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Bananas in ground all year round?

I am going out with my dad tomorrow (hopefully ) to get the materials to build a pvc greenhouse. If I insulated it properly and heated w/timer could I plant a dwarf verity (scd) and have it grow all winter in there in the ground? I have been planning to build a greenhouse for a couple years now. What are your thoughts? I am getting a part -time job sometime before Oct to pay for heating. I really want a heated greenhouse. the plants in the house are taking over !!! :D

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

If the greenhouse air temperature is above 10C (50F) but the ground temperature remains below 2C (35F) your bananas will die.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

ahhhh had a feeling it wouldn't work , okay thanks Richard.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Wow Matt...sounds way cool! :08:

Good luck with it. I'm sure you're doing lots of research to determine what will work best. No doubt there's others that have done it too and succeeded.

I wish you 100% success. ;) Hopefully some experienced members will have some good ideas for you. How exciting!

Let us know and keep us posted...

: )

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Don't give up so fast, Matt....based on one member's post! :eek:

Where there's a will, there's a way. ;)

: )

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 156929)

Don't give up so fast, Matt....based on one member's post! :eek:

Where there's a will, there's a way. ;)

: )

LOL I know But he has a good point about the ground temp I will try it and see what happens.I will keep the temp at 65 during the winter. in the summer of course no heater:P I was thinking 6 by 8 ft but now I may do 8 by 10 we'll see. Thanks Sherry ! gonna go now I will let you know what I got when I get home.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

I was thinking...

The ground, up close to our building is super warm and the snow is usually melted up to foot away from it, from the heat. What if you built your little greenhouse up close to the house, where it's warmer?

Also, is there something that could be used to keep the area around the bananas warm? I would do some research because I think it's possible.

: )

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

okay we got the frame done, it's gonna be 6 ft wide 10 ft long. My parents didnt want it close to the house because it blocks the view and it is quite large. it is in a sunny spot at the side of the yard next to a line of trees. I will post a pic of the progress. :) I will look into the heating keeping the nannas warm.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Keep us updated!:woohoonaner:

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Hey Matt, you should look into some heating cables used to keep pipes from freezing in the winter. They're reasonably inexpensive to operate and would keep the ground surrounding your plants from freezing. They might not actively grow during the winter but good enough to keep them alive. Some use them for hardy palms in colder winter areas with great success. I wish I did this past winter!:ha:

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Hey, ya missed a golden opportunity; ya should've suggested adding a "passive solar heating enclosure" to the side of your house!!!
Perfectly see through, of course, using a thin mylar membrane that would not need replacing every year from UV degradation like plain old plastic sheeting.
It would add an excellent buffer zone, protecting that part of the house from "direct contact" with outside weather.
That's assuming a south facing wall, of course.
It'd otherwise be of lesser effect but still an excellent windbreak!!!
(not to mention you could open the windows to let the extra heat in during sunny days.)

It might not be too late if ya haven't chopped up the plastic too badly yet...

Using PVC pipe would've given a stiffer frame, even if it's more work to get to bend as nicely as possible. A heat gun or careful application of a flame does the trick though. Worst case scenario would have been adding some elbows, not overly expensive.
Please consider going with a double-skin on the critter; the slight extra effort and expense will be more than offset by not just lower heating costs but by final success.
If you need more height, a row of straw bales around the bottom will not only add height but also an insulated "buffer zone" from cold extending through the soil.

I know the "up against the house" part may be a bit of a hard sell for you at this point but have a look-see at a very easy, inexpensive, and effective little "passive solar heating enclosure" that your folks will wind up loving when the heating bills roll in:
Banana Gallery - lean-to
It can be made with straight pieces & elbows but the arch gives tremendous stability in wind gusts up to 40 - 50 mph.
We used plain old heavy polyethylene plastic sheeting but polyester (Mylar) is crystal clear because of the view being an issue.
Here is a place selling Mylar film so you get an idea of what you would be dealing with:
Clear Polyester Mylar® | U.S. Plastic Corp.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob (Post 156991)

thanks Bob, I have heard of people using them too, I am curently having issues with it standnig straight up since there is no door frame yet. here is a pic of what the base looks like

update-- need support at the back and door frame will go and hold up the front.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Matt take a lesson I learned the hard way with my failed ensete tent and put plenty of "purlins" PVC cross braces along the length of both sides of it..high and low and bolt or at least use ties to attach it to the main frame. The wind will play havoc on it and knock it over....... guess how I know?:ha:

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Matt it might be better if you use more ridged pipe.Schedule 40 pvc water pipe or elec. conduit.It will hold the shape much better.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunfish (Post 157032)

Matt it might be better if you use more ridged pipe.Schedule 40 pvc water pipe or elec. conduit.It will hold the shape much better.

yeah when I was at HD I saw the thicker white pcv. they were not long enough. they were 12 ft .I need approx 15 ft. Gonna put some supports in the back tomorrow and make the door frame and put a support along the top roof connecting the front and back and a thin slate on each side..again connecting to the front and back. I'll try that and see how it works.

If I could just buy one I would have it's never fun when something goes wrong. We were gonna buy a greenhouse from harbor fright tools in Cal,Great structure was only $250 or something for a 6x8 . But of course they don't ship to Canada. Also e-bay doesnt ship greenhouses to canada. It's a nightmare living here !

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Clear solar pool cover

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunfish (Post 157039)

Clear solar pool cover

the actual greenhouse cover is a pool cover? or are you refering to the thing on the top , darker cover.?

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaczercat (Post 157042)

the actual greenhouse cover is a pool cover? or are you refering to the thing on the top , darker cover.?

The actual clear covering is pool solar cover.It's uv protected should last awhile.I've had this up for two years.Cost around $50.

Re: Bananas in ground all year round?

that is nice. I might look into a solar cover sometime during the summer. something reasonably priced. I have heard and read they help a lot. even in the winter.