For many people, the idea of keeping their plants thriving through the winter months is merely a fantasy. They have simply resigned themselves to growing vegetables, flowers and tender perennials during the warmer months, knowing that they will be nothing more than a distant memory come winter. What many of these people don’t know is that there in another option that will allow them to enjoy their prized plant specimens year round – the mini greenhouse. A mini greenhouse functions as a safe haven for your plants during the colder months, and a paradise during the warmer months. Of course, there are many different types of mini greenhouses to choose from and each offers something different to the plants you grow.
When choosing a greenhouse to protect your plants during the winter it’s important that you take some basic facts into consideration. First, simply having a greenhouse doesn’t guarantee that your plants will be protected from damaging frost and cold temperatures. There are multiple things to consider when providing frost protection including the potential severity of the frost, the duration of the frost and how sensitive your plants are. For most moderately sensitive plants, placing them inside a covered structure will help them survive brief periods of minor frost, which can be defined as temperatures just below freezing. The reason for this is that plants and the ground beneath them lose heat to the open sky rapidly, causing condensation to form on the plant surfaces. This condensation quickly freezes, resulting in frost and subsequent damage to your sensitive plant material. Keeping your plants under cover allows the heat that otherwise would have escaped to the night sky to become trapped beneath the covering, which in this case would be your mini greenhouse.
A more secure option is to purchase a heating system for your mini greenhouse. Covering your plants will only provide brief protection from minor frosts, so it’s important to have a solution for those colder days and nights. Not all greenhouses are suitable for a heater installation, so be sure to choose carefully. It’s also critical to seek the advice of a qualified electrician to ensure that your heating system is installed correctly and safely. The last thing you want is to have your greenhouse or other valuable property damaged from a fire, so be sure to use extreme caution.
Purchasing a mini greenhouse is great way to provide protection to your plants from damaging cold, though having a greenhouse doesn’t guarantee against cold damage. You need to take many factors into consideration including the severity and duration of the cold and the hardiness of the plant material you’re seeking to protect.
Tags: frost protection, greenhouse heater, mini greenhouse, mini greenhouses, protect plants from cold
Purchasing a mini greenhouse is a great investment if you’re looking to grow healthier vegetables and flowers, but expecting your plants to thrive in the absence of climate control is wishful thinking. It’s not enough to simply buy a greenhouse and grow some plants. Rather, you must provide the proper environment for plants to thrive. Within a greenhouse exists a micro climate that is constantly changing based on external factors such as sunlight, wind, temperature and humidity. Having the ability to react to these factors will mean that your plants will be less stressed and more likely to provide higher yields and bigger, healthier blooms and foliage. The extent to which you want to control the climate in your greenhouse depends on several factors including the type of existing structure you might have and your budget. If you haven’t yet purchased a greenhouse then you’re in luck, since you will have the advantage of choosing a structure that will work well with a variety of climate control modules.
Although there are many factors that can be controlled in a greenhouse, the most important factor is temperature. A greenhouse that cannot heat or vent on its own through automatic controls is a greenhouse that will not provide the environment you’re looking for. Plants do not grow optimally under extreme or wildly fluctuating conditions and can even develop diseases such as powdery mildew and botrytis (mold) if conditions aren’t right. If you look at what makes a commercial greenhouse crop successful, it has much to do with consistency. Although you’re likely not relying on your mini greenhouse to produce a successful crop for sale, you still want a healthy product to enjoy on your own, and this will be made easier through the existence of a consistent environment.
The most basic method for achieving a consistent temperature in mini greenhouses is through the use of a simple thermostat. Just like the thermostat that controls the heat in your home, a greenhouse thermostat can be used to control the heating (and venting) in a greenhouse. To control both venting and heating you will need to purchase 2 thermostats, since one thermostat cannot control both actions. Of course, controlling these two factors requires more than just buying the thermostats. You must have the knowhow to wire them correctly; one thermostat to a vent and one to the heater. You must also have a structure that is capable of active heating and cooling, which means spending a bit more on the front end.
If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge on a basic climate control system then perhaps a semi-automatic system will suit you better. A semi-automatic system means that the venting and/or cooling will require some manual manipulation on your part. Having a greenhouse vent connected to a chain that helps to open and close the vent is an example of a semi-automatic system.
Whatever you choose it’s important to strive for consistency in the crops you produce. Proving a consistent environment will mean fewer headaches for you and better conditions for the things you grow.
Tags: greenhouse climate control, greenhouse cooling, greenhouse venting, mini greenhouse, mini greenhouses