“Passive solar greenhouses extend the growing season and allow plant production year-round,” Lawman said.

Temperatures inside an experimental passive solar greenhouse at BREC did not fall below freezing during the past two winters, Lawman said, while daytime temperatures have reached into the 80s. There is a similar greenhouse at the MU Southwest Center in Mt. Vernon.

The greenhouses measure 24 feet long, 12 feet wide and 12 feet high. The 2-1-1 ratio is important for such greenhouses to be effective.

“It allows adequate surface area for sunlight and minimal inside area to lessen heat dissipation during dark hours,” Lawman said.

To capture as much sunlight as possible, the greenhouse has an east-west orientation, with a sloped south-facing wall. Geographic latitude determines the ideal slope angle; for central Missouri, the south-wall glazing should be about 45 degrees. The sloped wall consists of two layers of clear plastic spaced 6 inches apart. A small inflator fan pushes air between the sheets, creating a zone of dead air that serves as additional insulation.

The other walls contain fiberglass insulation sandwiched between metal siding on the outside and particleboard on the inside. The white, waterproof particleboard reflects heat into the barrels.

To extend the growing season, the greenhouse needs 2.5 gallons of water per square foot of glazing, Lawman said. For all-season growing, the requirement is 5 gallons per square foot. Thermostat-controlled shutters and exhaust fans remove excess heat as needed.

The greenhouse at BREC cost about $3,000 to build. “If you can build a shed, you can build one of these greenhouses,” Lawman said.

Throughout winter, growers can produce cold-season crops such as lettuce, carrots and strawberries. Some plants can be started from seedlings, he said. Construction details and photographs are online at http://aes.missouri.edu/bradford/education/solar-greenhouse/solar-greenhouse.php.

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Original article link: http://media-newswire.com/release_1068542.html
How to build your own passive solar heated greenhouse http://aes.missouri.edu/bradford/education/solar-greenhouse/solar-greenhouse.php

Insulated Greenhouse Covering

Cool Fog Systems or Evaporative Coolers

One way to cool your greenhouse is to install a cool fog system. A cool fog system forces miniature droplets of water into the air of the greenhouse. This mist does not saturate the foliage of the plants because the droplets are too small and evaporate in the air. This process of condensation creates a lowered air temperature in the greenhouse. Another helpful tool to keep your greenhouse cool is an evaporative cooler.

Keeping the Greenhouse Cool in Summer: Ventilation

One of the simplest ways of cooling the greenhouse is to use a system of vents and exhaust fans. Vents placed near the roof of the greenhouse allow hot air to escape the greenhouse as it rises. This creates air movement in the greenhouse that pulls fresh air from outside the greenhouse inside through air vents open near the bottom of the greenhouse walls. Ventilation shafts placed in this manner create a constant flow of fresh air from the outside of the greenhouse. Usually, the ventilation openings are louvered to allow the gardener to open and close the vents to control the temperature inside the greenhouse.

Keeping the Greenhouse Cool: Shading

Another simple way to help control the air temperature inside the greenhouse during summer is shading. A retractable shading system is by far the most convenient. Blocking the sun’s rays from entering the greenhouse during peak temperatures can save the gardener money in active cooling costs.

Keeping the Greenhouse Cool in the Dog Days of Summer: Circulation Fans

Fans are a staple in nearly every greenhouse. Fans are used to help with pollination, circulate air, and help control the air temperature of the greenhouse. Ventilation fans should be placed no farther apart than 25 feet. If a greenhouse measures 25 feet in length or more, two fans are needed and should be spaced evenly in the greenhouse to provide proper ventilation.

Keeping the Greenhouse Cool in the Dog Days of Summer: Fan and Pad Systems

The fan and pad method of greenhouse cooling involves using a special pad placed at one end of the greenhouse. This special cellulose pads are fed a constant supply of water. Strategically placed fans draw air in through the pads, creating an evaporating effect as the water cools. This is the most common type of cooling system used in commercial greenhouses.

