Operational considerations
The cost of operating your greenhouse includes heating, watering, soil management, plants and your time. This page examines each of these factors.
Heating: The amount of external heat you need to put into your greenhouse includes the cost for the type of energy, space costs and your time costs. For example, if you have a wood heater in your greenhouse, you should consider the costs of the stove, the wood, the space that the stove takes up that could be used by plants and the time you need to spend in stoking the stove. If you use an electric heater or an external heater you need to consider the cost of the electricity or fuel (propane) used. These tend to be more automated than a wood heater, they are appreciable more expensive to operate. Heating costs may also be involved in warming water for greenhouse use. This type of heating may also be done passively.
Watering: If you are watering by hand, you have the greatest amount of control over the amount, frequency and conditions for watering. But this is a significant time commitment. If you use an automated watering system, there are inherent control problems with such systems. We use a combination of both automated and self-watering. The automated system ensures a minimal amount of water and the personal watering system provides for adjustments as necessary. This system means that the greenhouse can self-function for a number of days without intervention.
Soil Management: the size of the beds and the focus these beds get make them susceptible to too much care. The likelihood of over fertilizing means the bed soils should be checked and analyzed periodically.
Your time: If you are the kind of gardener interested in the food more than the gardening process, then you want to increase the automated systems. If you really enjoy the gardening activity, then the system that you regulate is the one you want.
Heating: The amount of external heat you need to put into your greenhouse includes the cost for the type of energy, space costs and your time costs. For example, if you have a wood heater in your greenhouse, you should consider the costs of the stove, the wood, the space that the stove takes up that could be used by plants and the time you need to spend in stoking the stove. If you use an electric heater or an external heater you need to consider the cost of the electricity or fuel (propane) used. These tend to be more automated than a wood heater, they are appreciable more expensive to operate. Heating costs may also be involved in warming water for greenhouse use. This type of heating may also be done passively.
Watering: If you are watering by hand, you have the greatest amount of control over the amount, frequency and conditions for watering. But this is a significant time commitment. If you use an automated watering system, there are inherent control problems with such systems. We use a combination of both automated and self-watering. The automated system ensures a minimal amount of water and the personal watering system provides for adjustments as necessary. This system means that the greenhouse can self-function for a number of days without intervention.
Soil Management: the size of the beds and the focus these beds get make them susceptible to too much care. The likelihood of over fertilizing means the bed soils should be checked and analyzed periodically.
Your time: If you are the kind of gardener interested in the food more than the gardening process, then you want to increase the automated systems. If you really enjoy the gardening activity, then the system that you regulate is the one you want.