The Profitable Greenhouse

If you’re concerned that operating a greenhouse will significantly add to your electric bill, you don’t have to worry. If you are building a smaller greenhouse, the cost of electricity can be held down to an almost insignificant amount of money.

Obviously, if you don’t use any kind of growing lights, or soil cables, your costs will be kept even further down.

The only electricity you will have to use is when you are in your greenhouse after dark, and you have a light or two on. If you install fluorescent lights, you can figure this additional operating cost -varying with the locality-at approximately 1/4 cent per hour for two 40-watt tubes. A 100-watt incandescent bulb burns at about 1/3 cent per hour.

Propagating Cases

You can convert one end of your growing bench into a propagating case by installing an electric soil cable. And in this area you can raise any plants requiring bottom heat for growth. To create the “case,” place a piece of glass over the planting; or you can have a glass frame made to fit over the cuttings. A plastic propagating case would also be good.

About Water

Include hot as well as cold water in the plumbing plans for your greenhouse. A mixing faucet will make it possible for you to draw water of proper temperature at any time for your plants.

There is no need to pipe softened water into your greenhouse, unless you want it for hand-washing. Most types of artificially softened water should not be used on plants. While it may do them no immediate harm, it may gradually weaken cell structure and lead to plant collapse.

Copper piping is satisfactory for use in the greenhouse. I have some in mine, and it has never caused any “copper poisoning.” Experts at the University of Minnesota assure me that water passing through copper pipes is perfectly safe to use on all types of plants.

Where to Get Soil

Unless you have planned this greenhouse for a long time and have a supply of good soil ready, the soil required for your first year’s planting may have to be included in your budget. More than just plain garden soil is needed for potting most greenhouse-grown plants.

Garden or field loam can make up as much as a third of the mixture, but it should be enriched with another third of organic material. Vermiculite or sand is the other third. With an established compost pile or a heap of leaf-mold, you will find it necessary to purchase only such organics as sphagnum moss, peatmoss, or peat.

Sphagnum moss wholesales at a few dollars a bale plus shipping charges; granulated peatmoss and horticultural peat. Leafmold is priced at cheaply per bushel . Special potting materials such as osmunda fiber (an old-time medium for orchids ) can cost a fair amount, shredded wood and bark, used increasingly of late in orchid culture, is (or was) priced very reasonably.