Keeping the greenhouse cool in the dog days of summer helps plants continue growing for optimal crop yields. Today’s greenhouse gardener has many choices when selecting a method of greenhouse cooling.

Green has blossomed from a wee sprout of a vocabulary word to an impressive flowering tree of ideas. You’ve got your greenback dollars and greenhorn newcomers. There are ecological initiatives like Greenpeace supported by the political Green Party, which is fighting to stop the Greenhouse Effect. And countless writers continue to borrow the phrase “The Greening of…” from the original title of Charles Reich’s popular 1960s counterculture book, “The Greening of America.” Now we’re being told to think green, act green, buy green. Have I made my point? So go plant a garden!

 Gardening, in all shades of green, is suddenly huge. Magazine and news articles, TV gardening programs and hundreds of blogs, with headings like “You Grow, Girl!” have sprouted like corn seeds on mega doses of Miracle Gro. Take a fresh look around at local gardens, neighborhood yards, and balcony window boxes. After the long winter, we can feast on an amazing variety of blooms, breathe in the lush plantings, and marvel at the long lines anywhere plants or gardening supplies are sold.  

Joni Mitchell wrote, “We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.” Well, I don’t think there was much gardening going on at Woodstock but “yeah, man, grow your own, we’re ready for the country,” was definitely a mantra for the times. The more things change…

Maybe it’s the sour economy that’s driving so many of us back to nature. Or maybe it’s because gardening is a human activity that has so many great benefits. The fact is that there is a documented revival of small farms and farmer’s markets, grassroots efforts across the country to set aside land for more community gardens and lots of individuals developing their green thumbs by taking classes, buying seeds and plants, digging their own backyard garden plots.

A recent article in Business Week talks about “locavores,” local food proponents, and how they are being aided by the Government’s latest version of the Farm Bill. The article reports that $2.3 billion is being set aside for small farmers to grow specialty crops like eggplant, strawberries and salad greens, an increase from 100 million in the previous Farm Bill. The number of Farmer’s Markets around the country is up 50 percent from just five years ago. It’s extreme consumerism. More than ever we want to know where the food is coming from and we want fair prices.

Likewise, community gardens are all the rage, bringing people together in a positive way. Growing your own vegetables is a great return on your investment. City folk gardeners pay a small fee for their plots, but 10 cents spent on seeds can yield about a dollar’s worth of produce. Burpee seed packet sales are soaring and the Park Seed Company catalogue has been referred to as the gardener’s Bible.

Full article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/wilmington/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1165649657/Go-green-garden-style

For families with growing children at home, fresh produce is a necessity, not a preference, and putting a balanced meal on the table three times a day is becoming more of a challenge as the economy continues its downward spiral. The cost of food affects more than just our health and our wallets. The national poverty index is determined by multiplying the average cost of feeding a family. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the cost of feeding a low-income family of four has risen 6 percent in 12 months.  For some families, that 6 percent increase in the cost of groceries means less fruits, vegetables and dairy products consumed each week to make up the price difference.

According to a recent news report (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/31/food-price-inflation-chan_n_94283.html), the price of food is rising across the board. “Record-high energy, corn and wheat prices in the past year have led to sticker shock in the grocery aisles. At $1.32, the average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32 percent since January 2005.

In the last year alone, the average price of a carton of eggs has increased almost 50 percent. Ground beef, milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, coffee and orange juice are among the staples that cost more these days, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Overall, food prices rose nearly 5 percent in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That means a pound of coffee, on average, cost 57 cents more at year’s end than in 2006. A 12-ounce can of frozen, concentrated orange juice now averages $2.53 - a 67-cent increase in just two years.

A carton of grade A, large eggs will set you back $2.17. That’s an increase of nearly $1 since February, 2006.”

The Benefits of Greenhouse Gardening

Greenhouse gardening is a terrific way to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for your family at a fraction of the cost of purchasing those same items from a commercial retailer, like Wal Mart. Growing your own fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse also allows you to grow organically and to control what, if any, pesticides are used in growing your family’s fruits and vegetables. Greenhouse gardening produces fruits and vegetables all year-round, providing fresh, balanced nutrition for the whole family.

