bakermike

i,m just getting gas heat in my green house, zone 5 mid michigan. i have heard that bubble wrap on the glass really helps to insulate it. has any one tried it,if so how effective and what size bubbles did you use? all help is appreciated, thanks mike

sunfish

stevelau1911

I use reflective bubble wrap which has a mylar reflective side on the north, west and east walls of the greenhouse which are aimed to reflect light and heat right back into the greenhouse as well as the water barrels. It seems to give my greenhouse a slight edge for insulation during the night time, but a stronger edge for sunny conditions. I don't think the size of the bubble wrap matters too much, but a 3ft roll is easier to apply than a 1ft roll. I worked with 4ft rolls on the interior of the greenhouse as shown in this picture.


For example, on a typical cold, but sunny winter day where it is 22F, it will typically get up to 58F, while it likely wouldn't get much above 50 without the reflector.

During the coldest night last night when temperatures dropped to 10.1F, it only dropped to 23.8F in the greenhouse, and this is using no heating at all, just insulation and 55 gallon barrels filled with water. It's also important to seal off any air gaps where heat can escape too.

How big is your greenhouse, and what are you growing in it?

The heating should depend on how much surface area there is that heat can escape. My current greenhouse which is insulated is 20ft x10ft x 8ft, and I have no need for heating in most cases because even with a temperature of 0F outside, it would only drop to around 15F inside the greenhouse which the temperate plants mostly bamboos can still handle.

If you have a small greenhouse, it may be possible to get by with a parrafin/kerosene lamp. I have 3 of those, but don't intend to use them unless it is absolutely necessary. For tropical plants, you may need to get one of those larger kerosene heaters. Space heaters at this size would work if you have a smaller greenhouse. Wholesale space heater - Buy Low Price space heater Lots on Aliexpress.com

It would however be important to have a backup source of heat in case the unit fails or you get a power outage.

If you are just growing something like musa basjoo, then those can easily be stored in an attic which is usually under 55F, but above 40F through the winter in most houses.

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I'm in zone 6 upstate NY, specialize in growing temperate cold hardy bamboos(mainly phyllostachys) and starting to get into bananas.

my picture website is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

bakermike

my greenhouse is a lean-to attached to the far side of my garage.it's 12x20 and about 10 and a half at the peak. i have a lemon tree, 2 avocados,3 bananas,3 orange and started a pineapple. have a couple of strawberries and the rest is just flowers and house plants. i like the reflective stuff you used, it gives me more ideas,but i'm sure can't wait to get the heat in. thanks for the info. mike