Greenhouse or no greenhouse in Oz...

RIONMAIDEN · Post by **RIONMAIDEN** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:19 am

Hello to all you members of this great forum, my name is rionmaiden, and I am new to your forum, so if my question has already been asked, i'm sorry.

I live in NSW, on the east coast of Australia, and am wondering if my cactus plants would grow faster if they were in a greenhouse, or is it a bit of overkill.
My lady and I are keen vegie growers, and use a green house for certain plants in the colder months to help them along and it works a treat, so will the cactus plants be better off in a greenhouse or not?

iann · Post by **iann** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:15 pm

Its a scary thought for me because I have enough trouble keeping my greenhouse cool in the summer, but people from warmer climates on here have good results. I think maybe the key is the right grade of shadecloth and industrial size fans

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:41 pm

Not exactly sure what your climate is, but for me here in So. California (near the Mojave desert) our greenhouse has worked out very well. Lots of ventilation and a cooling fan running 10-12hrs per day. It still hoovers around 100F most of the spring/summer. I think the main key is the constant air movement from the fan.

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:59 pm

One thing I've learned living here in Phoenix Arizona, one of the hottest places in North America, is that a greenhouse is still a good idea and can be very useful indeed. There are many reasons but they all boil down to having a controlled environment. I have grown all my plants outside 80% of the year and this has been okay except for feral cats, hungry birds, insect larvae, fierce windstorms, shifting shade patterns, tree debris, unpredictable rainstorms, etc. The weather is indeed very mild here much of the year, but an enclosed space would make the entire enterprise so much easier. In the summer, with days hovering around 115F (46C) and nights not much below 90F (32C), the greenhouse would have to be very well ventilated and fully convertible to a protected shadehouse. But this would be very easy to build. (Even better would be a cooling system, but then the cost and complications go up considerably).

I never understood why growers would even use greenhouses here in central Arizona, but now I certainly do.

peterb

Post by **daiv** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 7:20 pm

I've lived in sunny California and in Minnesota. I didn't have a greenhouse in CA, but do in MN. While I had good results in CA without one, here in MN, the growing season is way to short to go without one.

Guess this doesn't help much for your situation. Other than in warm climates you can grow nice plants without one, but as Peter and Darryl point out, you can do even better with one.

RIONMAIDEN · Post by **RIONMAIDEN** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:40 am

Thanks for the input, I will make a small one and see how the plants go for the first year or so.