this stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicklime)

3. anything else?
 
Designing your own greenhouse is fairly feasable. I don't have any links for you, but when I was researching it I came across several how-to guides on drawing up plans and how to figure out how much support you'll need for the roof and stuff. It takes some time to make the plans, but by building it yourself you're already saving at least half the cost of buying a greenhouse, so there's no need to look for "cheap" greenhouse plans. Just plan something that's only as big as you need.
For a heater, you could think about finding an old used wood stove, or finding a brick fireplace you could salvage. But that would use wood, which is time consuming and kind of expensive in some areas.
If wood isn't feasible, and you can spend a little extra money now to lower your utility costs, you might think about building a compost furnace. A cubic yard of compost, properly aerated and regularly turned, can reach up to 190 degrees F at its core. If you were to run some pipes through that compost, you could build a heat exchanger and easily keep an enclosed area well above freezing. You can find guides on building heat exchangers and composters online on solar power and off-the-grid type websites. Then you'd have a greenhouse that runs on garbage! If you were really clever, you might even find a way to farm bugs on the compost to feed your plants...
Have fun!
~Joe
 
Thank you for the info. If I can find a wood stove or something of the like I might be able to get some scrap wood from my friends house (he lives on 115 acres of forest.) I had built a greenhouse when I was younger, but it didn't hold up well; hopefully this time I can get it right.
 
My area of expertise is doing things on a budget. I would be happy to help. What is your budget, do you have someone with construction experience helping you?
 
Are you sure you even *want* to try to heat it in the winter?
what do you plan to grow in it?

For most CP's in a greenhouse, winter in the greenhouse is either not feasable,
or not necessary..

For Nepenthes, its not worth it to try to heat it..it will be far too expensive to keep it 80 degrees all winter.
just bring them indoors for the winter..

a woodstove would get really old really fast..
do you really want to put more wood in the fireplace every few hours ALL winter long? ;)
or at 3am every night? when the heat is needed most..

for VFTs and Sarracenia, you dont *need* to heat it! just leave in them in the unheated greenhouse all winter..(or even outside the greenhouse is fine in Tennessee)

Most people in North America cant reasonably use a greenhouse in the winter..
its just too cold outside..
its too difficult and expensive to heat it..

so for plants that need it warm in the winter, bring them indoors..let your furnace keep them warm..
you are already using the furnace to heat yourself anyway..no added cost to heat your plants..

for plants that need it cold in the winter, just leave them in the unheated greehouse..
either way, you dont need to heat the greenhouse in the winter..

Greenhouses are more common in England because their climate is much more mild..
a greenhouse makes sense there..

Here is NY state, greenhouses are virtually non-existant for home use..
because they simply dont work here..there is no benefit to having one..
in our climate, outside the greenhouse is better than inside it..
except for maybe a few weeks in early spring or late fall, when a greenhouse might extend the growing season slightly..but otherwise, a greenhouse is basically useless 10 months out of the year..

Tenesee is obviously warmer, so you might get more benefit from a greenhouse..
but maybe for things like starting veggie seeds early..
I dont see any great need or benefit for a greenhouse for CP's..

Scot
 
A cold frame (un-heated greenhouse) can add about 10 degrees in the winter. If you have a few tricks up your sleeve it can add more. I have 2 300 gallon water tanks painted black in my greenhouse.

I mostly grow Sarracenia in pots. Where I live it gets down to 0F degrees. To keep my greenhouse above 30F it costs about $200 a year in electricity. I use a home made radiant floor heater design that could easily be adapted to propane.

If you don't need to walk inside your greenhouse I have a great cold frame design that costs next to nothing. And if you had electricity then you could use a floating pond de-icer to keep it toasty. Or another really great option is just to incorporate your collection into your landscape. Throw some pine needles on it in the winter if it gets into the single digits.
 
