Cheap Way to Heat a Greenhouse
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- This method of passive heating requires no electricity and easily warms a greenhouse through short frost events.
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We added barrels to our greenhouse to keep it warm in winter. This method works very well to extend the season and heat a greenhouse through mild winters. - Навчання та стиль
Push the Zone! amzn.to/3uZQzbY
Thank you for watching.
What's up with the tire?
A sandcircle for the kids? 😋
Ahh, this is why my wife keeps a collection of 147 partially drank water bottles next to the bed. She’s just cold!
Gooders leave the best comments.
I used to leave 190,853,266,992 partially drank waters under ny *bed*
😂
Hahahahahahahahahaha yes!
That's funny, I'm looking at four on my bed right now. I can identify.🤪
I just discovered a heating item in the camping section of Walmart. It’s s sticker that when you open the package and air touches it it gets really warm. Not warm enough to heat a giant high tunnel but when I cover individual trees on those coldest of nights it should create enough heat to keep plants from dying back and it lasts 12 hours. 98 cents a piece. Going to experiment with them this winter to see if they help to push the zone. Could get pricey if I end up needing more than one per plant or we have more than 10 days of freezing temps. Using them in my off grid no climate control tiny house when temps go below 40. Works better than an electric blanket.
I like to simply 🔥🔥🔥 my enemies. Composting is inefficient in winter. Costs nothing but a little time and a box of matches. The leftovers make great biochar
I took your journey of survival gardening. Now you're taking my journey of survival gardening with a greenhouse. I can't wait to see what you do in there, so I can really level up my greenhouse game.
I put pavers down then a black barrel in my greenhouse never lost a plant yet...it works great ....
How do you add the pavers?
David, have you seen the chinese cold weather green houses, they use a brick or earth wall on one side and then do a half circle, or oblong hoop house off the wall, the wall being the sink instead of water barrels. The reason i raise the question, is because they use external blankets, that roll down overnight, to retain that heat as much as possible in the green house. That is something that can be implemented in your instance to help the hoop house retain heat overnight.
That makes a lot of sense. I've seen similar, but not that exact idea.
Out here in the continental climate desert (7b/8a) we use cinder block and masonry walls as fences. I use our south facing “fence” as our heat sink and it stays exceptionally warm! Same concept of lots of thermal mass that can radiate heat back out. Days can be pretty warm but night time can dip to the high teens or 20’s. Got to about 5*F during the big TX Valentine’s Day storm. Greenhouse stays around 35-40*F at night at lowest with single wall plastic. Didn’t have it in ‘21 so not sure how it would fare at 5*
Also random masonry wall tip, don’t paint your wall black to gather more heat unless your summers are truly truly cool/cold. It’ll get hotter than snot and not give your plants a cool night to at least reset. Off White or gray works pretty well for us to reflect some gentle light back to the plants but still heat up the brick OK. We are at higher elevation (3k ft) though so typically we are always trying to reduce heat and solar intensity in summers (95-110*F then down to 65-75 nights is our usual swing in June-Aug).
You could fasten to barrel exterior strawberry plants in soil pouches and wrap the barrels with them in tiered rows.. Kinda like a pocket organizer that you see hanging off the back of a door..
I kept saying capacitor capacitor and you finally said it about halfway. LOL. AND there I commented finally - first time!
Great minds!
There's a dude on UA-cam that heats his greenhouse with a wood chip compost pile using copper tubing with water running through and plastic hoses with air flowing through it. I don't remember his name. But you can search it up and find it. Because that's what his whole channel is basically about.
Put a cube of compost pile in the greenhouse, and it will heat your greenhouse and take less place.
You have to time it right and keep it going, however. It's higher work, higher maintenance. Worth doing, perhaps, but not as easy.
It also creates extra CO2 for your plants to breathe in during the day.
Yes! Works great! It was always my approach to help keep my Alaskan greenhouse warm in early planting season and lengthening my growing season into the Fall.
