Greenhouses

[signseeker]

Anyone build a greenhouse before? We are thinking of building one in the backyard. I think it's a little overwhelming... just wondered if anyone here had tried it or thought about it... :l0 (14):

[Julie]

I have a greenhouse that is like a tent. You can put it up and put it down. The hardest part about a greenhouse is heating it and regulating the heat. Since I just do starts, I switched last year to a shelving unit that has a green house plastic cover that zips up and is removeable. I really liked it. I put my plants outside in the day and since it has wheels I rolled it into the house at night solving the heating problems I had with the big portable one. This way also saves money it would cost to heat a greenhouse.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FgcIjFF0L._SL500_AA280_.jpg
This is similar to what I have.

[signseeker]

So you don't try to go all winter... tomatoes for New Year's or anything like that? (Yeah, I have big ideas for the amount of experience I have.)

[Earthling]

We are still eating tomatoes from our garden. At the end of the season we wrapped them individually in newspaper and put them in a huge tub. The cherry tomatoes didn't keep and sometimes we get a bad one but at least half of them are still fine, taste good, etc. although the skin is not hard & tight anymore.

[signseeker]

And that has to do with a greenhouse... how? :frown2:

[Earthling]

It has to do with your comment on tomatoes for New Years. You can have the tomatoes without the greenhouse.

I have several friends with greenhouses. They say it is an expensive hobby - they pay $300-400 a month during winter to keep it warm. This is for a hobby greenhouse of average size. They feel it is worth it to save exotic expensive plants they own and to grown their own seedlings.

A small one like the picture might not be too expensive though.

As for me, I enjoy the break from gardening in the winter. I don't even want to look at seed catalogs until February.

[Highlandsunrise]

Agreed, the problem, is temperature regulation. We considered it years ago when my cousin and I did an interior plant care business. We were bringing in shipments of plants from California and Florida and warehousing them in our houses. We decided that by the time we heated and airconditioned a greenhouse it would cost too much. That's why they grow the tropical/indoor plants where the climate is milder.

My VT partner has a small (fiberglass with wood shelves) permanent one where they do starts in the Spring very successfully. I love the idea of having one because I hate not being able to grow anything (to eat) for so much of the year.

[Highlandsunrise]

We are still eating tomatoes from our garden. At the end of the season we wrapped them individually in newspaper and put them in a huge tub. The cherry tomatoes didn't keep and sometimes we get a bad one but at least half of them are still fine, taste good, etc. although the skin is not hard & tight anymore.

I never would have thought you could still be eating tomatoes now. Were the tomatoes dark green when you wrapped them? I will try it next year. We have winter squash and apples left (in a cold spot) but tomatoes sure sound good.

[Highlandsunrise]

[quote=Julie;49767] Since I just do starts, I switched last year to a shelving unit that has a green house plastic cover that zips up and is removeable. I really liked it. I put my plants outside in the day and since it has wheels I rolled it into the house at night solving the heating problems I had with the big portable one. This way also saves money it would cost to heat a greenhouse.

That is a good idea.

[phylm]

I never would have thought you could still be eating tomatoes now. Were the tomatoes dark green when you wrapped them? I will try it next year. We have winter squash and apples left (in a cold spot) but tomatoes sure sound good.
We used to pull up our tomato plants, with the green and part-ripe tomatoes on them, and hang them upside down in our cellar when hard frosts threatened in Vermont. The tomatoes ripened slowly...faster if we took some up and placed them on a sunny windowsill. Still had tomatoes at Christmas time. Also, we pulled up cabbages and hung them the same way. The cellar didn't freeze, but was quite cool.

If you have room--in a cool room--where you can place newspaper between layers of green tomatoes, they will keep quite well.

[Noahs ARK]

I never would have thought you could still be eating tomatoes now. Were the tomatoes dark green when you wrapped them? I will try it next year. We have winter squash and apples left (in a cold spot) but tomatoes sure sound good.

I keep tomatoes in my crawlspace. I buy a bushel of green tomatoes from the farmer's market right before they close in November and either wrap or layer them in newspaper.

I only have about a dozen left and they need to be used up soon. :sad:

[signseeker]

Alright, I guess tomatoes is the main thing. A root cellar would be cool! Maybe even cooler than a greenhouse... :smile (3): Except the spiders. :huh:

Anyone have a root cellar?

[Highlandsunrise]

When we tried pulling up the tomatoe plants, I hung them in the garage, I think it was too dry and the later ones just dried up and I had dirt and leaves everywhere. We have a cement "root cellar closet". (I hate the spiders) I will try them in there.
I didn't know you could buy green tomatoes at the farmers market. I made a batch of green tomatoe mince meat and ripened the rest on the window sill.

