A modern summer resident is no longer just the owner of a plot on which he grows vegetables for personal consumption, but a real farmer on a scale of 6 acres of land. Many homeowners have appreciated the profitability of greenhouses, especially those made of polycarbonate.
Growing vegetables for sale during the period when they have the best price is the reality of today's summer residents. To get a really big harvest all year round, there is nothing better than a heated greenhouse. The choice of heating method depends on the material from which it is made and its location.
Heated greenhouse benefits
Many gardeners come to the conclusion that it is better to invest time and money once in order to receive a year-round income than to depend on changeable nature and a short warm period for planting and harvesting. The only question they face is what is more profitable to heat the greenhouse?
To answer it, you need to analyze what kind of greenhouse will be the best for work at any time of the year.
- Firstly, you should consider what the frame will be made of - a cheaper option made of woodwill last only a few years, even if it is covered with special protective equipment. It is also less stable, which should be taken into account in areas where strong winter winds blow. A metal frame is more expensive, but it does not wear out, and it does not care about the breath of any force.
- Second, covering the greenhouse. An increasing number of gardeners prefer polycarbonate, as it is lightweight, durable, transmits sunlight well, is easy to install and affordable. Glass, although the best conductor of light, is more expensive and unreliable in places where there is a lot of snow. The film for the winter greenhouse is not suitable at all.
- Third, consider what to grow in a heated greenhouse. Crops like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers need one temperature and humidity, while greens need another.
Before choosing a heating method, you need to think about the place. Today, many summer residents prefer to put greenhouses close to the wall of the house in order to use less energy to heat it in winter. This is beneficial not only because the heated wall will save costs, but also because heating can be carried out directly from the house to the greenhouse.
There are several ways to heat the "roofed garden", each of which has its pros and cons.
Natural "heating"
Such heating directly depends on the quality of the greenhouse cover and the number of sunny days in winter. The more transparent the materials from which the roof and walls of the room are made, the higher the greenhouse effect,which is created in it, which means that both the soil and the air heat up.
Such a heated greenhouse is not suitable for year-round operation in regions with snowy and cold winters, even if it is made of polycarbonate. Depending on what is grown in it, the air temperature should be from +17 to +25 degrees during the day and from +9 to +18 at night. It is difficult to maintain heat at the proper level in such a room, therefore, when the question is raised, what is the best way to heat a polycarbonate greenhouse, many summer residents prefer a mixed or technical type of heating. Solar energy is suitable for growing vegetables in greenhouses from March to autumn.
Air heating
Portable electric fan heaters are gaining more and more popularity among summer residents. Their main advantage is:
- affordable price;
- possibility of installation in any part of the room;
- not only produce heated air, but also distribute it throughout the room;
- allows you to regulate the internal temperature in the greenhouse with a built-in thermostat;
- evenly distribute warm air over the entire area;
- do not allow moisture to settle on the walls and roof of the room.
This unit has minor disadvantages such as uneven distribution of warm air, so it is recommended to use multiple units. It is important that the plants do not get under the stream of hot air, so it is better to install them under the racks.at different ends of the room.
Also, with this method of heating, it is necessary to monitor the humidity, since hot air creates a dry microclimate, which not all cultures like. A greenhouse heated in this way is suitable even for a winter type if additional lighting is installed in it.
Cable heating
For those business executives who prefer to do it once, and then only manage the process, cable heating is suitable. Among its benefits:
- low cost cabling;
- economical operation;
- easy controls;
- automatic temperature control;
- even distribution of heat.
To lay the cable you will need:
- removing the soil and covering the surface of the greenhouse with a layer of sand;
- laying thermal insulation material to keep heat inside the system;
- distribution of the cable over the entire surface according to the "snake" principle at a distance of up to 15 cm between turns;
- to protect the cable from damage, either an asbestos-cement perforated sheet or a metal mesh with small cells is laid on it;
- fill everything with fertile soil with a layer of at least 40 cm.
For thermal insulation, durable materials that do not absorb moisture, such as polyethylene foam or expanded polystyrene, are most often used. A bottom-heated greenhouse allows for a variety oftemperature regime suitable for a particular vegetable crop at different stages of its growth. It is an energy-saving and long-lasting greenhouse heating method that ensures high yields all year round.
