Greenhouse and rain water

Jerry Meislik

Like John states, I think the concept of passive solar gain is great but in my greenhouse the passive storage took up space that could have grown trees! I soon removed the bottles of water.
Jerry

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

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Joanie

Thank you, everyone, for your ideas and experiences! I'm now thinking that the water bottles are not helping. Too small, not enough actual sun hitting them, etc. So out they go.... well, experiments are best if they cost nothing and don't make anything die.... You were right.

Everything in the greenhouse is looking extemely happy. I'll take a picture and post it later. I made a "greenhouse cozy". (You know, like a teapot cozy only bigger and without the calico print) It's 60% shadecloth, sewn to fit over the greenhouse with minimal tie down. Can be swapped for heavier shadecloth this summer if needed. But right now it's ideal.

Thank you again,

Joanie

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bnsaijim

If you check out the FarmTek Site there are several different insulating materials that might give you some ideas. Shop around though as there are places that are cheaper on many things.

jim

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Jim Stone
Seki Bonsai Studio
sekibonsai.com
Santa Fe, TX

Joanie

Thank you, Jim, I will look at their site. Looking for propagation mats, too... and maybe the controller that opens and closes the vent according to temperature... this greenhouse will end up having more cool stuff than it's worth by itself....

Here is the greenhouse with it's cozy.... a pleasant but cool area to be a tree in. And a photo of the Brazilian raintree in there, singing happily to itself.... and the little mame, who will be in shade in about twenty minutes as the sun goes over....

Joanie

Attached Images

	greenhousecozy.jpg (69.3 KB, 79 views)
	raintree.jpg (62.9 KB, 68 views)
	greenhousemame.jpg (58.2 KB, 70 views)

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bnsaijim

They have those and coils too- I think you need a thermostat with those however. That is the other way I thought about doing things- build a box full of sand or haydite and run the coils through it. It should keep my 6 or 8 buttonwood's toodies warm. Plus has uses for propagation. Seemed more cost effective for the larger scale I need.

Like I said- do some shopping around- prices vary greatlyon green house stuff!

Propagation mats may be enough to get you through a winter- I used them in my old small one about that size- 10x10x6 I think. If you cover or partition off the plants on the coldest nights to limit your heated volume of air... I've used light bulbs as well to heat the air itself.

I should take a picture of my rain tree now in the greenhouse- It's about 15 feet tall... It had escaped the pot a few years back at my old house so I waited till December this year to "collect" it. Dropped all it's leaves- very nerve racking- it finally leafed out and sported a few blooms. It started out as a little 6" potted potensai about 6-8 years ago. The trunk is now about 6" and nicely fluted.

I think it will have a "You can't afford it" price tag on it!

Hoping I can airlayer some bits off it. Good luck!

jim

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Jim Stone
Seki Bonsai Studio
sekibonsai.com
Santa Fe, TX

WHITEPINE

Hi Joanie,


Congrats on your new greenhouse, I hope you have a lot of fun.


This is a great coincidence, as my new greenhouse will be completed today. Its very similar to yours. It was bought to over winter the bonsai, plus I fancy my hand at growing some orchids. Just starting my research, though bonsai will always be my first love.



PS…Still not managed to kill my Japanese White Pine off yet!



Stephen

Goober69

I realize that this is a bit late, but when I was in high school, a science teacher had a greenhouse experiment. they did the soda bottles filled with water too. They used food dye and made the water different colors. They actually found that green absorbed the most heat.

They had a few other experiments such as running water in tubes through an adjacent mulch pile and into a lining in the floor of the greenhouse. the mulch gave off heat and helped heat the house also. They even built a solar panel to help heat aditional water.

Wish I had more info on it, but it was a lot of years ago.

Good luck!

Tony

Joanie

The greenhouse is working very well so far. I've left the water bottles in there, because it seems a good place to store them. So far they haven't started getting green or moldy. Whether they help to hold warmth enough to justify their existence is certainly debatable, but they are a nice reserve of water for the summertime...

Let us know how your greenhouse works for you! Post pictures!

Joanie

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Joanie

Oh, and I did end up putting up shadecloth over the greenhouse... about a 50% cloth. It got really warm in there otherwise. Just a consideration for you...

Joanie

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