When you started talking about this stuff I remembered that I haven't eaten any apples or squash for a while. I got some out. Out of sight out of mind. Part of producing food is remembering to eat it.

[Noahs ARK]

I didn't know you could buy green tomatoes at the farmers market.

Yes - we can buy 1/2 bushels or full bushels. Lots of people make pickled green tomatoes here. I love them, but haven't made them yet cuz I can buy a pint jar for $3 at the farmer's market. Hubby won't touch them, so a jar every so often is enough for me.

Our farmer's market grows their tomatoes right on their own land. When it starts getting a little cool, they pick all the green ones and sell them really cheap!

[Highlandsunrise]

We used to make pickled vegetables with what was left from the garden. The green cherry tomatoes tasted better than anything else in there. I had forgotten that. DH likes it flamin' hot with a pepper in each bottle. The longer it sits the hotter it gets. I'll have to do that this year.

[Noahs ARK]

We used to make pickled vegetables with what was left from the garden. The green cherry tomatoes tasted better than anything else in there. I had forgotten that. DH likes it flamin' hot with a pepper in each bottle. The longer it sits the hotter it gets. I'll have to do that this year.

Sounds good - when you get ready to make these, will you please share your recipe with me?

In the meatime, I think I'll put a cayenne pepper in my jar of picked green tomatoes!! I love HOT.

[mgriffith]

What I have started to concentrate on is vegetables that can be dried for use later. I figure that if times get tough (no electric, etc), you can still dry vegetables on screens in the sun. Storing them is easy, and they can be reused later.

I have some peach and apple trees as those can be dried easily, and they are great in breads. I also grow a lot of broccoli which dries easily and is great when thrown in to a stew pot. I'm looking for other ideas in this area.

This year I'm going to try some dent corn and then grind it into corn meal and see how much I get from my small garden so I'll know how much to plant if it becomes necessary.

The only problem with this type of experimenting is you only get once a year to try something. Very frustrating. It has taken me 12 years to learn some things and I'm just now getting to the point where I feel I could feed my family on what I can grow. Well, not completely, but a good supplement to our diet.

Mark

[signseeker]

Drying is a great idea! I'm going to start drying this summer, too. I'm going to try having veggies dried (onions, peppers, carrots, celery) ready for soups and potatoes and whatever else... I'm not a huge fan of dried fruit... I don't like chewy stuff so much... don't like carmel. Anyhoo- I agree drying is a great way to preserve food and with our dry hot summers, we should take advantage of it.

Do you just store the dried veggies in mason jars, or what?

We found some dried cherries in my in-laws' house from 1946!! Yow!

[Earthling]

I never would have thought you could still be eating tomatoes now. Were the tomatoes dark green when you wrapped them?

They were just medium green. I think the ones that have gone bad were the riper ones with some color. These have held up better than the plant we brought in the garage and left the tomatoes on. We are storing the tomatoes in the garage which is very cool this time of year and dark.

It was kind of fun taking a stack of newspapers out and "wrapping" each tomato.

[Julie]

The best web site for dehydrating food is http://www.dehydrate2store.com/
Click on the video tab at the top and she shows you how she does everything.

[mgriffith]

The best web site for dehydrating food is http://www.dehydrate2store.com/
Click on the video tab at the top and she shows you how she does everything.


Great site! Thanks for the tip.

Mark

[Noahs ARK]

Drying is a great idea! I'm going to start drying this summer, too. I'm going to try having veggies dried (onions, peppers, carrots, celery) ready for soups and potatoes and whatever else... I'm not a huge fan of dried fruit... I don't like chewy stuff so much... don't like carmel. Anyhoo- I agree drying is a great way to preserve food and with our dry hot summers, we should take advantage of it.

Do you just store the dried veggies in mason jars, or what?

We found some dried cherries in my in-laws' house from 1946!! Yow!

I've been dehydrating fruits and veggies for over 20 years. I have a dehydrator, but have also used my oven and the sun.

Onions - do outside! The smell will permeate your entire house.
Peppers - they dry beautifully
Carrots - they dry nicely, but are difficult to rehydrate
Celery - Easy peasy!

Zucchini, crookneck squash, strawberries, blueberries, spinach (turns into flakes), tomatoes (turns into flakes if cut thin and turned into a powder), sunflower seeds, figs, rhubarb, etc. I've dried all of these.

Don't forget fruit rolls! Puree the fruit, spread out on plastic wrap or waxed paper and let it dry. Then roll it up and store in an airtight container.

