I have a large unfinished old celler type basement. I was wondering if i could turn part of it into a greenhouse type deal to grow veggies and stuff part of the year and for seed starting? I also would have bins of red worms as well. I think i could firguge out the lights but it gets so cold down there that our pipes freeze in the winter. We are working on that problem. The walls are brick and the floor is cement. I would have to do this as cheap as possible. I have a ton of scrap wood, fish tanks, shelves already. How warm does something like this have to be? Any ideas? I'm worried about fire hazards if i use a space heater or anything like that.
Turning a basement into a greenhouse
- Thread starter ninny
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PunkinPeep
Garden Ornament
I think you're going to run into a lot of expense lighting your basement enough to be a good greenhouse, especially if it's cold. But i'm not an expert. Those are just my thoughts.
Greensage45
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And, then the Feds will come knocking when they see how high your Utility bill went up in one month! LOLPunkinPeep said:
Ron
PunkinPeep
Garden Ornament
oh yeah that too!!Greensage45 said:And, then the Feds will come knocking when they see how high your Utility bill went up in one month! LOLPunkinPeep said:
Ron
injunjoe
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That's funny but that is how they do it here!Greensage45 said:And, then the Feds will come knocking when they see how high your Utility bill went up in one month! LOLPunkinPeep said:
Ron
They look at Utility bills. There is a grow operation on the news all the time.
Joe
obsessed
Deeply Rooted
Maybe she is in the wonderful land of California where she is allowed to have a moderate grow operation. 
Lavender2
Garden Addicted
.... Yep... gardening should be fun!... 
ninny ... Welcome to this fun forum! ...
You may want to evaluate the temp in your basement during the months you would be attempting indoor seed starting.
Regular fluorescent bulbs (that's what I use) are not real costly to run, but if you were to have to heat the area it may not be worth it.
A friend of mine in NY starts many perennials and annuals in her basement quite successfully.
Here's some great info for seed starting ... http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8703.html
I should probably add: All my plants are legal within the state I live...
wifezilla
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Look at CFLs. They are really good for getting the right amount of lumens for indoor plants. I am going to try to grow some cool season plants in a spare bedroom as soon as I get a timer. I used CFLs for starters in Spring and that worked really well.
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
As others have said, if you want to do more than seed-starting or a few lettuce plants, you are going to run into electic bill issues. Full-sized growing plants take quite a lot of light -- especially if it's something like peppers or tomatoes that you have to get to bloom and set fruit. And even with very efficient fixtures and bulbs, it can get a bit pricy if done on any real scale.
Another thing to consider is the humidity issue. Again, on a 'starting a dozen flats of seeds for my garden' scale or 'half a dozen scented geraniums being carried over til spring' it is not a big deal, but if you want to grow any meaningful amount of anything, you start to run into the same issue you get in grow ops i.e. causing oftne-intractable mold/mildew/rot problems. So you would want to be careful and prudent.
Honestly it is not cost-effective to grow stuff under lights on any serious scale, IMHO, unless you are doing it commercially b/c you can sell it at a good profit (there are legal indoor crops that some growers make a good profit off too of course <g>). one or two light fixtures as a Project or to carry valuable plants over the winter, that's different of course.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Another thing to consider is the humidity issue. Again, on a 'starting a dozen flats of seeds for my garden' scale or 'half a dozen scented geraniums being carried over til spring' it is not a big deal, but if you want to grow any meaningful amount of anything, you start to run into the same issue you get in grow ops i.e. causing oftne-intractable mold/mildew/rot problems. So you would want to be careful and prudent.
Honestly it is not cost-effective to grow stuff under lights on any serious scale, IMHO, unless you are doing it commercially b/c you can sell it at a good profit (there are legal indoor crops that some growers make a good profit off too of course <g>). one or two light fixtures as a Project or to carry valuable plants over the winter, that's different of course.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
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I was wondering how smart it would be. Kinda rethinking it. What about a spare room? It doesn't get so cold. I could just use grow lights then. I want to do tomatoes and peppers at least year round. Could i grow them in a rubber maid tub with a light on them? What about herbs? Could i start them from seed if i order them now and grow them in the house year round?
