Growing Tomatoes in a Heated GH

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Mine would cook even in the winter I would at least have to have pusher puller fans.
Worth

worth... there are aircontioned greenhouses. we couple put in a "swamp" cooler to cool it off in the Summer but we don't. the neighbors do and I worked in a greenhouse that had an entire end wall that was swamp cooler. it felt awesome at that end of the greenhouse but you sure didn't notice it at the other end as much.

Hudson, Thanks for this great thread. I love seeing your setup and hearing things I have never heard of such as the sulfur vaporizer. what a fabulous idea. the screened greenhouse is not new to me. the larger greenhouses that grow for food production are totally screened and have two entranced to get in the first one is a downdraft blower door in a separate room before you can enter into the next door to get in the greenhouse.( at least they have the option as the Crop King buildings are built that way where they grow food crops here in Lodi, OH) Your stuff looks fabulous. Do you sell to grow or just for you? I don't recall seeing that anywhere? I could have easily missed it though. there are so many threads to keep up with on here and I know I can't read them all... (and some get a bit cantankerous and I quit asking or reading).
I saw a seed pack that said BrandyBoyf2 are you growing them out this year or did you start that project earlier? are they edible or very similar what have you gotten so far from the project if I may ask?

[Worth1]

I'm about ready to turn my two raised beds into greenhouses.
I also need to add more soil.
Before I do I am going to run water lines in the soil to circulate water for cooling and heating.
Worth

[Nematode]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I'm about ready to turn my two raised beds into greenhouses.
I also need to add more soil.
Before I do I am going to run water lines in the soil to circulate water for cooling and heating.
Worth

Water heating of the soil is an excellent idea. Careful when you dig tho.

[Hudson_WY]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

worth... there are aircontioned greenhouses. we couple put in a "swamp" cooler to cool it off in the Summer but we don't. the neighbors do and I worked in a greenhouse that had an entire end wall that was swamp cooler. it felt awesome at that end of the greenhouse but you sure didn't notice it at the other end as much.

Hudson, Thanks for this great thread. I love seeing your setup and hearing things I have never heard of such as the sulfur vaporizer. what a fabulous idea. the screened greenhouse is not new to me. the larger greenhouses that grow for food production are totally screened and have two entranced to get in the first one is a downdraft blower door in a separate room before you can enter into the next door to get in the greenhouse.( at least they have the option as the Crop King buildings are built that way where they grow food crops here in Lodi, OH) Your stuff looks fabulous. Do you sell to grow or just for you? I don't recall seeing that anywhere? I could have easily missed it though. there are so many threads to keep up with on here and I know I can't read them all... (and some get a bit cantankerous and I quit asking or reading).
I saw a seed pack that said BrandyBoyf2 are you growing them out this year or did you start that project earlier? are they edible or very similar what have you gotten so far from the project if I may ask?

clKeiper - thanks for your comments! We do not sell our produce but we do share with neighbors and family. We do not want to sell our produce but have a desire to be as successful as we can! Yes - we did plant our Brandy Boy F2. The plant is doing well and I can't see any difference in the plant or the fruit when compared to the Brandy Boy F1 at this point. We are several weeks away from a ripe fruit but I will share the results on the Brandy Boy thread.

[clkeiper]

very interesting. good to know. I f I have any pop up in the greenhouse where I grew them last year I will be sure to save them and try them.

[BigVanVader]

Wow! I just found this thread. Extremely beautiful design and function to match. If I am reborn as a tomato plant I hope I get to grow in your GH. Seriously, I will probably be a Neves Azorean Red just fyi since my last name is Neves and I'm red headed.. Please do continue posting pictures of the inside. It is food for thought and wine for the imagination.

[bower]

@ Carmen cucumber seeds. This was some years ago, and I didn't buy more seeds because I couldn't find them at the time. But Vesey's does carry a packet of five seeds... at twice the price in Canadian dollars! Pretty much $2 a seed now.
http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/ve...carmencucumber
You are better off buying 25 seeds at that price. Can you extend cucumber seed life by keeping them refrigerated or even frozen?

[Hudson_WY]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Wow! I just found this thread. Extremely beautiful design and function to match. If I am reborn as a tomato plant I hope I get to grow in your GH. Seriously, I will probably be a Neves Azorean Red just fyi since my last name is Neves and I'm red headed.. Please do continue posting pictures of the inside. It is food for thought and wine for the imagination.

Thanks Neves!
I have a brother and a sister that have red hair - I was always jealous of their hair color growing up! I haven't grown Neves Azorean Red yet. I bought the seeds and then got side tracked with Brandywine Varieties. We do enjoy our GH!

Bower,
I have had good luck with germination of the Carmen for about 3-4 years (takes that long to use up 25 seeds) so I haven't worried about storing them in the refrigerator. Thanks for the info reference - Veseys!

[Hudson_WY]

Yeah!!! The Sun is finally heating Wyoming!!
This week is when most of the greenhouses will open in Star Valley, Wyoming.

We will rarely need to use our GH heating system now until September.

By heating our GH since March 15th (using only 100 gallons of propane) the following photos show the current status of our GH plants. We have our first ripe Carmen cucumber and our first ripe Sweet 100 Cherry tomatoes. It won't be long now until we start enjoying ripe beefsteak tomatoes!! Our tomato plants are 6-7' in height with lots of fruits and blossoms! All the plants look robust and healthy!

It is a hobby right! We don't mind spending a $150 to heat the GH a few months to enjoy an early and longer tomato season!

[Hoosier]

Hudson, how are your plants doing by September? Are they producing at the same size and rate or do they tail off?

[Hudson_WY]

The plants do slow down as they grow taller. Here is a photo on October 6th. Brandy Boy is still producing but not nearly as much as they were June - August. The tomatoes still have a good size to them. We top the plants at about 10' in height too. We let the tomato plants grow as long as they produce - usually all of the plants are pulled by the end of November.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Nematode

Water heating of the soil is an excellent idea. Careful when you dig tho.

Something I have been mulling around with for a long time, knowing soil temperature means everything.
Too hot and cold.

Worth

[Hoosier]

Originally Posted by Hudson_WY

The plants do slow down as they grow taller. Here is a photo on October 6th. Brandy Boy is still producing but not nearly as much as they were June - August. The tomatoes still have a good size to them. We top the plants at about 10' in height too. We let the tomato plants grow as long as they produce - usually all of the plants are pulled by the end of November.

Thanks Hudson, I always heard that if you could grow them without disease they would produce the same right till the end if the season. While that may be stretching it you definitely are still doing well at the end.

[Worth1]

Looks really nice.

Worth

[Hudson_WY]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Looks really nice.

Worth

Thanks Worth!