There's some tiles you can use that help store the heat, I think they are called templok or something. Those won't take up too much room and are used for greenhouses. Might want to look into those.
The phase change ones? If so, somebody else mentioned it. I’m not opposed but am budget limited; I’ll look into them if we find that we need better temp control 👍
If you can, get a temperature gun (the red dot sort you use in the kitchen) and check the temps day and night on the wall surfaces, not just the ambient temperature. I still (from previous video I watched about ten minutes ago) think that most of the heat will be coming from the house that it's built onto, or at least enough to make a significant difference. And to be clear, I love these videos. I love this approach to gardening, even if it seems like I'm sceptical because of course I'm sceptical that's how the empirical method works.
Hey, I’ll take any ambient heat gain that I can get. 😁 This greenhouse is attached to a solid concrete wall since it’s level with the basement; that’s insulated on the inside faces but we may be getting some heat bleed through
Have you ever heard about a guy Russ Finch from Alliance Nebraska that grows oranges in the snow? He has a special green house design that incorporates geothermal underground tunnels that maintain the temperatures to allow a person to grow citrus all year. Does your plan incorporate geothermal energy? I need to check out your previous video on the build. Thanks for the update. Always interested in alternative methods of green houses.
I have! Love the videos about him. I had wanted to run some underground tubes in the ground outside this greenhouse for better pre-conditioning of the air and ultimately couldn’t make the budget work. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t spend that money-but I’m also not growing citrus 🤷♀️
Nice job! Lots of good hard work. Thanks for the video. I recently went to a friends house where they used passive annual heat storage. I’m wondering if you kept an umbrella of some sort on the outside of the green house, like plastic coated on top with earth, like 10’ off the house so that water would not suck all the heat away the earth when it gets wet. ??
Oh good! Glad to see the updates! Also glad to see you came to the same conclusion I did about excluding the thermal mass because it’s against the house! I’m excited about that too especially since there is a glass door leading into the solarium (possible future site of “walipini”) which makes for easier transfer of warmth into the walipini solarium. I was thinking of having a vent from the house, low on the wall, into the solarium… but I’m wondering if I need it. I should get a smart thermometer and record what happens in there this winter.
You should! It was eye-opening for me to see the hard data. This 23/24 winter is apparently expected to be a very cold one; I’ll see how it performs during that 🥶
@@WellGroundedGardens Is it supposed to be cold? Oh..I guess that depends on where you are. I did some research and found that in the past, when there has been a super El Nino, Alaska ends up with a mild winter. One year, they even had to bring snow from Fairbanks to Anchorage for the Iditarod start. It was melting as fast as they were laying it down! There was hardly any snowfall. We shall see what happens. I'm so excited for next summer... I feel like a kid the night before Christmas! It's a feeling I haven't had in a while!
@GrowLegacyHomestead we’re in Michigan and they’re predicting a harsh winter this year…who knows…it HAS been weirdly mild the last two years; I’d say we’re “due” for a hard one
Hey I love your walipini. I wanted to let you know that I had built one about 8 years ago and I put a lot of thought In to the design. an a lot of prayers and what I got was quite amazing there is a icon on the comment, I sent you with vegetables in it and one of the things I wanted to point out was that I had about 15 black 55-gallon drums on the back wall with heat sensors on a every third barrel and over the two years they sat there the temperatures that was radiating from the barrels in the hot time of the day in the winter we're very an unimpressivee I personally thought it was a great idea and I went to Great lengths to find those black 55 gallon drums LOL but they just weren't really doing anything so I removed them honestly I really didn't even need the room when you watch the video Even though mine's not as pretty as yours it's huge and it did a great job I was literally able to take blueberry and blackberry bushes dig them up and bring them in during the winter and they produce berries .. you watch the video you'll notice that even though my ceiling is 16 ft off the ground I'm 14 ft underground not to mention the Coldwell which is another 7 ft below anyway I did whatever I could think of to make this the best I could if you would click on the icon and see what you think here again mine is not as nice as yours but it does work very well and I never had any freezing and we've had below zero out here this last year and there was tomato plants in there and they did just find and I didn't even have the wood heater going I'm so grateful people are like-minded and you're doing the same thing I think it's a great idea I just wanted to say thank you for doing what you did
I’m seeing the same! I never put in the barrels (just didn’t get to it the first year) and our temps stayed above freezing for all but a SINGLE day, and that was at the end of a solid week below 10F. I think between the house on the south side-with windows that bleed a bit of heat from inside-and the soil around it, I just don’t need the extra thermal mass 🤷♀️
It also looks like you used a typical window unit…. Could you elaborate on them …if they are insulated and have uv blocker on them that (I think) will have an impact on the inside temperature and light quality… enjoying your channel and explanations
I am so here for this greenhouse/walipini content. What about a small space heater in the greenhouse at night to keep the temps just above 50 to avoid moving the seedlings a bunch?
I had the exact same thought! I wanted to go one full season without it and see how well the geothermal worked on its own, but I do have a couple of space heaters from our old (poorly insulated) house that I've set aside, just in case.
