dancer67 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I have been thinking of getting a greenhouse. I live in the Northeast and get very cold winters. For those of you who have a greenhouse, do you or can you, start growing flowers in the winter? Are you able to have a container garden in the winter months? If not, when is the soonest you should start your plantings? And what does your greenhouse look like? And what do you grow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunkirst Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I don't think this is truly what you are looking for, but Eliot Coleman has a book about growing veggies in an unheated winter hoop house. I have grown spinach and salad greens all winter long with no supplemental heat (in Ohio, Coleman is in Maine). I've never heated a greenhouse, but I know that flowers could be started earlier, and grown past frost in an unheated hoop house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Definitely the Eliot Coleman books. A short aside, I just finished reading This Life is in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman -- loved reading this book. I would request a catalogue from johnnyseeds.com -- so much good information. We're a bit further north than you (Nova Scotia) and this will be my first year of an extended growing season using simple row covers. Just thinking about "over-wintering" root veg and kale . . . makes me all warm in my indoors. Did you know, kale with a light frost makes for a better taste experience. Straw will become your best friend. Good luck! Keep us posted. Warmly, Tricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missouri Okie Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 When I think about greenhouses, I think about this blog, which often features a GORGEOUS :drool: greenhouse. I think the blogger lives in Montana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer67 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Looks like I better start with those books. My dad used to own a flower shop, but unfortunately, he had a cerebral aneurysm 20 years ago, and he cannot remember to much from that time. Ideally, I would love to be able to grow herbs and veggies year round. And will look at that blog, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/eliot-coleman-the-3-components-of-the-winter-harvest/ http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/ Be careful on the Four Season Farm page - you might lose track of time, dreaming about green things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 How windy is it where you are? I just ask because my neighbour lost the glass in her greenhouse three times this year due to gales. The last time the metal twisted too. Having spent the entire year searching the garden for shards of glass before letting the dog back out, she's thinking of abandoning the idea of a greenhouse. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'd love a green house too. To grow year round, here at least (Midwest), I have been told you need heaters. Then it suddenly starts to sound more and more complicated! We have been looking into the lean to styles that go on the side of a house. I have also heard winds shoukd be seriously considered, but it seems as if this would be a concern for hoop houses as well. I was planning on trying row covers this year but I haven't figured iut the details yet. You can considerably extend the season many ways. I run a small cut flower business and want to offer flowers sooner. As it is, I hope for Tulips to coincide with Mother's Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) :bigear::bigear: Thanks for this thread! My dh made me a greenhouse...just finished it over the weekend! I am sooo excited--I never thought I'd actually have my very own greenhouse! We are in zone 5. I'm looking forward to playing around with it and finding out what all I can do with it. I'll definitely be checking out some of the resources mentioned. I mainly want to start my own veggie and flower plants for the garden but would love to grow some things year round, or at least extend the season quite a bit. Dh made my greenhouse 8 ft long, mostly from odds and ends of other projects (yes, he loves to build & tinker). I need to paint the wooden parts of it as soon as the weather warms up. He installed a fan in one end. He bent electrical conduit to make the top hoops and stretched a double layer of plastic over them. He has a tiny fan rigged up to blow air between the layers for insulating purposes, but I don't know if we'll use that much or not. We bought a small heater to plug in if the weather gets too chilly. I plan to plant sunflowers, etc around the door and flowers around the sides.. :001_smile: eta: our greenhouse has no glass. It's made from plastic and wood (frame) Edited March 5, 2012 by Faline clarify Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 The book we're using to make our garden covers . . . Gardening Under Cover: A Northwest Guide to Solar Greenhouses, Cold Frames and Cloches by William Head. You could google "tunnel cloche", "tent cloche" or "reinforcing wire cloche" to get ideas. Sometimes having the right word to google makes all the difference. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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