Sunshine and rainbows are a gardener's best friends! After all, nothing can be more delightful than watching your lush green lawn thrive in the summers.
If you're a passionate gardener like me, you're constantly looking for new ways to grow and protect plants, especially during the harsh winter months. With this thought in mind, my husband and I visited my friend Peter in Florida last fall.
Now, Peter and I often bond over love for gardening and the mutual dislike for winters. So, I was expecting him to crib as he usually does, but to my surprise, he had found a solution to his gardening woes: growing plants in a greenhouse.
I've always been pretty dismissive of greenhouses in general because I firmly believed nothing could replace natural warmth and light. Plus, not to forget the amount of electricity they'd be consuming. However, I was pretty impressed and almost envious when I saw the cabbage, carrots, and spinach plants blossoming in Peter’s garden.
Generously, he told me all about greenhouses and how it's easy to heat them, even without electricity. I tried it out, and now, here I am.
Hello! I'm Stacy Smith. And today, I'll tell you all about how to heat a greenhouse without electricity.
So, let's get right into it!
Heating A Greenhouse Without Electricity
For heating a greenhouse, most people use electricity. However, there are more eco-friendly options available. In this guide, I've compiled some popular methods of heating a greenhouse, with readily available alternatives to electricity. Keep reading to know more.
1. Using Compost As A Hotbed
I didn't know I could put all the compost lying around in my bin to such good use. However, when I saw Peter using a heap of manure and compost to prevent the greenhouse temperature from falling, I knew I had to try it.
As it turns out, a good pile of organic matter can produce heat as high as 150℉. So, how does one go about it? Well, there are two popular methods for tiny plant houses.
First, get a good chunk of compost. Once you do that, create trenches on the greenhouse floor that are at least 2 feet deep and fill them with the compost, frequently turning it over to add more oxygen.
Microorganisms present in it will break down the organic matter, thereby generating heat. This heat makes the compost act as a hotbed for growing the plants, warming their roots and leading to a spurt in growth.
You're also free to use the hydronic capture method. In this, you have to plant a water tube that leads to the greenhouse, under or close to an active compost pile. The water will carry heat from the pile to the plant house and keep it warm while also fertilizing it.
2. Installing Double-Walled Windows
Doubling up on the windows can be an excellent way to trap heat from the sun during the day, while preventing it from escaping at night. This is known as passive solar heating.
However, for it to work efficiently, you must place the greenhouse at an angle that receives direct sunlight. In Texas, people receive a moderate amount of sunlight each day, so this method works very well.
Having said that, the cost of installing double-walled windows is high, and this approach might not work if the area is not under direct sunlight. But do not worry; if this doesn't work, there are several other ways to heat your greenhouse.
3. Using Thermal Mass
Another technique that works efficiently is the use of concrete, clay, or rocks to trap heat. Yes, that's absolutely possible! I found this to be the most effective way to trap heat, and it's how I've been growing my tomatoes and peppers of late.
Materials like dark stones, bricks, and even barrels of water have a high thermal mass. They absorb heat during the day and release it at night when the temperature plummets.
So, put some black water barrels around the greenhouse or use bricks to make a raised bed. The barrels of water release heat to balance the temperature inside the greenhouse when it becomes cooler. Similarly, dark stones absorb heat and let it out when the plant house needs it.
Thus, the objects create a heat sink that traps heat during the day and releases it at night to reheat the plants. Through this, they act as a battery, storing heat when it’s readily available and then releasing it when required.
4. Shared Heat
The first time I went over to Peter's yard, I noticed that he built his greenhouse against the walls of the chicken coop. Despite all his ridiculous ideas and odd experiments, this seemed quite intriguing. As it turns out, the carbon dioxide and heat that the chickens produce sustain the plants and keep them frost-free.
In return, you can feed the plant scraps to the chickens. However, remember to create sufficient ventilation to minimize the exchange of heat during warmer months.
5. Use Of Rocket Mass Heaters
My husband and I spent a lot of time building a rocket mass heater in the greenhouse this year. It is one of the most popular and effective ways of heating a greenhouse without electricity.
In this method, the rocket mass heater works like a burner and uses wood as fuel, circulating hot air through bricks, stones, or other objects with a high thermal mass.
The objects then hold the heat for a sufficiently long time, even after the fire has been extinguished, and as the temperature of the greenhouse drops, they circulate this heat.
I burn the rocket mass heater for a couple of hours per day, and the greenhouse remains warm overnight.
- Wisner, Erica (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 06/01/2016 (Publication Date) - New Society Publishers (Publisher)
- Ianto Evans (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 120 Pages - 02/01/2014 (Publication Date) - Cob Cottage Company (Publisher)
Final Words
With that, I’ve come to the end of this guide. Discovering greenhouses was the single best thing that came out of my Florida trip. And now, you’ll find lettuce, beans, and mushrooms growing in my greenhouse, and I don’t have to worry about frost damaging them. What a relief!
Besides, gone are the days when you’d find me cribbing about rising electricity bills from all my gardening escapades. The greenhouse operates without electricity, and I no longer have to spend time in the yard, with my shovel, tiller, and shears winterizing the plants.
With a greenhouse, you’ll never have to let go of your greens. Grow basil, kale, and spinach throughout the year, and the best part is that it costs nothing!
It’s time for me to prune my rose bushes, but I’ll be back with more helpful guides soon.
Until next time, happy gardening!