Thanks! As it turns out, I haven’t needed to add ANY thermal mass; we got down to below 0 Fahrenheit for a solid week and the greenhouse barely dipped below freezing (31.7F, and only for a couple of hours).
Would adding the water barrels or a just a few, be worth it so your night temps would already be okay to start planting and not bringing your seedlings in and out?
I monitored it this winter and we only had one day when it dropped below freezing-and that was when we got to -2F outside. It gave me confidence that I don’t really need to bring the seedlings out. 👍
Are the front and side walls insulated agaisnt the frost line? If they are not, you will gain a massive amount of efficiency by insulating the ground outside of the greenhouse 3 to 4 ft away from the greenhouse. This will move the frost line that distance away from your greenhouse walls. Also, you'd be much better off painting your walls white, not black. Black walls absorb too much light and darken the greenhouse.White will reflect it all around and your plants will be much happier.
Thanks! Too late for the insulation, without serious expense, but paint I can always change. 👍 The good news is that it’s working well; we never went below 40F over the winter. We will see if that stays true
@@WellGroundedGardens Actually, it's not too late if you do the style of insulation called a skirt. Consult a professional for the exact size needed but laying down sheets of insulation over the ground directly adjacent to the greenhouse will have a similar effect as installing it vertically into the ground. A 4-6' skirt is probably enough depending on your frost depth. You can add it any time and see if it makes a difference.
Have you heard of cheap candle terracotta heaters made from terracotta pots ? They burn real hot and you can use cheap vegetable oil to use as fuel. All you need is a cotton wick to burn and create heat.
I have! If I need to add heat over the winter we may go that route, or even a rocket mass heater if I get more fancy (I like the idea of having a heated bench in there, to read or nap on during the cold months)
@@WellGroundedGardens It's difficult, in a cold climate, to find the way to raise plants out of the hot season. I'm glad you're attempting to push forward.
Very nicely done. You captured the essence of the science of the Walipini with the fewest words and with clarity.
Thank you!
There's some tiles you can use that help store the heat, I think they are called templok or something. Those won't take up too much room and are used for greenhouses. Might want to look into those.
The phase change ones? If so, somebody else mentioned it. I’m not opposed but am budget limited; I’ll look into them if we find that we need better temp control 👍
If you can, get a temperature gun (the red dot sort you use in the kitchen) and check the temps day and night on the wall surfaces, not just the ambient temperature. I still (from previous video I watched about ten minutes ago) think that most of the heat will be coming from the house that it's built onto, or at least enough to make a significant difference. And to be clear, I love these videos. I love this approach to gardening, even if it seems like I'm sceptical because of course I'm sceptical that's how the empirical method works.
Hey, I’ll take any ambient heat gain that I can get. 😁 This greenhouse is attached to a solid concrete wall since it’s level with the basement; that’s insulated on the inside faces but we may be getting some heat bleed through
Have you ever heard about a guy Russ Finch from Alliance Nebraska that grows oranges in the snow? He has a special green house design that incorporates geothermal underground tunnels that maintain the temperatures to allow a person to grow citrus all year. Does your plan incorporate geothermal energy? I need to check out your previous video on the build. Thanks for the update. Always interested in alternative methods of green houses.
I have! Love the videos about him. I had wanted to run some underground tubes in the ground outside this greenhouse for better pre-conditioning of the air and ultimately couldn’t make the budget work. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t spend that money-but I’m also not growing citrus 🤷♀️
Nice job! Lots of good hard work. Thanks for the video.
I recently went to a friends house where they used passive annual heat storage. I’m wondering if you kept an umbrella of some sort on the outside of the green house, like plastic coated on top with earth, like 10’ off the house so that water would not suck all the heat away the earth when it gets wet. ??
Like apron insulation?
Oh good! Glad to see the updates! Also glad to see you came to the same conclusion I did about excluding the thermal mass because it’s against the house! I’m excited about that too especially since there is a glass door leading into the solarium (possible future site of “walipini”) which makes for easier transfer of warmth into the walipini solarium. I was thinking of having a vent from the house, low on the wall, into the solarium… but I’m wondering if I need it. I should get a smart thermometer and record what happens in there this winter.
You should! It was eye-opening for me to see the hard data. This 23/24 winter is apparently expected to be a very cold one; I’ll see how it performs during that 🥶
@@WellGroundedGardens Is it supposed to be cold? Oh..I guess that depends on where you are. I did some research and found that in the past, when there has been a super El Nino, Alaska ends up with a mild winter. One year, they even had to bring snow from Fairbanks to Anchorage for the Iditarod start. It was melting as fast as they were laying it down! There was hardly any snowfall. We shall see what happens.
I'm so excited for next summer... I feel like a kid the night before Christmas! It's a feeling I haven't had in a while!
