project greenhouse, growing questions

[CowboyHippy]

I just got a good dive on sme 4'x5' windows, thinking of making a greenhouse in my basement to start some flowers on a more serious scale (actual flowers, not pot) should i make a peaked type thing, like a roof or a set of shelves with a glass front.

do gro lamps really work? is there a better brand to look out for? should I have them on a timer? I can do an automatic water thing but shoud I?

I usually start them in the kitchen window later in the season, but i end up with smaller plants through the summer and not till the next year its all good.

a lady said make a greenhouse in the basement and start them in january, they'll be big enough the rabbits will leave them alone and grow better.(the rabbit thing is what got us talking)

p.s. I stick to perrenials and veggies
thanks for any info
MRE

[Pedata]

Hey Cowboy,

I assume your basement is south facing? Are you talking about possibly building out with the windows? If you're going to do that and have actual ground as part of the floor you need to put down a vapor barrier. Otherwise you'll get too much moisture inside. Visquine or plastic works. We used to have a greenhouse attached to the south of our old place. With no vapor barrier it got pretty wet and the plants (tomatoes- mostly) didn't do too good. Plus the untreated wood parts of the greenhouse, even tho painted, got too moist and rotted.

Grow lights are better than no lights. As for brands, well, some lights just last longer than others. Usually the more they cost the longer they last.

If you start plants in January you'll have a head start on the actual growing season and will get your crop earlier.

An automatic water system would be good if you planned to be gone for a few days or more.

Hope this helps :)

Peace,
Pedata

[nattywraps]

I would say you could do it. digital timars and fish tank pumps are good things to have and lighting can be run on a timer as well. as for ventilation, check out maybe a large computer case fan or two. they make them really big and they are made to circulate a LOT of air and use very little lectricity and also to run pretty quiet. if you can do minor electronics it shouldn't be hard to make a setup of one or two of them

and if you're going to need a good strong waterproof cement for sealing gaps. check out E6000 at a local craft or hardware store. it is the best by far!

[Pedata]

You should do ok with grow lights. It sounds like a neat idea.

About perrenials- I grew paper whites (small white jonquils) in the winter once. It's called "forcing". They came up and flowered. I planted some outside when the season was right and they never came up again. The ones I kept in the greenhouse kept coming up each year but never again made flowers, just leaves. I've read, since then, that forced bulbs (tubers, rizomes, etc) usually don't recover after being planted outside. I guess they get confused after coming up in the wrong season.

As for veggies, some like shade- spinach, lettuce, things that don't start as a flower (like tomatoes). But if you use grow lights other veggies should do fine.

Good luck :)

Peace,
Pedata

[nappydread]

hey,
This sounds like a great idea. i think these items have been mentioned before but...oh well:
1) Exhust fan is a must to recirculate the air in/out of the greenhouse, moderate temp, mositure, co2 etc.
2) A couple circulating fans inside the greenhouse to move air around.
3) As for grow lights, HID lights (esp. brand name Eye (Iwasaki)) are very good for big yields. 1000-watts are always impressive but the 250 and 400's are really good also. A couple of these smaller bulbs are good if you have a light mover too. You'll get small yields if you just use fluorescent tubes.
4) For watering, nattywraps suggested a fish tank pump. These are great if you have a main water tank (Rubbermaid bin) and you want to pump water around to each individual plant.
5) Automated systems are always good but should be used with caution - I had a 1000-watt ballast shoot flames around my grow room after a power-outage one time, luckily i was there and the damage was minimal :)


peace

[Pedata]

Hey Cowboy,

How's the greenhouse going?

Peace,
Pedata

[Pedata]

Um....so what are you going to grow?

Peace :)
Pedata