Greenhouse gardening is also very relaxing and fun for many gardeners. The whole family can become involved in working in the greenhouse and reap the benefits of the satisfaction of producing fruits and vegetables with your own hands. Greenhouse gardening is also an educational experience for gardeners of all ages. Adept gardeners study soil types, bacteria, chemistry, pollination, water quality, and hundreds of other scientific factors affecting crops.

Commiting to Greenhouse Gardening

Greenhouse gardening is a committment. The initial cost of obtaining a greenhouse and supplies for growing fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse may not seem like much of a savings at first, but gardening tools last for years and plants can be cultivated to produce seeds for next season’s crops.

Greenhouse gardening takes time and effort. You cannot simply go to the greenhouse when the crisper is empty and stock up on fruits and veggies like shopping at the supermarket. You must invest your time and labor into your crops every day to see results. Your local gardening extension is a fantastic resource for information on gardening in your area.

Overall, greenhouse gardening just makes good sense in today’s economy. Greenhouse gardening saves money in the long run and is beneficial to families on a budget. Anyone can begin growing fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse, even in cramped spaces with the use of tabletop or portable greenhouses. Get started with your greenhouse gardening project today to put a few more dollars back into your piggy bank.

Selecting an Area for Greenhouse Gardening

Selecting the right area of your yard to begin your greenhouse gardening greatly depends on the type of gardening you prefer. If you grow mainly houseplants or greenery, a partly shady area of the yard is best. Vegetables and fruits need more sun than foliage plants. If you plan to grow a mixture of plants or are unsure of what types of plants you will grow, you can locate your greenhouse in a sunny area and utilize sunshades to protect plants when needed. If your greenhouse will have a covering that diffuses the light, you will want to put it in the sunniest location possible regardless of what you are growing. The diffused light will be welcome by both sun and shade loving plants.

You can also situate your greenhouse to face east or west instead of north or south to take advantage of more light. You will want to position your greenhouse in close proximity to utilities such as electricity and water.

Choosing a Greenhouse Materials

Selecting a type of greenhouse depends largely on your budget and the space available. Smaller, portable greenhouses are fairly inexpensive, and custom-built greenhouses that attach to your home can be quite pricey. Special greenhouses are also available that allow you to start plants in your kitchen window or basement. Greenhouse gardening can be adapted to fit any lifestyle and budget. Hobby greenhouses are available in various sizes and materials to suit the needs of every gardener.

You can also choose from a wood frame, PVC frame or an aluminum greenhouse frame. The best choice for your plants is the PVC greenhouse frame or for better strength, a white composite frame. They provide the least amount of heat loss, do not rust or rot, and reflect white light back to your plants (where some frames actually rob light from your plants). Wood is more aesthetically pleasing, but aluminum is more durable and nearly maintenance free.

The foundation for your greenhouse can be constructed of timber, steel beams, concrete block, brick, or a concrete slab. These construction materials vary greatly in price and your budget may be the main deciding factor in selecting a foundation. Some gardeners choose a concrete slab to act as a foundation and flooring in one for their greenhouse. This simplifies construction in many cases. Others opt for a more natural flooring by adding a landscaping screen to keep out weeds and accenting with a brick walkway or stone pavers. Even a simple gravel flooring is sufficient for use in a greenhouse.

There are many greenhouse covering options. Each covering has its advantages and disadvantages. Consider now much maintenance the material will require, how durable it is against wind and hail, and ideally try to get the best R factor (insulation factor) and the material that will provide the most diffuse light.

Other Greenhouse Gardening Considerations

When beginning greenhouse gardening, you will also need to consider where you will get your heat, ventilation, water, and electricity. Specialized greenhouse systems can help you provide these greenhouse gardening essentials, or you can provide them individually as you see fit.

Beginning a greenhouse gardening project is easier once you decide on the basics of your greenhouse project and gather the essential greenhouse gardening supplies. Making the right decisions now will assure that you will spend your time working in your greenhouse and avoid spending time maintaining your greenhouse structure. So get ready to grab some pots, soil and seeds and start enjoying your new greenhouse!