@GrowLegacyHomestead we’re in Michigan and they’re predicting a harsh winter this year…who knows…it HAS been weirdly mild the last two years; I’d say we’re “due” for a hard one
Hey I love your walipini. I wanted to let you know that I had built one about 8 years ago and I put a lot of thought In to the design. an a lot of prayers and what I got was quite amazing there is a icon on the comment, I sent you with vegetables in it and one of the things I wanted to point out was that I had about 15 black 55-gallon drums on the back wall with heat sensors on a every third barrel and over the two years they sat there the temperatures that was radiating from the barrels in the hot time of the day in the winter we're very an unimpressivee I personally thought it was a great idea and I went to Great lengths to find those black 55 gallon drums LOL but they just weren't really doing anything so I removed them honestly I really didn't even need the room when you watch the video Even though mine's not as pretty as yours it's huge and it did a great job I was literally able to take blueberry and blackberry bushes dig them up and bring them in during the winter and they produce berries .. you watch the video you'll notice that even though my ceiling is 16 ft off the ground I'm 14 ft underground not to mention the Coldwell which is another 7 ft below anyway I did whatever I could think of to make this the best I could if you would click on the icon and see what you think here again mine is not as nice as yours but it does work very well and I never had any freezing and we've had below zero out here this last year and there was tomato plants in there and they did just find and I didn't even have the wood heater going I'm so grateful people are like-minded and you're doing the same thing I think it's a great idea I just wanted to say thank you for doing what you did
I’m seeing the same! I never put in the barrels (just didn’t get to it the first year) and our temps stayed above freezing for all but a SINGLE day, and that was at the end of a solid week below 10F. I think between the house on the south side-with windows that bleed a bit of heat from inside-and the soil around it, I just don’t need the extra thermal mass 🤷♀️
It also looks like you used a typical window unit…. Could you elaborate on them …if they are insulated and have uv blocker on them that (I think) will have an impact on the inside temperature and light quality… enjoying your channel and explanations
Hey! We went with normal window units for budget reasons. They’re double paned, but no special UV coating.
I am so here for this greenhouse/walipini content. What about a small space heater in the greenhouse at night to keep the temps just above 50 to avoid moving the seedlings a bunch?
I had the exact same thought! I wanted to go one full season without it and see how well the geothermal worked on its own, but I do have a couple of space heaters from our old (poorly insulated) house that I've set aside, just in case.
I thought sand was a better medium to use instead of water. Very good video. Thanks
Thanks! As it turns out, I haven’t needed to add ANY thermal mass; we got down to below 0 Fahrenheit for a solid week and the greenhouse barely dipped below freezing (31.7F, and only for a couple of hours).
Would adding the water barrels or a just a few, be worth it so your night temps would already be okay to start planting and not bringing your seedlings in and out?
I monitored it this winter and we only had one day when it dropped below freezing-and that was when we got to -2F outside. It gave me confidence that I don’t really need to bring the seedlings out. 👍
Are the front and side walls insulated agaisnt the frost line? If they are not, you will gain a massive amount of efficiency by insulating the ground outside of the greenhouse 3 to 4 ft away from the greenhouse. This will move the frost line that distance away from your greenhouse walls. Also, you'd be much better off painting your walls white, not black. Black walls absorb too much light and darken the greenhouse.White will reflect it all around and your plants will be much happier.
Thanks! Too late for the insulation, without serious expense, but paint I can always change. 👍 The good news is that it’s working well; we never went below 40F over the winter. We will see if that stays true
@@WellGroundedGardens Actually, it's not too late if you do the style of insulation called a skirt. Consult a professional for the exact size needed but laying down sheets of insulation over the ground directly adjacent to the greenhouse will have a similar effect as installing it vertically into the ground. A 4-6' skirt is probably enough depending on your frost depth. You can add it any time and see if it makes a difference.
It’s performing well enough, now, that I’ll probably keep things as-is. The temp has held way steadier than I’d even hoped for.
You might want to investigate making a thermal mass wall out of water bricks. They are slimmer than barrels.
Those weren’t in the budget. 🤷♀️. Ultimately I ended up not needing to add ANY thermal mass along that wall.
What area are you located in? we'd like to make similar in northern Hungary, near the hills, and thats why asking, for comparison. TY :)
I am in the US, Michigan State, roughly 42 degrees N latitude.
Have you heard of cheap candle terracotta heaters made from terracotta pots ? They burn real hot and you can use cheap vegetable oil to use as fuel. All you need is a cotton wick to burn and create heat.
I have! If I need to add heat over the winter we may go that route, or even a rocket mass heater if I get more fancy (I like the idea of having a heated bench in there, to read or nap on during the cold months)
What zone are you in?
We’re on the border of 5B and 6A. Common winter temps are in the teens; a cold winter will easily go to single digits or negative Fahrenheit.
Yay! Bricks and glass. All these plastic greenhouses are disappointing.
This was my first chance to build one at the same time as our house, and integrate it from day one. Not cheap, but worth it!
@@WellGroundedGardens It's difficult, in a cold climate, to find the way to raise plants out of the hot season. I'm glad you're attempting to push forward.