Infrared heating
Due to the rise in the cost of energy, many summer residents are wondering how to heat a polycarbonate greenhouse inexpensively. They are moving away from electric heaters in favor of low power infrared lamps, which have the following advantages:
- provide seed germination up to 40%;
- the heat coming from such a heater spreads to the soil or plants, which allows you to create different climatic zones in one greenhouse;
- the soil heats up and releases heat into the air;
- easy installation anywhere in the room;
- 40% to 60% energy savings;
- built-in regulator allows you to create the temperature required for each specific crop;
- minimum service life is 10 years.
Such lamps do not shine, but only warm the room, which makes them cheaper than other electric heaters. For maximum effect, staggered installation is recommended to avoid cold spots.
Water heating
Most old-fashioned greenhouses are heated in this way. The use of pipes with water heated by a boiler is the cheapest type of heating. Most often these are boilerssolid fuels, which have a significant drawback - even with a thermostat, they cannot provide the required air temperature. Such boilers use charcoal, peat or firewood, which, when burned, heat water.
Liquid fuel systems, which are easier to set the required temperature, have become in great demand, but today they are being replaced by gas boilers. They are fully automated and do not require constant human attention - it is enough to set the required temperature. The only requirement for this type of heating is that the pipes be led outside so that the gas does not leak into the greenhouse.
If the place allows, practical owners put a greenhouse in the immediate vicinity of the wall of the house and from there lead pipes with water into it. With such heating, it is important to calculate that the boiler "pulls" the heating of both housing and greenhouses.
Stove heating
There are craftsmen whose heated greenhouse contains a solid fuel stove (peat, wood, coal), a riser and a chimney. This is one of the most economical and simple types of heating, but not the cleanest. It is important that the firebox of such a furnace "look" towards the vestibule. It is impossible to regulate the temperature in such a design, therefore it is not suitable for year-round use.
Some greenhouse owners install gas boilers, but for long-term use they are only suitable if connected to a common gas system, otherwise an additional tank will be required. Because this type of heatingrequires constant human control, stove heating is becoming obsolete, and it has been replaced by unusual greenhouses heated with biogas.
Biofuels
When urgent heating of the greenhouse is required or for a time until natural warming occurs, it is beneficial to use such an improvised tool as biofuel. It is easy to cook it yourself, knowing exactly how long this method should “work” and with what ingredients:
- so cow dung will raise the temperature from 12 to 20 degrees for about 100 days;
- horse - by +32-38 for 70-90 days;
- pork manure - 16 degrees up to 70 days;
- sawdust will warm up to +20 for two weeks;
- rotted bark will provide a uniform soil temperature of 20-25 degrees for 120 days.
Ingredients can only be combined in the ratio:
- manure with straw;
- sawdust with bark;
- sawdust with manure and bark.
When using this type of greenhouse heating, it should be borne in mind that the room must be well ventilated and have a humidity of 65-70%. For a quick effect, you can add nitrogen fertilizers and water the soil with hot water.
Solar oven
Some craftsmen have learned to use the laws of physics and what nature gives for free. They put containers inside the greenhouse at the level of the roof, in which stones are placed. During the day, the sun's rays, penetrating into the room through the transparent walls and roof, heat the soil, warm air rises and, in turn, heats the stones. As night falls they begingive the temperature received for the day back.
It is important for a summer resident not only to know how to heat, but also what to grow in a heated greenhouse. Thanks to breeders, there are varieties, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, that bear fruit all year round.
Tomatoes in a heated room
Planting and growing tomatoes in heated greenhouses depends on lighting. If it is natural, then sowing seeds should occur in January. If there is additional lighting, they are sown at the end of September so that strong seedlings have already sprouted in a couple of weeks.
For better and faster growth, plants in such a greenhouse can be watered with warm water with the addition of mineral fertilizers.
Cucumbers in heated greenhouse
Growing cucumbers in a heated greenhouse should begin with the choice of variety. For this, frost-resistant and shade-loving hybrids that are resistant to diseases are better suited. For faster growth of cucumbers, they must be watered with warm water and fed every 10 days with mineral fertilizers or chicken manure at the rate of 1 part to 15 parts of water.
