My greenhouse/hoophouse is 20’ by 10’. I have 3 cattle feed troughs inside and they take up (with space between) about 1/2 the interior on the floor. I want to make the environment more self sustaining. Like no need for a ton of crop rotation as the plants produce year round. Self fertilizing and pollinating.
I’ve had to do all my polination by hand using my finger tapping flowers and massaging them. It’s worked out okay, but it’s a lot of effort. I want to introduce some kinda insect to pollinate them for me. Like solitary bees or something.
I want decomposers like worms. I think all my night crawlers died from the soil getting to warm but idk. I haven’t noticed any castings but also each container is 5’2’ so I could miss it. I want to also get isopods in there to break down the soil and cuttings.
Another decomposer I want is mushrooms as they’re edible and do the job I need. I am thinking g about Wine caps and just inoculating the ground and containers as well to produce mushrooms for consumption and as another low maintenance food source.
I am not opposed to having smaller animals that could live inside and feed off of insects to also become food, but I feel that 200sq’ isn’t enough for that sadly unless it was rabbits or like 2 chickens.
The inside of the greenhouse reaches an average temperature of 110° with humidity exceeding what’s probably healthy. I have water the condenses and runs down the sides of the greenhouse especially the days following a watering.
I want to grow vining tomatoes inside to make use of the air space inside, as well as significantly more food plants and want to avoid plants that just take up space like flowers unless they edible flowers or ground covers that can be stepped on. I also want the temperature inside to be slightly reduced by plants and allowing the greenhouse to remain sealed except for when I am entering or exiting.
If anyone has suggestions on how to get this to become a reality, that would great!! I also plant to get something like a box fan placed inside for air circulation. Right now there is none.
The current plants are tomatoes, several basil varieties, raspberry, spearmint, green lettuce, red wavy lettuce (going to seed now), an apple tree sapling (I eventually want a fruiting tree inside as well. Not apple though) I just planted grocery store green onions, 3 pepper varieties but the plants have remained super tiny, several carrot varieties and chives.
by Shilo1010
2 Comments
Honestly couldn’t get through all your wants and needs above but if you have an inexpensive greenhouse your first step is upgrading the structure. Right now, you have a big plastic bag in your back yard. that bag has nothing sealing it so anything you establish inside like pollinators or other bugs, will eventually leave. Not to mention, depending on your climate, the greenhouse will get cold without a heat source (or thermal mass) inside. I’d suggest building some kind of short walls (maybe cinder block or wood if you prefer) you can mount the green house to, so you can better insulate and seal.
From there, nematodes are a great pest control option you can establish early in the growing season that should last all year at least, sometimes beyond if you have the right climate. Also lady bugs, mantis and other carnivorous insects can be introduced to the green house to keep aphids and other pests down. If there is a comfortable enough environment, those insects may stick around for a while.
Moisture will be your enemy, especially with tomatoes, so air flow is key. I fought my whole first year with powdery mildew because I didn’t vent the greenhouse enough. Don’t be afraid to open the windows and doors on hot days, it will bring in pollinators and prevent your plants from over heating. I’ve even put shade cloth on the outside of the greenhouse on VERY hot days to give them some respite.
Hope this helps!
What garden zone are you in and do you honestly expect to grow year round in containers without any insulation. Your skipping several steps here, let us save your time/money, lower your goals and be realistic. Heating this structure in the winter will cost more than you’re willing to spend.