Using the greenhouse all summer long

[kalivio]

This is my first year gardening in a greenhouse and I really, really want to use it all summer. I've got another post going about how to keep it ventilated, but I thought I better start a new thread about the possible insanity I have apparently developed.

You see, each person I have talked to at my local greenhouses gives me the "you're nuts" look when I say I'm going to grow all summer in the greenhouse.

I realize it's going to get hot in there, but I am growing mostly heat-loving plants. Our temps in the summer lately have been about 30 days or so in the 90s but the evenings and nights cool down pretty well. I'm in zone 4.

Am I crazy? Here's a look at my greenhouse if you haven't seen my other posts.

Thanks,
Jess

 

[Collector]

I dont think your nuts, I would try it if I had one. My brother used to grow tomatos all summer in his greenhouse. GO FOR IT!!

 

[catjac1975]

I don't know what zone you are in but I am in zone 6 in Massachusetts.
I use my green house to extend the season in both directions. I merely keep the front door open and the back too when it gets to real summer.I plant in the ground and in large black tubs with the bottom cut out. I have early salad greens, broccoli and the like for early crops. Also tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peas and beans. Works for me.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Hi jess, welcome! I'm sure you're going to get a lot of good input from knowledgable folks here. Here's my two cents i put up a construction-plastic greenhouse on the cheap last year, and just decided to figure it out as i went along. With a lot of good input from here! by about end of june, i COULD NOT keep it cool enough, even rolling all the sides up all the way. And even in my dry climate i was getting humidity problems. So off came the plastic, and my raised bed garden was back to normal for the rest of the summer. But the early season start i got was so helpful, that we rebuilt the greenhouse twice as big this year!

I didnt have any kind of fan or real ventilation besides breeze, so maybe with the proper fans/ventilation, you will be able to keep it cool enough. I'm in zone 4 as well, so we have similar climates. My experience was that inside the greenhouse it could be 20 - 30 degrees warmer than outside, so that's definitely a problem when its in the 80s or 90s!

Earlier this spring, i asked the question how hot is too hot? Marshall had some great input...let me see if i can find that thread and post a link oh yeah here it is, #30
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33479&p=3

So just keep an eye on your temp, make adjustments as you need, and HAVE FUN!!

 

[kalivio]

Thanks for the encouragement collector and catjac, but I am worried about Nwmtgardener's comments....especially since I am in NW Montana too! But maybe it would be different with better ventilation?

 

[NwMtGardener]

Wow where are you? I'm in columbia falls miserable memorial day weekend we're having!

BTW dont be discouraged by my taking my greenhouse apart - that was the plan all along, i knew the construction plastic was a temporary thing! Just wasnt sure, temperature-wise, when i would need to do that. You're being proactive and figuring out what you'll need to do to keep the temps regulated.

 

[digitS']

I.had.the.feeling.you.were.in.Columbia.Falls . . .

It was your info on recreation at Hungry Horse .

Okay, we know where to look for Heather this summer . . . Hey. I don't have much trouble growing basil in the greenhouse during the summer. I've tried it 2 different ways - right in front of the door and in the ground.

Then, I had a few tomato plants in there one summer. They were far from the door, in the ground. It is HOT at that end! No fan running but they are low and stayed healthy. The biggest problem for having plants in the greenhouse during the summer is continually dragging a hose in there!

My greenhouse is a sunshed. It has an insulated north wall and roof. That means that about 1/2 of it is shaded by the roof during mid-summer. (Did I already say all of this??) The thing was built with the idea of maximum interior sunlight exposure during the winter. I've never used it during any but the last few weeks of winter, however. By April, the interior north wall is shaded by the roof. By May, a third of the interior is in the shade at mid-day.

How about just draping it in shade cloth, Kalivio?

Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

Haha, now everyone can come stalk me. Come on over, i just made rhubarb raspberry bars!

Oh, and i was kinda over your way this weekend Steve... Bull Lake, Ross Creek cedars, down to the noxon reservoir, we'd never been there before, pretty fun, but crappy weather.

 

[digitS']

Bull Lake??

I've been curious about that place. Nobody has been there, have they? It really seems like it's off the beaten path. I've never been there.

And yet, the satellite view shows boat docks and buildings all around the lake! Who the heck shows up there?

Let this be a lesson to you folks: you can't find solitude even in western Montana! There you are in the middle of the mountains and somebody rolls thru dragging a boat trailer down your logging road!

Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

Even worse...JET SKI! They were out on the lake yesterday, and i SWEAR it couldnt have been any more than 55*!!! sorry Jess, in typical fashion i have totally hijacked your thread. I mean Steve did!