overwintering Possibly bonehead overwintering system.

venturasurf

venturasurf

Hello everyone! Thank you for all of the great help on this forum, I read it all the time but this is the first time I've decided to post anything. I had an idea and wanted to run it past you guys.
 
I'm in zone 10b, so I don't think it ever gets below 30-35 degrees. If it does, it's usually during the night in Jan-Feb. I have approx 35 different superhots in 7 gallon grow bags that I hope to keep for several years. Building a greenhouse would be difficult for me practically and logistically, but is a possibility. I don't have room to bring 35 plants into the house.
 
During my research it appeared to me that the primary need for warmth is in the root system. My idea is to place an insulating mulch on the plants and then to wrap each container with a soil warming cable or one of those 200 foot de-icer cables and throw a soil thermometer in each container to make sure it's staying above 50 degrees. I would then wrap an insulating pad around the containers overtop of the wire wrap to keep it cozy, maybe some of that water heater insulation with the mylar sides and fiberglass filling. I'd then connect it to an outdoor thermostatic relay that kicks on the warming cable once the outdoor temp falls below 40-45ish.
 
Am I doing something idiotic or am I on to a viable solution for my situation? What ideas/input/adjustments/criticism to you guys have for me?
Thanks in advance for your help.
 
:welcome:  from Ohio! I'm sure growers in your area could offer more help than I could. See what they do and what works for them.
 
Thanks for the welcome meinchoh! Do you overwinter there in Ohio?
 
theghostpepperstore, I thought of throwing together something like that held up with 1" grey PVC conduit - I don't get any wind at all where they are at so I just need to keep them cozy. I think I would still need to warm them though even in the greenhouse, right?
 
If you are going to use PVC, go with 1.5", doesn't have to be Sched 80 (gray) you can use Sched 40 (white). That extra half inch really makes a big difference in stiffness, but as a tradeoff, it might be harder to get the 1.5" elbows.
 
I made a PVC greenhouse a few years back with 6 mil plastic, I was able to extend my season into Dec. If I remember correctly, it was good down to about 25 degrees with no added heat.
 
If you have the inclination to add heat, I would think warming cables would do just fine. Heck, someone around here in a similar zone managed to get by all winter using christmas lights for heating.
 
When my dad lived in ny he used to put rocks just under the soil. They would absorb heat in the day and hold it into the night. I never tried it though.
Gave my dad a call he said he used basalt? Rocks. He said it is the talus garland effect. They have been using it for years.
 
I use a propane tank with one of those mesh heaters inside the cover of 6 mil. Just lite it if temp is going to low.
 
I would recommend going for 8MM Lexan your Greenhouse will not be that large and you will get up to 15 years out of quality lexan. Get some weed control fabric plant around it to keep bugs away look at automatic vent arms for the spring and drip irrigation to automate your watering.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I ended up building the greenhouse this weekend. I could not afford the 8 mil lexan stuff, it was pretty damned expensive. I ended up going with 6 mil clear UV poly. I built the greenhouse as an "addition" to the side of the house - basically I built 3 walls and a roof and used the side of the house as a 4th wall. Both of my house bathroom windows now open up out into the greenhouse. It's pretty cool, you can shower with the window open now and all you see is plants, not a nosy neighbor peeping in. It ended up being 200 square feet, and the shortest wall is 7 feet. I built the frame for it out of 1/2" steel conduit.
 
The cool thing about this is I can open up the bathroom windows into the greenhouse during the cold winter nights and let the house heat seep out into the greenhouse. I found a 5,000btu outdoor greenhouse heater as well to supplement if it gets very cold, but my area doesn't even really fall below 30 degrees ever.
 
My problem now is the summer heat and ventillation, which shouldn't be too difficult to solve. Yesterday the greenhouse got into the low 90's with 90% humidity and it was maybe 75 degrees outside. The pepper plants were like WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO US, HUMAN? Whiny plants, ingrates. There are plants freezing in Siberia.
 
Thanks again for the help guys, I think I have a viable 12-month pepper growing system now.
 
EDIT: Here's a picture of the inside.
uBAFAtQ.jpg
 
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