A most common sense heating /cooling solution and I never thought of it!! Great tip DTG! Diggin the closing music, too. Blessings to you and your's
We were really surprised by how well it worked years ago when we first tried it.
Put a bag of epsom salt in each tank it will hold more heat
Good idea!@@Test7017
@@Test7017 I’ve been saving glycol antifreeze for my greenhouse project in Colorado. Now you have me thinking, if salt water would hold more heat and prevent the barrels from freezing.
@@Crashbangable that will be toxic when you dump it. Look up heay capacity of salts
Good advice for northerners!
This is a barrel. There are many like it, but this barrel is mine. Why the barrels aren't fully painted is answered @3:30 in.
That much water in a small area is a lot of weight. You're risking an unnatural tilt of the Earth. Great idea, tho!
Hshqhhqhqhhqhqhqhaaaaaaa
Is that you Hank Johnson😂
@@Crashbangable lol
Awww! Thank you, David!!!
That is pretty wonderful about the barrels being a heat sink.
My greenhouse will easily hit 120 degrees after 10 a.m. so I have to make sure that I get in there every morning.
My greenhouse is way smaller than your greenhouse so I will have to replace the barrels with something smaller.
Such a cool idea!!!
Awesome tip!!!
Great job on this project and I will definitely look into this 😎
Amazing
I want to build a thermal mass or geothermal greenhouse but live in a northern zone 7b area. That means I need to be able to survive a week or two in the 20's with very little sun...
You might look into the "climate battery" systems like Osentowski uses and covers in his book: amzn.to/3NVRn8H
Build the geothermal greenhouse correctly and you'll be fine. Dont need to mess with no dang 55 gallon jugs of water.... ur talking about spending a TON of money to fill it with 55 gallon totes? What's the point?
I’m in 7b/8a. Build against a south facing masonry wall and make it double wall if you’re growing real sensitive stuff, you’ll be good to go. I grow citrus and a more tender fig in mine, then start transplants in there in late winter. Trying to overwinter my tomatoes and peppers this year, I don’t expect to have any issues with temperature. If you’re like me and get scalding hot summers it’ll be useless unless you can remove the walls in late spring though.
(Double wall plastic is what I meant by double wall)
Had the same 10x20 greenhouse you did (still do) and was very disappointed with the water filled barrels. Mine (11 blue ones laid on there side) weren't painted black just filled with water. Had pallets on top for holding plants. True enough, they didn't freeze but I only managed a few degrees warmer in the greenhouse which wasn't enough to save my tomatoes and cukes. For that greenhouse a small electric space heater did fine. I did add a second one when it got in the teens. didn't notice a big difference in the heat on hot days either. I gave up on it. They make great planters, rainwater collectors, and brewing swamp water. Anxiously awaiting your report. You're an inspiration, thanks.
What zone are you in?
Painting them black should make a difference. To test, paint one barrel black. Measure temperature of the water in that black barrel and in an unpainted blue one at about 4pm. Make sure barrels are in the sun and not shaded by anything.
Another fella in the NC said his barrels raise it 5* and that’s all he needs. Here in the Deep South 5* might be enough.
Maybe you didn't have enough barrels in that size house?
The thing is heating air is not a good investment because you will quickly lose that heat. Water is a much better thermal insulator. That's why hospital air conditioning systems all use chilled water and radiators. So instead of spending energy heating air, use it to heat water and you will get much more bang for your buck.
In your situation you have the barrels laying on their side, covered with pallets, and they're not painted black - meaning much less sunlight is hitting them and being absorbed. Instead of running the space heater I would buy hydroponic water heaters or a livestock tank heater - either connect all the barrels with pipe or buy a small heater for each which would be more expensive but you would have redundancy in case of failure. Then you could set the temp so they only come on when they're not getting passively heated enough. Alternatively you can use compost to heat your space; see the YT video "Better Than a rocket stove: Revolutionary Greenhouse Heating | Van Powell's Green Energy Solutions" and others in my public Gardening & Permaculture playlist.
Love it!
Thanks for the info
Excellent! ❤
I didn't realize you moved to zone 8. That's a zone that I live in it's been a warm fall this year.
