GH in my cellar

I hope you guys can help me. I have moved to an older house with a cellar. I have put a thermometer/ humidity device down there and moved it around to different areas in the cellar. The temp has not dropped below 50 degrees at any point and the humidity stays around 84%. There is a stand alone shower stall down there that I would like to make into a small GH. I would cover the top with plastic and hang a light in it for heat. With the shower door closed I should think it would stay pretty warm in there. It's a single shower stall. Could any of you reccomend which watt bulb I need to use?

Better than a light would be one of those cheap little electric heaters. We use one in our cooler, 4 x 8 x 7, to keep Glad bulbs from freezing in winter. Ours is on a separate thermostat, but some come with a built in one. Then you can use a shop light or two for light.

Bernie

I don't actually need the light for light's sake. I was going to use it for heat. To do anything in the GH/showerstall, I would have to open the door and there is a light just outside the door so it would illuminate the area for me. When i say open the door, I mean the shower stall door. It would be in the cellar so wouldn't go below 50 degrees with the door open. I have (somewhere) a small electric heater that looks like a tear drop. I scored it while dumpster diving at the Dollar General. It might work well but I need to see if it has a thrmostat. What should I set the thermostat on? How warm does a GH need to be? I have never had one.

About 70º, little cooler at night.

Thanks for the info. I should be able to figure it out with my little gizmo even if the thermostat doesn't go by degrees. Low, Medium, High ect.

I would like to grow a couple of toms (prefer cherries) a couple of cukes and a tray of lettuce for salads. Can you reccomend a particular variety of each?

I've grown a few different container varieties but never under those conditions so can't make a recommendation here but... I do agree that you should consider the heater as the colder days of winter have not arrived yet. If I recall, this is your first winter there. The temps may drop lower than 50° as the ground cools. The concrete/rock walls and floor will radiate cold as soil temperatures drop. To "grow" will require warmer temps.

edited to add, please put the heater on a circuit that will disconnect should it overheat. I am a worrier about fires.

This message was edited Nov 29, 2009 5:58 AM

Our cellar floor is not finished. It was dug out of the sandstone under the house by the man who used to own this place. Will that make a difference with the temps?

That may be better than concrete. It will cool down but shouldn't radiate cold like cement does.

Thanks. It will be a trial and error project but it will keep me busy and if I get veggies that will be lagniappe.

But Cajun, if you're growing tomatoes, you need plenty of heat and *lots* of light, right? To my limited experience, vegetables don't do too well without sunlight.

My basement plants that did the best last year were coleus and New Guinea Impatiens and a mix of other plants... but this was on a rack with 2 fluorescent bulbs per shelf and 60+ degree temps.... is your furnace in the basement?

"that will be lagniappe... " Wow, that's a phrase I haven't heard (or seen) in a while!

Yes, our heating unit is in the basement. I left the basement door open and with outside temps of high 30's the basement stayed at 50 degrees. So with the door shut, insulation around the stall and a small heat source, I am hoping to have it plenty warm enough. From what I am reading my biggest problem will be not enough light.