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Cattle Panel Greenhouse - Overwintering Container Plants

Posted on 10/4/24 at 8:51 am
Posted by SwampCollie
Louisiana
Member since Nov 2018
282 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 8:51 am
Built a 8' x 12' greenhouse using cattle panels from Tractor Supply covered with 6 mil Greenhouse plastic.

Goal is keeping container plants alive through winter freezes. Plan to have a 700W Oil Filled radiator heater and small fan running to keep temps above freezing. Location is Mandeville, LA.

1) Anyone tried similar or should we temper expectations?
2) Any of the container plants below OK left outside?
3) Any other tips/suggestion for winterizing below? i.e. addit'l mulch


Fabric pots & container plants:
--Couple of Hibiscus
--3' Olive tree
--Several blueberry & rasberry plants
--Meyer lemon & some type of satsuma
--Couple blackberry bushes


Thanks!
Posted by Dallaswho
Texas
Member since Dec 2023
2420 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 9:07 am to
I have a similar sized greenhouse I built with 2’ of pine and the rest dual wall polycarbonate that I found on Craigslist.
I find the best thing to do is get a cheap 1500w ceramic heater and a good thermostat. The thermostat on the heater is useless because it is too close to the heater and you’ll be very wasteful or fail to keep warm enough. You want it a few feet away and not in direct fan path.
Amazon has a 120v 15a external thermostat for under $20 that solved these problems but mine failed year two when temps were under 10F. Huge disaster. For this year, I built my own external thermostat with a large solid state relay. Was half the price as the last one and should last forever.
Posted by ItzMe1972
Member since Dec 2013
11387 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 9:17 am to
My hibiscus did not bloom much this year.

I'm considering letting them fend for themselves this winter.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5596 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 11:43 am to
Mandeville - you can can keep blueberries, blackberries, raspberries outside - they are cold tolerant at much higher latitudes than south LA. Satsumas are cold tolerant into the higher 20s in containers. Just so you know, raspberries don’t thrive in south LA heat & humidity - don’t expect good success with them.
This post was edited on 10/4/24 at 5:58 pm
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
43033 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 12:02 pm to
quote:

Couple of Hibiscus --3' Olive tree --Several blueberry & rasberry plants --Meyer lemon & some type of satsuma --Couple blackberry bushes
the only things you have that need protection are the hibiscus and the lemon. Everything else is fine outside (or in the ground)

post a pic of your greenhouse I’d like to see how it came out. I’m going to close in a wing of my barn (and replace the roof area) with translucent panels to make a greenhouse for ferns, tropicals, seed starts, etc
Posted by BiggerBear
Redbone Country
Member since Sep 2011
3067 posts
Posted on 10/4/24 at 2:01 pm to
I use two 250w heat bulbs like these from Tractor Supply connected to a temperature switch set to come on below 45 degrees. My container plants thrive on this setup.
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