Greenhouse in a greenhouse

[svalli]

I have built a small greenhouse inside my HF10x12 greenhouse. I moved all tomatoes there about three weeks ago and they have grown a lot after getting real sun even it gets filtered by the greenhouse polycarbonate, a light weight row cover and the plastic sheet of the little greenhouse. I have a small heater in there, which have kept the temperature in the little greenhouse above 60F even when the night temperature has been below freezing outside. This week it will finally warm up enough, so I can start planting the tomatoes from milk cartons to SWCs.

[ddsack]

Svall, you really did mean a greenhouse in the greenhouse! Your plants look very nice, real sun is so much better than any lights. Looks like it was a good decision to take your HF along when you moved. Your plants are much further along than mine.

[Redbaron]

Good idea! The double insulation seems needed in Finland? Plants sure do look good. I guess chalk one up for human creativity!

[Worth1]

Way cool Svalli.

We miss seeing you around also.
Not may of us old timers around these days.

Worth

[lycomania]

Your plants look fantastic! Thanks for the pics!

[svalli]

Thanks guys! This far north growing tomatoes is a bit challenging and I wanted to extend the outdoor season without having a big heater in the greenhouse. I love my HFGH, it is much taller than the ones sold here, so there is room for that tent thing. The small greenhouse has two shelves on the sides and when I disassemble it, I will leave the shelves back to back in the middle of the big greenhouse. I can keep smaller potted plants on the shelves and if I remove the wire shelves, the frame can be used like a tomato cage.

[svalli]

We have had two days now unseasonally warm weather (today it reached 80F) and the forecast for next two weeks looks like the night time temps will also stay above 50F, so I did disassemble the small greenhouse and planted all greenhouse plants to the final locations. It was a bit of a challenge to separate the tallest tomato plants from each other, but I managed to do it just with some broken leaves. The shelves from the small greenhouse are now in the middle and are filled with potted peppers, annual flower seedlings and some supplies.

[svalli]

After a week of warmer than normal temperature we are getting arctic air an it may even snow tomorrow. Luckily I have still the small tent type greenhouse, which I have set up inside the 10'x12' greenhouse. Today the max temperature outside was just 2°C and tomorrow will be colder.

Sari

[xellos99]

I feel bad for you, i`m at N 52 and I think tomatoes and peppers are just about doable in a greenhouse here if you know what you are doing.

But N 63 is a different ball game.

[bower]

That's a beautiful setup, Sari. We had 2C yesterday and I stepped outside for "May Day" moment, oh wow the windchill or dewpoint about -7C it was really cold. And today supposedly high 4C but we had snow showers. I was on my way home from shopping, and the big flakes like chicken feathers well the good news, they all vanished and the pavement stayed dry.
We are at the same latitude as Paris France, more or less. So daylength year round is similar but alas, the resemblance ends there...

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by bower

That's a beautiful setup, Sari. We had 2C yesterday and I stepped outside for "May Day" moment, oh wow the windchill or dewpoint about -7C it was really cold. And today supposedly high 4C but we had snow showers. I was on my way home from shopping, and the big flakes like chicken feathers well the good news, they all vanished and the pavement stayed dry.
We are at the same latitude as Paris France, more or less. So daylength year round is similar but alas, the resemblance ends there...

Finland gets the gulf stream I dont think you guys do, so latitude only plays one part in many factors determining climate.
The Norse found that out the hard way when they tried to settle Greenland.

Nice setup, very creative. Kudos!

[greenthumbomaha]

Hello svalli, that is a very nice set up. I have seen a double greenhouse like that only once before. My garden center sells plants from a very big greenhouse, and a staffer built a small greenhouse inside just like yours. They did this for the extra heat needed to start hot peppers and malbar spinach plants for sale. The inner greenhouse had a table with a large professional rubber heatmat. It was very humid in there too. They only did this for the one year. I am glad I got to see it. You set up will serve you well. Your plants look very cozy and thriving. One would never know it was a photo of a cold climate this early in the season.


- Lisa

[svalli]

Luckily the arctic winds are over now and the snow also vanished quite quickly. Temperature stayed freezing whole day yesterday with high winds and snow flurries. A big pine tree fell on our house on Thursday evening and a branch made a hole on our roof. We were able to make a temporary fix there to patch it up so that snow did not get to the attic. It was not easy job to do in the high frigid wind.

There was a really great sale on small hoop house greenhouses earlier this year. I have now built it next to the 10'x12' and plan is to use it for potted dwarf tomatoes. This is not really good place for it, but I wanted to check what kind it is and what it could be used for.

I have already planted lettuce and sowed some seeds in the raised beds and have covered those with leftover pieces of the twin-wall polycarobonate from fixing the greenhouse roof. The romaine plants (Thanks to bower for the seeds! ) looked fine and some of the radish seeds had sprouted. Covering up is really great for extending the season here.

Sari

[bower]

Oh my! I'm so sorry about your house! I have trees very close to my house as well, and really want to get a professional in to remove them safely before something awful happens. They got so large that now, when the wind blows hard, they're really menacing.
Great news about the second greenhouse!


We had a beautiful day today, I think it was over 10 C here and at least I got to spend the afternoon out pulling a few early weeds (grass!) and cleaning up.