Will at least in the dallas area of texas
Cool idea
Great video.
I have that book, it’s awesome
ThankQ
I don't know what's worse, crazy freezes down into the teens in an otherwise semi tropical area, or 7 months of oppressive and very aggressive days in the 30s to 50s with moderate rain 20 hours a day. Followed by 5 months of drought.
Barrels are so useful! Your new greenhouse will be such a blessing! If you strap the support frames to the barrels the greenhouse should hold up to any wind!
I was Vendor chairman for our local dog club when we moved to the newly built Escambia County Equestrian Center & had to learn how to secure our vendors' commercial tents up to 20x60 without driving a single stake into the ground. I consulted with my full time vendors for advice & 55 gallon barrels were the most practical & recommended solution. The first year I was able to borrow enough barrels, by year 2 we had purchased enough barrels to keep those big tents standing even through micro burst tornadoes. We used the 2 bung barrels & ran the guy ropes for the each tent upright pole through the 2 bungs. If you need extra wind support, you could run straps to the upper frames/ joints of your structure & secure below the rim of the barrel.
Quick question.... we got some of the yam bulbils on Saturday. Can those be transplanted when they start growing or do they need to be planted where they are to be grown?
Saving up for your first Springtime Plant Sale! And bringing friends!
Merry Christmas to you and your family from Molino!
You can plant them when they sprout. Thank you!
Arkopia on UA-cam has done an incredible job using this principle (but using the back wall as a thermal mass) to grow tropicals in Northern Canada! Idk if I have the sunlight to do that much, but I'd love to try that sometime in Michigan (zone 6a, cloudy western region)
David is making some $$$$$ nowadays
I'm trying. You have to spend money to make money sometimes. Hoping the spring sales will pay for the greenhouse.
A nice hot tub would help, too.
I tried it in my greenhouse, we had a cold week in Texas and it froze solid and I couldn't remove it. It stayed below freezing a few days. Hopefully yours will good
Thx David can you do more vids pls on aquatic plants Esp water chestnuts Ive tried them before but all i did was make fetid swamp water Thx ✌🏻👍🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸
Using the drums for a Kratkey system would be efficient. Tie paracord from the drum to your rafter to get raining food from climbing vines.
Hey David what are you doing with the tires full of sand? before I forget, merry Christmas, God bless you and your family. Jesus is the reason for the season. Hope to see you in South Florida soon. Stay safe.
The concept is common with a Walapini.
Thanks for posting. Now I know what to do in my new high tunnel . I do have a question, what is in the tractor tire?
It's a propagation bed - full of shite sand to root cuttings in. But my little ones play in it for now.
The black sides will radiate heat better to the rear! They'll look better too.
Have you tried doing a compost pile in the greenhouse to generate heat as the compost heats up?
I was thinking that too. We live in Indiana, so I was thinking a combination of barrels and some compost "bins" might do the trick. I'll have to experiment once we get our homestead property!
Wowzers! From where do y'all source your barrels and IBC totes?
Some from a local flea market, some from friends.
Yes, in cold country I was laughing as I would have ice pops. Not sure, but I think you have the GH not taking advantage of full southern exposure? My idea would be to build a cold frame around the barrels attached to the GH and adjust vents accordingly. In summer just cover with shade fabric. Insulating the back wall could help, some use silver bubble wrap for houses.
With so much heat in the ground and sand being an ultimate heat sink, running tubes underground with solar fan to pump could be another idea.
I have the garden shed on the north side of lean to GH. I use it for stating seedlings in early spring and want to redo and add a couple feet, but still keep it small for easy heating. I use polycarbonate panels and windows for ventilation. We just found our trusty tiny wood stove and will try modifying a system that would use copper tubing to collect the heat (maybe like a rocket stove) set outside and either run it inside underground and/or through a large barrel of water. It wouldn’t take much of a fire and early spring has its warm days especially since this weather has been 15-30 warmer in Z5 still at Christmas time.