I am planning on keeping some lowland neps and some other tropicals in it. I visited Lowe's today and I think that I am going to build it out of PVC pipes with a 6 mil heavy duty plastic sheeting. I might try running an electric heater as I might be able to run electricity out to where it is going to be. Does this sound like it might work?
 
I am planning on keeping some lowland neps and some other tropicals in it. I visited Lowe's today and I think that I am going to build it out of PVC pipes with a 6 mil heavy duty plastic sheeting. I might try running an electric heater as I might be able to run electricity out to where it is going to be. Does this sound like it might work?

honestly no..it does not sound like it will work at all..sorry.
I think you are seriously underestimating how much heat it will take to heat your greenhouse in the winter, if you intend to keep lowland neps alive..

Im picturing electricity bills of many hundreds of dollars a month.

sure, technically it can be done..if you want to spend the cash.
but seriously, I wouldnt bother.

If you want to grow neps, I would just drop the greenhouse idea completely..
its really not practical for the winter..

Scot
 
You won't be able to keep it above freezing with a heater on an extension cord (1500 watts). Look into small propane heaters. The smallest ones are not vented and might not be suitable for some kinds of plants. A good option for you is to heat your greenhouse minimally and just bring your tropicals in the house for the coldest 4 months of the year. That's what I do!

PVC frame works if you build the greenhouse in an area protected from wind. Build next to little hills, banks, privacy fence, edge of woods. A PVC frame might last 5 years before it gets too brittle. It also can't withstand more than a few inches of snow and has a tendency to negatively react with plastic sheeting. At best the chemical reaction will make an opaque stripe on the sheeting, worst case scenario is that it makes the sheeting brittle.

A very sturdy cheap frame option is "black pipe" with cast aluminum fittings. I built my first greenhouse from black pipe I got for free. Its fairly easy to attach a board to the base to anchor the plastic and to integrate with wood endwalls.

"Construction plastic" is not UV stabilized, and only lasts a few months in the sun. "Greenhouse film" is the only option.

To cool during the spring I use an exhaust fan and motorized vent. To cool during the summer I use removable end walls and shade cloth.


I am planning on keeping some lowland neps and some other tropicals in it. I visited Lowe's today and I think that I am going to build it out of PVC pipes with a 6 mil heavy duty plastic sheeting. I might try running an electric heater as I might be able to run electricity out to where it is going to be. Does this sound like it might work?
 
  • #10
then how do you grow lowland neps in the winter (without a terrarium?)
 
  • #11
To clear things up, what zone are you?

I think we live in similar climates. I have 1 1500watt hot water heater and 1 5000watt heater for the air, plus about 1gallon of water/ square foot of greenhouse. My greenhouse is 800 square feet, 2 sheets of plastic with a little inflation fan. I can keep it above 30F, but its a stretch during the coldest part of the winter. My heating bill is $200-$300.

Don Schnell has an 8x12. I think he has 3-4 1500 watt electric heaters under his benches. He keeps it at 40F, but I believe he brings his neps inside for the winter. He's in zone 5.

then how do you grow lowland neps in the winter (without a terrarium?)
 
  • #12
my concern was that it gets very dry (almost no humidity) in my house, and I wanted to be able to keep certain lowlanders alive in winter (bicalcarta, ampurilla, rafflesiana, just to name a few.)
 
  • #13
I am sorry cp-connection, I am in zone 6 I believe. I am trying to think if it might be possible to insulate it, but then that adds too much, and I am trying to stay under 200 dollars including a heater. I did find a decent deal on a 10000 BTU propane heater, but like any other heater, this coulf probaly become expensive really quick. I may just try to bring them inside, and make sure I leave my heater on.

Does anybody have any advice on how to keep lowlanders alive inside (something tells me I might have to scrap the greenhouse idea.) I have a small vaporizer humidifier that I could keep in my room, but I think that that may not be enough. My room should be big enough to hold a bical for a few years...

Thanks again to everyone who has posted so far. I really appreciate it.
 
Back
Top