Question about greenhouse placement in So CA

I've been through the Greenhouse Forum messages, but this is directed specifically to Californians with greenhouses, especially in SoCal. We have an 8 x 6 HF greenhouse to put up and I'm torn about where to put it.

We are on a south facing slope and the gh will go on an open (to the wind) plateau at the top of our lot - IOW, on the 'up' slope. The immediate use will be to give some extra protection for the tropicals (plumeria, orchids, and epiphyllums) in cold weather - plus starting plants and seeds. My thought was to put it cross-slope so the long side is facing south. DH says it will take too much room and wants to put it with the door facing south, next to the compost bins. My instincts say the plants will get cold sooner on winter days that way. For instance, today I was up there at about 2:30 pm and the bottom half would be in the shade of the compost bin already.

I realize in the summer we'll need shade cloth to keep things from cooking, but my main concern is warmth during the winter, so is my thinking right? New territory, so I'd appreciate your thoughts and experience.

Kathleen

I'm farther north than you but since I have a similar size greenhouse I figured I'd share my experience. I have a 5x9 greenhouse and it's in a spot that stops getting sun about 3 PM and it's really not an issue. Honestly my biggest problem is keeping it cool enough when the sun is shining on it...even on a 55-60 degree day with the doors open for ventilation, it'll typically hit 80-85 degrees inside, and if I had the door shut it would be over 100. Given the size of the greenhouse, the heater doesn't have to work that hard to keep the temp in the 55-60 range even on nights when it gets down to 25 or so (we've had a few too many of those lately!) so I'm glad it's in a location that gets a little less of the sun beating down on it, I'd take that over a sunnier location that would be more likely to fry the plants during the day.

I hoped you would check in, Liz, since I remembered yours was a smaller one, too. I should have said, there will be no heater. Don't have power in that area. I've read somewhere about adding a 'heat sink' - black rocks or something else that will hold heat and release it later, slightly extending the warm period. Don't know how realistic that is. We're also thinking about doing screens for the summer, but that's hypothetical, too. I'm glad I asked, because I had no idea what the reality would be. Thanks for your experience!

k

Since I have a heater I can't give you any good advice on heat sinks, but if your plants would normally do OK outside and you're just trying to protect them from the occasional cold night then I don't think you need to go to all the trouble of a heat sink, the greenhouse should provide enough protection on its own.

I also think you're going to have real trouble using it in the summer unless you can get power out there to run some fans or something--my only ventilation is opening the doors, and I've seen it get as high as 90 degrees in there when our days aren't getting much above 60, so I can only imagine what the temps would be on an 85+ day in summer. Shade cloth will help some, but I'm not sure if it'll keep it usable or not.

Don't know about your weather there, but spring is pretty cloudy and miserable here. So, if I get good use of it in winter and early spring, I will be happy. wcgypsy, who lives nearby, has one like this and has already warned me to open the door each morning. She has sooo much tree canopy, though, her conditions are way different than mine (she does cook in the summer, though).

K, even now in winter I have to open the door and vents on sunny days, and you've seen where mine is...partially shaded by a Brazilian pepper. I also have some reed fencing across the south side and the roof partially covered. Otherwise, everything in there would cook. I do have one of the HD Delonghi heaters that has a default setting of 41 degrees to come on at, so the plants in there are not getting as much warmth as they would like,but they hopefully won't freeze, either. Jer had already installed an electric hookup next to the one motorhome, so just buried a line from there to the greenhouse which is only about 20 feet, I'd guess. I think during summer it either won't be used or I may be able to use it (with shadecloth) for propagating cuttings and such with heat mat. I don't think there's enough room inside to really provide ambient warmth from heat absorbing ideas, plus, you'd be getting too much sun probably to give sufficient solar exposure to whatever materials used. Trial and error,I guess.....I have tropical vine seedlings in mine that would really like to be no less than 50 degrees, but we'll see what happens.

Oh, good, Sherry. DH came home early today to start on the foundation, so I'm glad I made the right decision! lol Trial and error, as you say, will decide things. If I can just avoid losing my epies and plumeria every year, I'll be happy.

TA-DA!

The door sticks - it's rubbing on something and we can't quite figure it out. Other than that, it went up easily and I love it. DH put a channel down the center with a drain in the back just in case. The floor is DG, but I want pea gravel. What do you all have? Plumies are happy now, I bet. We have a solar-operated vent opener to put in later and then have to decide on shelving. We're both pleased. :-)

I've got pea gravel down, but I am very, very careful with watering as I don't want it too wet and humid in there. Be sure and put some good smelling stuff in there so that when you open the door you can enjoy the combination of wonderful scents. I've got salvias and a bunch of holy basil in there and when I open the door it's terrific.My door only sticks if somehow some dirt has gotten in the track.

Oooh, basil sounds good - I love that. One of my plumeria trees has an inflorescence - it would sure be nice if that would develop, but I'll be happy if it just survives the winter.

Very nice! If it stays warm enough in there, I wouldn't be surprised if the plumie bloomed for you. Both of mine have continued blooming since I put them in the GH. I heat mine, but since you're farther south than me yours might stay warm enough on its own, at least most nights.

Now I have my greenhouse sitting up on top of my front deck (Trex, not wood), but I used to have it on the ground in the backyard, and all I did was put landscape fabric down on the ground, no pea gravel or anything and that seemed to work fine.

Good to hear, Liz. It was pretty warm in there yesterday when I closed it up, but we're in the midst of Santa Ana conditions - it's supposed to be about 74 today.