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View Full Version : greenhouse for overwintering


qwkslver
05-28-2008, 08:11 PM
Has anyone used an unheated greenhouse for overwintering in SC? Got a new house, new bananas, and a new greenhouse. Just not sure what to do with any of it. :kiteflyingnanergif:

Velutina
05-28-2008, 08:20 PM
I used a greenhouse this spring to keep the bananas safe here in Utah since march. Outside temperature dipped into the teens, but inside stayed in the high 30's. I do have several hundred gallons of water that I use to store the heat of the day. As long as it is sunny, no supplemental heat was needed. A few years ago I had a 300-400 gallon salt water aquarium (500+ gallons total inside the greenhouse) in the greenhouse. In the middle of January, I could have absolutely no heating other than the sun and the nighttime temp would get to about 55-60 on the coldest nights. The water would heat up to about 85 degrees during the day (air temp in the greenhouse was 90+ on a sunny day regardless of outside temp) and cool down to about 70 at night.

I guess my point is, find a way to add several hundred gallons of water to your greenhouse. If you decide to do something like this, I could definately go into more detail about how to get this setup. This way, you will only need supplemental heat after a cloudy day.

Velutina
05-28-2008, 08:31 PM
A fairly cheap way is to get a bunch of 55 gallon barrels or a large rubbermaid container (ie the kind for horses 100-400 gallons). Ideally though, the water should be exposed to air and have lots of circulation.



http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/uploads/BananaTropics/2005-06-06_223454_greenhousereef.jpg

Dean W.
05-28-2008, 09:34 PM
Nice picture, Velutina.

D_&_T
05-29-2008, 07:06 AM
What kind of lows did you have and for how long did they last?