Welcome TYRA! Thanks for following my blog! Tyra has the most beautiful greenhouse! Go check it out here....
Hoop House Experiment report...
Temperature Swings:
High: 79.5
Low (so far today at 9:30pm): 41.9
Temperatures are heading down down down at night! Will get as low as 20 degrees F maybe colder by midweek.
Well heck... it IS almost the end of October here in northern Wyoming!
In preparation for the cold weather I:
-put a cozy blanket over my plants inside the hoop house.
-put a light on in there. Blanket + Light = ??? (we'll see!)
-put large pieces of styrofoam on the north side inside the hoop house.
Other ideas...
-electric blanket??? Ohhh... just had this idea.... I guess if I had to I could put an electric blanket on my plants!!!
-fishy insulation... I repurposed 2 insulation bags that were used to ship fish from the Pet store. Wish that I had grabbed more! I could sew a covering for my hoop house using this stuff... or use it as a blanket.
-make it smaller (shorter)... I've been thinking that I should cut the hoops down to make a smaller house. I'm hoping that that would also help keep some warmth where it would be a smaller area.... hmmm..
I wonder what low temperature will bother my spinach, beet greens, swiss chard, and arugula????
As I write this post, it's a cozy 41.9 degrees F in my hoop house at 9:30pm.
The hoop house is staying nice and warm. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteHi Meems! You're up late!
ReplyDeleteWe've had a few nights in the mid-20's and having nothing more than an old window over my bed was fine for the spinach, lettuce, radishes and kohlrabi--They can really take the cold well!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your "experimenting" with trying different things.
Good morning Sue! OK, good to know that mid 20s will be OK for my precious greens! Will be in the 20s F tonight!
ReplyDeleteAdding warmth at night is a concern for my little greenhouse, as well. An electric blanket sounds pretty promising...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the hoop house is staying warm. I imagine the spinach will be fine. They seem to put up with very cold temps. We've got snowdrifts so any hopes I had of keeping things alive have all been dashed.
ReplyDeleteI would worry that an electric blanket might be a safety issue because of the water condensation inside one of those hoop houses. I wonder how well insulated those wires are. If you want electric heat they sell heating wires (usually for roofs to prevent ice dams) that can be used outside safely. Be really careful if you use an electric blanket.
ReplyDeleteOh..... Thank you Daphne!
ReplyDelete