I use a small seal-a-meal, but need to buy something more modern - mine is about ready for the garbage.

Some stuff just isn't worth drying - I'll never dry carrots or corn again, unless it's an absolute emergency. Then I'd dry it and grind it cuz it's just too hard to rehydrate.

I take advantage of all big sales at the grocery store, especially apples!

[signseeker]

Carrots are one of my favorite veggies. Cooked ones are just yummy. I wonder if I shred the carrots, they might rehydrate better? Or maybe just give them a half-hour headstart in some boiled water?

[prairiemom]

Yeah, I agree--dried carrots and most root crops just aren't so good. Here's a good solar dehydrator: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/6244.pdf (http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/6244.pdf)

We don't really have a root cellar, just an unfinished basement that stays about 45-50?. Not ideal temps I know, but the best I can do. We eat up the root cellared food first. That is my fondest wish--to have a root cellar. The problem is it would be major construction around here because we'd have to create a really good drain field. The cellar would have to be 4' below ground to avoid the frost line but the water table is around 3-4',
so you automatically have seepage.

I try to grow plants that will give me a balance between canned, frozen, dehydrated and root cellar.
Drying: summer squash, onions, celery, peas, Swiss Chard stems, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, berries, apples, fruit leather, herbs
Canning: beans, beets, cabbage (sauerkraut), cukes, just about any veggie for pickles/relishes, tomatoes, jams, juices, pie filling
Freezing: Brussel sprouts, Swiss Chard, snow peas, peas
Root cellar: apples, tomatoes, potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, parsnips, squash. When the stuff stored in the cellar starts to go bad then it either gets dried or frozen.

To your original question (greenhouses) I have one of those "pop up" varieties. It's 5X5 and holds three of those plastic shelving units (shown in the picture, except mine are black, about $15 each, 12 shelves total.) It cost about $150.

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/images/springhouse-clear-dd.jpg


If I have it sheltered on 2 sides (i.e. between the garage and the woods) it does OK. I still have to heat it on nights that get below 33?. But if I put blankets on top and have a small electric heater set on "low" it does just fine. Only costs a few pennies to heat for the 1 mo or so that I might need it for seed starts. I have a remote thermometer in the greenhouse so that I always know what the temp is inside it and can either turn up the heat (in early spring) or open windows (when it gets warmer.)

Here it is filled with plants. You can see the small heater in the middle and one window is open in the back (the days were warm but nights still a little too cool):

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs016.snc1/4220_107105811279_546991279_3135364_6854022_n.jpg

[signseeker]

So it sounds like most people use their greenhouses early in the season, rather than for prolonging the season?

[Noahs ARK]

Carrots are one of my favorite veggies. Cooked ones are just yummy. I wonder if I shred the carrots, they might rehydrate better? Or maybe just give them a half-hour headstart in some boiled water?

Carrots are my favorite vegetable - I could eat them every day.

I've tried just about every way possible to get SLICED carrots to rehydrate better and they still stay hard at the core.

You may be on to something with shredding them, tho! Guess I'll add that to my "Experiment" list.

I'm thinking about making a shredded carrot & raisin salad now!! :rolleyes5:

[phylm]

Sunseeker--We dehydrated more than 7 bushels of green beans a couple of years ago. Needless to say, I still have some left, doing very well in mayo jars, and used #10 cans. No seal, no oxy pacs. This year, I canned about 100 jars, instead. Also have a lot of other vegetables that we dry: summer squash, zucchini, red and green peppers, radishes, snowpeas,and cucumbers that I use in stir-fry, as well as corn, onions, carrots, broccoli, spinach, and more. Also some berries and fruit leather. If the food is really dry, there doesn't seem to be any problem in its keeping in unsealed jars. If you have access to a vacuum sealer machine, that would be a good guarantee. Good luck.

[Noahs ARK]

You don't have any trouble with your carrots and corn rehydrating?

[prairiemom]

The carrots (all root crops) are better if you blanch them before dehydrating. But I still find them a little rubbery.

If you live in the arid west, storing in a jar shouldn't be a problem. But with our humidity here we have to vacuum seal everything.

[Highlandsunrise]

Great information, thank you. I put some of the carrots I dried last year in some soup, cooked it and cooked it and finally picked them out because they stayed so hard and didn't taste good. As long as carrots keep in the fridge, with a Spring crop and a Fall crop you could have fresh carrots most of the year.

[signseeker]

Sunseeker--

Who the heck is sunseeker? Are you talking to me? :001_sconfused:

Cuz I love you and you don't even know my name?? :d0 (8):