Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mini greenhouse version 1.2

It gives me great pleasure to announce the release of the mini greenhouse version 1.2. Our technical team has been working hard since the first release, and all the glitches experienced with version 1.0 have now been resolved.


I was pleasantly surprised today when I stuck the thermometer inside the mini greenhouse to discover it had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. Granted 18 is quite a mild winters day, but it does look like the mini greenhouse is doing what it is meant to, turning winter in to summer. So what is new in version 1.2? you ask.


You may remember this photo, with the cover crumpled on the ground after being blown off from the wind. Yolli from Fairy Castle Farm made the suggestion that I could have another set of fasteners that could be used when the weather was looking like it may become a bit wild. So thanks to Yolli's comment that is exactly what I did.


Again utilising a pair of rubber band and paper clip the front is now pulled taught. What was going to be something only used occasionally when the weather got bad, turned out to be so easy to unclip for daily watering that it has became a permanent fastener.


As usual when I went to the hardware store to buy the plastic I ASSUMED I would know what size I needed without measuring. So as you can see the plastic was not long enough to fully come down over the sides. I was hoping that the sides being open wouldn't matter, but it did. A greenhouse works by warming the air inside, so with even just a slight breeze the hot air is extracted away.


My plan was to go and purchase a complete new piece of plastic, measured to size this time of course, except the day was running behind and a trip to the hardware store was only going to result in more delay and frustration. So with little time and only limited resources on hand I was forced to improvise, in true MacGyver style, using nothing more than common house hold sticky tape. And it worked a charm.


Prior to making the clear plastic cover I also added a black plastic liner to prevent the items stored on the bottom shelf from getting wet. As you can see the testing team are hard at work insuring my work meets quality standards.


I do hope the seedlings we are about to start raising like it humid. Hay are those snail trails?

7 comments:

  1. That's fantastic, Jason! It's amazing that you got the temp up so high, your seedlings should take off now! We're less resourceful and have defaulted to the heated seedling tray - have to say though, it's working quite well.

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    1. I am please to hear your heated tray is working well. Are you just using it to get the seedlings started then up planting into larger pots?

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  2. Very clever!
    I'm fairly new to my little greenhouse and it is so humid too. I'm thinking of starting some tomato seeds but wasn't sure whether to put them inside or in the greenhouse. I think I'll risk it in the greenhouse.

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    1. I am going to put tomato in the greenhouse too. Should be ok, I think most summer vegetables do well in the tropics. We can share experiences.

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  3. Looks great and the temperature difference is amazing. I'll definitely be giving this a go.

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    1. Yes, the temperature difference is amazing, I hope not too amazing. Imagine it in summer. Wonderful to hear my post has stirred some inspiration. Let me know how you go.

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  4. I put a remote temperature sensor in the wheeled greenhouse that I built, and can monitor the temperature from my house. Before any plants were put in this year the door was kept shut and on one sunny cold day it reached 110 F (43 C) inside, so I know that I can't leave the door shut unless absolutely sure that it will be an overcast day. It's better to leave them some ventilation than take a chance on burning the plants up. An automatic temperature activated door opener would be nice, if it worked.

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