Gas and food prices are sky-high and according to the USDA, food prices are expected to go up 6 percent this year.

Those high prices may be creating thousands of new gardeners.

The Burpee seed company has sold twice as many seeds this year than last. The company said half of the increase is from new customers.

Joan Brenckle, owner of Brenckle’s Farm and Greenhouse, said she’s seeing more first-time gardeners this year than ever before. Brenckle said, “They want to grow it instead of paying the high prices at the grocery store.”

Read the full article http://www.wpxi.com/consumer/16559489/detail.html

Food gardens a growing trend
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 06/11/2008 06:09:20 AM MDT

Seed sales are way up. Community gardens are long sold out. Calls for help to convert suburban lawns to lush raised vegetable beds are coming in to extension agents fast and furious.

Folks worried about rising food and fuel prices, and concerned about how and where their fruits and veggies are grown, are investing heavily in home-grown produce.

Soil, it seems, is the new oil.

“I’m not a psychologist, but when times are tough — like the mortgage crisis, the financial crisis and the energy crisis — people tend to think a little bit more about covering their bases and being self-sufficient where they can,” says Jim Dyer, who serves on the board of the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado and who gardens on

Junior master gardeners work inside the Cripple Creek community greenhouse. “This got started when a woman (from the area) called me and said, ‘People up here are trying to decide whether to eat or heat their homes,’” says Larry Stebbins, who teaches gardening to kids and adults in the greenhouse. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)a ranch west of Durango to feed his immediate and extended families.
Up in Cripple Creek, where the prices of gasoline and home-heating fuel are inching as high as the altitude and the nearest big grocery store is 25 miles away in Woodland Park, a community group commandeered an unused city greenhouse to start a garden.

“This got started when a woman (from the area) called me and said, ‘People up here are trying to decide whether to eat or heat their homes,’ ” says Larry Stebbins, who teaches gardening to kids and adults in the greenhouse.

The greenhouse plots are going fast.

Gertrud Wuellner, 41, a school bus driver, brought her four kids to a Wednesday morning class at the greenhouse because her sprouts are enthused about the garden the family started at home.

Read the full article http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_9544778 

Maintaining temperatures in the year-round greenhouse

Growing your own fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse year-round requires maintaining a favorable temperature inside the greenhouse for the plants. A “warm” greenhouse must maintain a minimum temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit (you can also grow many foods in a cool greenhouse and keep the temperature lower, click here for a list). This allows most fruits and vegetables to grow year-round. In summer months, the warm greenhouse must be cooled to maintain a temperature under 100 degrees Fahrenheit to continue growth. Any fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, stop growing once the air temperature reaches 100 degrees or higher.

Controlling the light in the year round greenhouse

Most garden-variety fruits and vegetables require a certain amount of sunlight in order to produce crops. In the winter months with shorter days, a grow light can add extra light to extend the daylight hours and help your plants grow. A grow light is also helpful on those dark dreary days when very little like makes it into the greenhouse.

In the sunny days of summer, some varieties of fruits and vegetables require a few hours of shade to provide optimal growth. It may also be necessary to shade areas of your greenhouse to help control temperatures in the dog days of summer.

Planning a seed starting schedule

When growing fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse year-round, you will need to start seeds throughout the year to provide crops year-round. Tomatoes, for example, are started from seed in early January and July to provide tomatoes in both the summer and winter months. Each growing season varies according to your geographical location and the conditions maintained inside your greenhouse. Consulting an experienced greenhouse gardener in your area or your local gardening extension office, may be necessary to help you work out a planting schedule for year-round crop production.

Pollination in the greenhouse

Growing your own fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse year-round differs from growing fruits and vegetables in a garden in many ways, and one the most obvious differences is pollination. In traditional garden growing, insects (such as bees), the wind, and heavy rainfalls pollinate fruits and vegetables. In greenhouse growing, these pollinating factors are most often absent or inadequate to provide proper pollination of plants.

