Starting all of these plants each year costs (among other expenses) money for the power to run the growroom. We offset the cost by selling some of the seedlings and of course the money you save growing your own food pays off in later months. We are expanding this year with both our gardens and our donations, we need a lot of plants, so here we are!
Despite my best attempts, winter came back with a vengeance😒
The plan is to move everything but the bubblers out to the greenhouse to save on power in the house. Not to mention crowding. I am worried about aphids or mites with everyone in such close quarters and this perfect breeding temperature. We increased our garden and number of seedlings needed so much this year that the growroom is too small. If this works, it will be so much cheaper (And less stressful for me!!) than adding a bunch more lights and fans. And this guy that we just bought:
Sold! To pay for the heater. Win Win!
Next, we bought a 240v heater used from kijiji.
We had a roll so used 160' of 12Ga wire run inside conduit (couldn't bury in frozen ground, will bury in the spring)
240v socket and plug
20 amp 240v breaker
Was lucky to find this guy in the barn. Don't worry, it is out of the snow now
The heater is on its own 20 amp/240v service now. If the temps don't increase soon enough, we will encase the area in some plastic with the use of the trellis frame.
New heater installed
Have this for back-up, or for added heat if needed
Changed up the salvaged screen door that was on it with a less crappy salvaged screen door that didn't have a missing pane
My poor silkie gang hiding in here from the big bully #chickenbitches for the day
Bunch of cuties!
I am going to keep all the plants on pallets here in the middle so I can make a second layer of plastic or a "mini greenhouse" using this trellis to box them in, making it even warmer
It is -4° and overcast, it says it is 12° in the greenhouse already! Heater has been running for 1 hour
This is really nerve wracking! One mistake and we would loose a lot....I will play around for the week with the heat at night and the fans, monitoring the weather and temps 4 times a day for the next week. Hoping to be able to only run the heater at night in off peak hours. After next week's overnight lows of -16° for a few days I am hoping to get everything out here and sell the rest of my indoor lights to pay for the hydro bill, then it will go back to normal sooner!!
Do any of you have experience starting seedlings in a high tunnel while it's still cold? I would love to hear your experiences!!
Off topic but look at this baby asparagus!!! I am in love haha!! #iloveallthebabyplants😍
Thank you for reading! Take care of you and yours ❤
HEY! Do you have gardens to feed your family or community or do you grow plants? Please feel free to use the #doyougrow tag for any of your gardening and plant loving posts! I would love to see what you grow and where you grow it 🌱
I am always looking for new tips and inspiration. I believe it is so important to learn how to grow food as food security and our health is so important. Plus, gardening is rebellious!! Save money and put the healthy back in your food ❤ I will check the tag often to upvote and comment, so let's grow good food for our families and earn Steem together!
