Except I don’t live on 10th Avenue, and Bruce Springsteen was not available to lend me a hand with this crisis! I opened the greenhouse Saturday to check on my plants and the greens I seeded recently, only to find that everything in there, and I mean EVERYTHING was frozen solid. Every pot of dirt, the tomatoes, the 55 gallon barrel of water in the corner, solid ice.
I sat down on a VERY cold chair and thought about how I was going to remedy this situation! I decided that a slow thaw was the way to go. I brought my old oil heater out of the basement and set it up next to the solid barrel of ice. I dropped into the World’s Surliest Ace Hardware and picked up a simple thermometer so I could keep an eye on temperature changes to see if I was actually accomplishing anything. It was less than 30 degrees in there when we got started on this little adventure.
Sunday morning I went over to Lowe’s and picked up some more concrete blocks and a small forced air heater to heat the air and keep that warmed air circulating. The lights are only on for the photo. I have the oil heater next to the barrel of ice (not pictured) and the forced air heater blowing diagonally across the space. My power source is a high-rated extension cord with three outlets and I did not want to overload circuits, so both heaters were on low and the lights were unplugged. You’ll note I also blocked the vent louvers with concrete blocks.
By Sunday afternoon the iceberg was giving up a little. It was still pretty solid, though. At this point both heaters had been running on low all day.
I left them both on low overnight Sunday and Monday morning the barrel was thawed more, and we gained a couple degrees. I unplugged both heaters when I went to work because I was concerned about safety.
Monday after work I came home and unplugged the oil heater and left the forced air heater on high overnight. This morning I decided to leave it on all day. Imagine my joy to come home to find how balmy it was in there! That forced air heater is small but mighty!!
I have an aquarium heater coming soon. The barrel will be thawed enough by then. It’s a twofold benefit: I won’t have a big block of ice making it even colder, and by warming the water I’ll help regulate the temps in the greenhouse. The tomatoes are toast, but I have high hopes for my greens and herbs. They’re cold tolerant anyhow, and I’ll have things figured out by the end of the week to where I can put the forced air heater on a timer to run on low overnight.
I know I need to figure out the cord situation. Right now the door is cracked a tiny bit for the cord and that’s less than optimal. I may drill the smallest possible hole in the side of the greenhouse and use spray foam insulation to seal it up some but still allow for some room for cord movement. I’m open to suggestions.
So that’s what I’m up to, trying to make this a functioning greenhouse in Zone 6b southwest Michigan. I’m learning, and by next winter I’ll be an old pro!
The Amy Experience 