To help pollinate your plants, you must watch your vegetation closely for sign of peak pollination times. For tomatoes, the leaves of the blossoms begin to curl during prime pollination time. Once tomatoes blossoms begin to curl, you generally have three days to pollinate your plants. Pollination in greenhouse tomatoes is performed by tapping the stakes used to support your mature plants.

Growing your own fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse year-round takes a little more knowledge and effort than growing fruits and vegetables only in summer, but the rewards are spectacular when you serve fresh veggies to your dinner guests in the bleak winter months. 

We began our winter gardening in an unheated greenhouse almost by accident. A small seedling (or seed) got lost under a bench, and in early January, going by chance into the ice-cold building, we found a flourishing, lush, and sizable lettuce plant growing through a clump of dry leaves. It had survived, unwatered and untended, through several months of outside freezing, in a sheltered but chill corner of a cold glassed-in building.

If this could happen, uncared for and unbeknownst, why could not more lettuces, and other plants, survive, under better conditions, still without artificial heat? We were launched on an experimental period of greenhouse building and planting that has provided us with fresh green things through thirty winters of freezing and below-zero weather.

Without question, plant germination and growth is checked by cold weather, and only certain plants can survive. Very low temperatures will kill almost any growing thing eventually. But there is a wide margin, and our experiments pointed up the plants that will not be killed by low temperatures.

Almost all of our gardening experience has been in the North Temperate Zone, taking advantage of summer sunshine when we can get it, and taking cover as cold blasts from the north and east strip the foliage from trees and crumple down green crops in the garden. One of our chief aims in gardening is to find those plants that can remain succulent and edible throughout the coldest weather.

Read the full article here http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1978-01-01/Our-Sun-Heated-Greenhouse.aspx
 

Beutler also offers some great tips for cutting flowers to prolong their staying power. For example, some flowers like daffodils have sap in them that’s actually poisonous to the cut flower, as well other flowers in the same vase. Beutler says the secret is to flush the sap out of the flowers. “You need to put them in a vase of water for 10 to 15 minutes, then take them out. The cloudy water in the vase is because of the sap. Put fresh water in the vase and soak them again, until the water is clear.”

Foliage and branches also add interest to arrangements, she says. - Witch hazel and other winter branches can be cut early in the season, brought inside, and “forced” - coaxed to bloom early - by putting their stems in warm water for a few days.

Another favorite of Beutler’s is sambukus, or elderberry. “I like sambukus gold. The new growth is chartreuse. If you don’t keep cutting it, by mid-summer, it’s an average green. But if you keep cutting it, that new growth will be a lovely bright green.”

The Forest Grove News-Times, By Carl Grimm read the full article here http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/features/story.php?story_id=121078495991907500

Tips for Organic Vegetable Gardening

Compost is Invaluable- Learn to compost your yard and kitchen waste to enhance your organic garden. Composting provides essential nutrients and helps balance the pH of the soil without adding chemical fertilizers or soil treatments.

Make Worms Your Friends- Earthworms provide life giving aeration to your organic vegetable gardening project while they burrow through the soil. Extra earthworms can be purchased through a garden supply catalog. Some organic vegetable gardening enthusiasts even house red worms in specialized worm bins that collect the liquid droppings for added garden fertilization. The redworms recycle your kitchen waste and turn it into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.

Learn About Organic Pest Control: Controlling common pests organically takes vigilance. Some common pests are easily controlled. Cutworms are thwarted by placing a ring of tin foil along the stem of the plant at soil level.  Use mulch around plants to help keep fruits and vegetables from touching the soil. Watering your plants early in the morning provides adequate moisture and keeps plants from becoming overly moist at night which can make them vulnerable to pests and disease. Visually inspect your plants often and remove any dead or diseased foliage by hand on a regular basis to discourage insect infestations. Organic insect traps work well to keep common garden pests away from your vegetation.

Organic vegetable gardening is a rewarding experience. A few basic organic vegetable gardening tips like these can help you grow healthy fruits and vegetables without chemical additives. Happy organic vegetable gardening!