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*Fluffykitten*

Joined: 03 Dec 2004
Posts: 74
Location: Merthyr Tydfil

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 10:18 am Post subject: Greenhouses

wahay!!!! Ive got a greenhouse!!!!!!

Well, actually its a collapsable metal frame with a removable clear plastic cover (rather like a rain cover for a pram) but it said greenhouse on the box so im going with it.

I was wondering if anyone knew how much frost protection this would give me, obviously i couldnt use a heater in there cos its plastic. Im thinking that maybe its too early to start any seeds off in there as its still a bit frosty here.
Thanks
Clair XXX

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 10:19 am Post subject:
Is it completely enclosed? You shouldn't have any frost problems if it is.

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 10:27 am Post subject:
Make sure it's well weighted down, otherwise a stong wind will give it to you neigbours.

Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 12:16 pm Post subject:
pit it close to the house wall and sheltered from the wind and it should stay frost free. Put a brick in your oven whilst cooking and pop it in the frame half an hour or so later, keeps the worst at bay.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 12:17 pm Post subject:

Tristan wrote:

Put a brick in your oven whilst cooking

Just don't mistake it for banana loaf though

Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 12:19 pm Post subject:
just like my cooking then!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 5:48 pm Post subject:

Has anyone tried bunny-powered greenhouse heating? I think this could be quite an efficient system. Bunny lives in the greenhouse in the winter, having a nice cosy time muching on kitchen scraps, contributing to the compost heap and keeping the greenhouse frost free. In warmer weather, bunny moves to his summer residence on the lawn, saving mowing and decimating the dandelion population (Ha!) supplemented with more scraps and still contributing to the compost heap.

Got be easier than mucking about with parrafin or ekeltrickery, and greener too. Not sure it would be practical on fluffykittens (and my) scale, but I'm very tempted to give it a try anyway, as the worms are not up to my kitchen waste problem. I know it can't eat everything, but I suspect it could make a bigger dent than my very lazy worms. I would have to keep the compost bin though (bang goes the rhubarb, then) but that would also solve the onion skin problem (worms don't like them)

I wonder how many people keep working rabbits?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 10:25 pm Post subject:
If you had three, you could have rabbit twice a week all year round and still heat the greenhouse.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 10:30 pm Post subject:
Are you going for it with the rabbits Alison?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 05 11:45 pm Post subject:
It is something we looked at on a bigger scale, and I am still interested in it. Chicken meat first though.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 05 12:51 pm Post subject:

That did occur to me, but I'm not sure I could. I know it's absolutely pathetic, but although I am happy with the ethics of eating happy meat, humanely killed, I don't think I could do it myself. It's not the slaughter, which I'm sure I could do with a bit of help from someone who knows their stuff. It's the guts I can't deal with.

This is perculiar, as I'm not at a squeamish generally. I am happy to go to an operating theatre and watch operations on people and make the patient jump through hoops afterwards. I will do it, and plan to start with chickens once I have the space for some. I think I could send sheep and cows to slaughter, having rasied them myself, but not pigs (or rabbits) don't know why not rabbits (I know they're furry, but i can think of lots of uses for that!) and pigs have too much personality. What a wimp I am!

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 05 8:43 pm Post subject:

Really though Clair, they all have their own personalities.

I am totally responsible for our livestock at the moment as my Dad is convelessing, and now they are used to me having close contact again they are all displaying different traits.

I have a chicken, yes the same one, who follows me as I collect the eggs, pecking my boots.

There is the ewe, who I helped deliver her lamb who comes up for a lick on the hand, and the pigs who come for a scratch.

The cows have a pecking order all of their own, as so the alpacas.

We had a cow before that regardless where she was in the barn (we overwintered calves) would come over and have a scratch and lick everytime I went in there, but she ignored any of the others.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 05 10:08 pm Post subject:

I think you make get some problems with ammonia harming tender plants in the greenhouse. I tried keeping a pile of chicken manure in the greenhouse to see if it would heat up. It didn't and some ferns were scorched possibly by the ammonia.

When I grew up we kept rabbits for food. It was a little bit by accident as the two pet rabbits were meant to be female. One day my pet proved he was a he and we ended up eating the children. Yes they were cute but tasty.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 05 10:29 pm Post subject:

Cute isn't such a problem, it's personality I think I can't cope with. I hope I could do it (because otherwise I'm a complete hypocrite!) as I eat meat. My MIL thinks that it's because you keep one or two pigs (or cows in her case, I think I could deal with cows) but a whole flock of sheep, so you don;t get so attatched. She's still dithering about what to do with her pastuere and thinking about alpacas (They are useful looking creatures. Like sheep with personality!

)

Of course alison has just scuppered this theory, so perhas vegetarianism is on the cards!

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 05 10:40 pm Post subject:
Not vegetarian, ethical meat eating.

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