Loading…
15
My old greenhouse heater gave up the ghost during that cold snap in February
It was one of those cheap plastic ones I bought maybe eight years ago. I had it set up for my overwintering succulents and some young citrus trees. Woke up one morning and the whole thing was just dead, no lights, no hum, nothing. The temperature inside had dropped to just above freezing. I had to scramble, moving all the plants into my tiny laundry room under some grow lights for a week. It was a mess of dirt and leaves. Made me think about how I used to just trust that old gear without a backup plan. What do you all use for a reliable backup heat source in a small greenhouse setup?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
richard_ramirez5mo ago
Used to think a backup was overkill too, until I lost a whole tray of seedlings. That cold gets into everything way faster than you expect. Now I keep a simple oil-filled radiator on a separate plug just in case.
8
the_xena5mo ago
Is it really that big of a deal though? A week in the laundry room with some lights sounds like it worked fine. Most of those plants can handle a chill for a night. I've had my heater die and just threw a blanket over the shelf for a night, everything was fine. Sometimes we overthink this stuff.
3
avery_nelson4mo ago
Funny thing about blankets on shelves, I tried that once when a cold snap caught me off guard. Ended up with a bunch of damp soil and mold on the leaves cause the blanket trapped all the moisture. Had to trash a whole tray of tomatoes. Guess it depends on what you're growing and how drafty the place is.
3