Another thought was to use solar fan to pump air through an aluminum can back wall. We made a small heat collector to try years ago in the solar craze-it worked, but had to remember to close the window at night.
👍👍👍👍
You should come see me, David.
Does it matter if the paint is glossy or Matte?
Matte probably absorbs a little more, but we used both
Add some salt so the water never freezes
Where did you find water chestnut seeds/starts?
Etsy.
@@davidthegood thankyou
Ok I saw the barrels but is that it...covered barrels will help keep a greenhouse warm I'm in Saskatchewan Canada
It will help you extend the season, but won't be enough all the way through. Probably gain you two months of extra growing season or so.
@@davidthegood wow that's amazing thanks did you say to paint them black?
Yes, it helps a bit.@@bonnie8797
I don't know if David has ever lived where the lack of sun affects your ability to grow... like us here in Canada...
You should check out Gardening In Canada... Ashley definitely talks about this kind of stuff & she's a pretty smart cookie in her own right.. 😊
❤ a Canadian fan
I’m Z5 and with our lack of sunny days and short days this will not work without some added heat. We will try and modify a small wood stove and collect the heat either in ground in our sand and/or run copper tubing inside a large water barrel. If that stove doesn’t work we may do a rocket stove. Our GH is a small lean to polycarbonate panel used to start seedlings in early spring. It’s easy to heat and does the trick.
actually the greenhouse is the sink
Could you get a similar effect if the barrels were filled with sand?
That would be an interesting experiment. 🤔 I wonder if wet or dry sand or just water would work best.
Yes it would just be way more effort to fill and empty them should you need to move, and way more expensive for all the sand. The water you can just dump, the sand you may not be able to do that.
This video has really got me thinking. I’m in zone 9b where it’s gotten up to 113 F or so and into the twenties in the winter.. do u think that using water could keep a greenhouse cool enough in the summer?
Yes chilled water run through radiators is much more efficient than cooling the air with an air conditioner which is why hospitals use that system. You can also just go with misters and fans. If you're doing this wall of barrels style I would paint half black to face the sun for winter and the other half white to face the sun for summer.
🤔
Doe the soap help to keep the barrels from freezing? I am in south Montana and want to find a way to keep a greenhouse warmer. It gets too cold here for year around use but I don't want the barrels to freeze and break.
Providing you aren't wanting to use the water in the barrels for something, you could try adding alcohol to keep them from freezing. Or salt (since salt water freezes at a lower temperature). Or in addition to your barrels, try adding a large compost bin or two to your greenhouse. The composting process will give off heat.
@@AuntNutmeg good ideas!
do your temperatures stay within nominal growth temperature range overnight? i posit that there's a period of time early morning where it's gone below. but hey every extra hour helps amirite.
No, it's cold. Not much is growing at night, I'm sure. It's easily 40 degrees cooler than during the day.
@@davidthegood thanks mr. david.
Would metal barrels work better?
I put two 20 gallon trash cans in my greenhouse it didn’t seem to make any difference.
I put about 40 55gallon drums in this one. Metal or plastic should be fine.
@@davidthegood thanks for the response. I think I just don’t have enough. Our greenhouse is 10x 16 lean to
What's the deal with the tire full of sand?
Propagation bed for cuttings
Are those barrels metal or just plastic?
Plastic.
@@davidthegood Thank you!
I sure do miss your funny outtakes or some Good tunes at the end of your videos. 😢
70f groundwater what!?
ever see citrus in the snow youtube chnnel? chinese style green house growing citrus in the north west (i think) cool(or hot) tho. lol ty DTG
Everybody knows black objects heat up faster in the sun than white objects, but not everyone knows the reverse is true. Black objects cool faster than white objects because they radiate infrared better. Shiny objects heat up and cool down the slowest.
next step: insulate the north side
Why would someone heat their fountain.. spending money on heating fountain sounds like something someone so out of touch with fountains would say.
May your fountain speak only the truth.
Fish pond heated green house 🤔🤔🤔
My mind went here too…
How about building a biochar kiln in your greenhouse and produce biochar every night during winter?