# Winter greenhouse gardening



## porkchop48 (Nov 2, 2012)

I have a 10 X 12 green house. 

Does any one have any experience with growing in green houses over the winter?

Or any suggestions on what I can grow?


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## danielburns271 (Nov 15, 2012)

Hey there, I have a suggestion you can grow a Peas seeds, it grows fast on cold season.


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## Harbisgirl (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm curious to learn more about this too. We moved to a house with a pretty large greenhouse. Still feels awfully cold to me !


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## GLENMAR (Nov 15, 2012)

I think you will still have to have a heat source. 
I built a cold frame and used some old wooden windows. 
I could grow lettuce in there in late winter.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 15, 2012)

What temp does the greenhouse need to be?


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## Roll farms (Nov 15, 2012)

I just lost 6 tom. plants and 4 pepper plants and some ornamental houseplants that were in my greenhouse. 

The PLAN was for DH to get an extension cord ran out to it so I could put a milkhouse heater in it to use at night and use on cloudy days....the reality was a cold snap / cloudy spell took them all out before that happened.  Broke my heart, I had some hand-sized tomatoes on the vines.  They froze, too.  The peppers were blooming.  I wanted December tomatoes!  

They handled outside nighttime temps down to 30 degrees ok, the daytime sunlight heated the greenhouse up enough that the warmth held until morning...until it got too cold.

I would think that if you can keep it at least 40 degrees at night, they'd be ok....they'll do better in warmer temps obviously, but will survive - if not thrive, if you keep it above 40 at night.


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## Alice Acres (Nov 15, 2012)

I would think the temps Roll mentioned above would be safe. If you are in a place it gets below freezing you would need some alternate for of heating.

It would NOT be cost effective to do this in Minnesota...world's most expensive veggies!


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## bonbean01 (Nov 15, 2012)

We're considered Mid South...and greenhouse veggies here are not cost effective at all!!!  We go to freezing at night often enough in winter and sometimes down to the teens...we tried a greenhouse three winters ago and had to put in electric heaters and still they froze...tried lettuce and tomatoes and a few other veggies and if we'd put in a bigger heater it could have worked...nothing like a $20.00 head of lettuce though, eh?

Sold it the next summer to people a little further north of us from Tennessee and they had big plans...hope it worked out for them.  

We have cabbages growing in half barrels right now that are doing great...collards are a bust...turnips are still alive, but not thriving.  I think the trick with the cabbage is as it grows, adding more mulch and leaves and hay to keep them warm.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 16, 2012)

My neighbor (before 9/11) grew hydroponic tomatoes in his three greenhouses year round. Of course they're commercial greenhouses and they all have electric, heating, humidity control, etc. :/


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## EllieMay (Nov 18, 2012)

We were seriously considering getting a greehouse for winter veggies.
I go through withdrawals when tomato season is over.
But paying to heat a greenhouse just to have tomatoes . . . well... for that money I could just buy 'em in the store.
And still have money left over to buy a steak to go with that tomato!
lol
IF we ever do get a greenhouse for the winter, it'll have to be heated by something like a rocket stove or other form of "free" energy.


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## Cricket (Nov 19, 2012)

In Vt, they use it to extend the season rather than grow hot weather crops.  I picked Arugula and Bok Choi at my friend's today, growing under hoops and floating fabric.  They have spinach just barely up, and that will be harvested in spring.  I guess plants that get started now will go dormant and then jump start quickly in spring.  Did you ever look at a Johnny's Selected Seed catalog?  They have some wicked good growing information in their catalogs--almost more like a instructional book.  It sounds as though it will be fun to experiment!


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