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How to heat a greenhouse in the spring with your own hands. Simple techniques to improve soil warming How to quickly warm the soil in spring

How to heat a greenhouse in the spring with your own hands. Simple techniques to improve soil warming How to quickly warm the soil in spring

What is the best way to heat a greenhouse in the spring? Which method is most effective and economical? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each heating method? Perhaps these are the most pressing questions for greenhouse owners or those who are planning to build such a greenhouse on their site. We will try to provide detailed and accurate information on these issues. Naturally, there can be no definite answers, because much depends on the tasks of the greenhouse being built, its size, materials and the capabilities of the owner himself. The main thing is to have as much verified information as possible and choose the best option for yourself. Well, the presented photo and video materials will help you decide on the right solution.

Ways to heat a greenhouse in spring

The greenhouse can be used year-round or seasonally, for example in spring. There are a lot of ways to heat a greenhouse in the spring with your own hands. They can be simple or complex, cheap or capital intensive, effective or insignificant. Below are all the most popular methods of heating a greenhouse, with their advantages and disadvantages.

How to heat a greenhouse in spring - a solar heating method

A simple but ineffective method for heating in early spring, which does not require additional costs. This heating method can be used during periods of active solar heat: late spring, summer and early autumn. In winter, this method is unacceptable, since the sun is not able to warm the walls of the greenhouse properly.
A greenhouse built from sections of polycarbonate or glass perfectly transmits the sun's rays, thereby heating the soil and air.
The heat accumulated as a result of the greenhouse effect gradually accumulates in the room, significantly increasing the temperature.
Based on this method, it is possible to build the so-called indoors. "solar oven" The essence of its action is that the sun heats up the stones during the day, which perfectly retain this heat and release it to the greenhouse at night. Thus, it is possible to maintain the temperature throughout the day.
You can regulate (reduce) the temperature (especially in the summer) in a greenhouse by ventilating it.
To maximize the use of solar energy when heating the greenhouse, its optimally convenient location is important - on the south side of the site. This factor should be taken into account when planning the construction of a greenhouse.
To reduce heat loss from a greenhouse, it is necessary to pay attention to the shape of the structure. The best options are spherical, arched buildings with rounded vaults.
To enhance the heating effect, you can also insulate the northern wall of the greenhouse, through which solar energy does not enter. To retain maximum heat in the greenhouse, its northern side is made opaque: covered with foil or painted over with white paint. This is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to heat a polycarbonate greenhouse in the spring.

How to heat a greenhouse in spring - a biological heating method

This heating method is low-cost, labor-intensive, and is used year-round, including in the spring.
The essence of the method is the preparation of “biofuel”, which releases a certain amount of heat.
Manure is most often used as a biofuel. As it decomposes, it releases heat, thereby warming the soil. Adding crushed straw to manure will ensure its better decomposition, which means the release of more heat. In the spring, in preparation for such heating, the manure is preheated. This is necessary to “start” the decomposition process. To heat it, the manure is placed in a loose pile, several holes are made into which hot water is poured. The stack is covered with burlap for 3-4 days, after which it is ready for use as “biofuel”.
Horse manure produces some of the highest temperatures when decomposed. Compost with the addition of horse manure is also used. When using pig or cow manure, be sure to add straw to it.

Bark, straw, sawdust, plant humus or ordinary household waste are also used as biological “fuel”. But, the soil temperature and heating duration in such cases will be significantly lower than with manure.
To biologically heat a greenhouse, the following technology must be followed: remove the entire layer of soil from the greenhouse shelves; spread manure (or other “biofuel”) in an even layer on the bottom, filling approximately 1/3 of the racks (in height); The manure is covered with soil on top.

The duration of maintaining the required soil temperature with this heating method varies and ranges from 2 weeks (using sawdust) to 4 months (using horse manure).
Artificially prepared “biofuel” is also used. Lay in layers: chopped straw, lime-ammonium nitrate, superphosphate. The ratio is 10:0.2:0.3 kg. Next, the layers are compacted and watered with hot water. Fertile soil is poured on top (about the same layer in height).
Biological heating has a number of advantages: it fills the soil with valuable nutrients, vitamins and microelements contained in organic fertilizers. Due to evaporation during manure rotting, the soil is naturally moistened. In addition, this type of heating does not dry out the air, unlike technical methods.
This method of heating a greenhouse is great for spring, when there are no longer severe frosts and you just need to maintain a certain temperature. When the “biofuel” stops its activity, it becomes warm outside and the greenhouse is either opened or the seedlings are planted in open ground.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring

How can you heat a greenhouse when there is not enough solar heat yet, there are frequent frosts and the plants need a stable positive temperature. There are a number of technical devices for heating a greenhouse during the cold season using a number of heating devices.

It is rational to use the most complex and cost-effective heating systems in the winter, but if they are already installed in the greenhouse, they are also used in the spring.

If the greenhouse is used only in spring or autumn, there is no need to install large, expensive and complex heating devices for this purpose. It is enough to use simple and affordable means of heating the room to create a warm microclimate.

How to heat a greenhouse in spring - stove heating method

Stoves are the most ancient and proven method of heating.

This heating method is more suitable for the coldest time of the year - winter or early spring. During the onset of stable warm days, you can also heat the greenhouse from time to time, maintaining the required temperature regime.
Not everyone can make a greenhouse heated by a stove with their own hands. This requires technical knowledge and certain skills to ensure that the stove is as functional as possible, with good draft and high heat transfer coefficient.
As a rule, for convenience, stoves are installed at the end of the greenhouse and a horizontal chimney is laid around the perimeter of the room. This allows the heat to be evenly distributed over the entire area.
Stove heating of a greenhouse does not heat the soil. In this regard, racks with soil must be thermally insulated from the main soil on which the greenhouse is built. As an alternative, you can use biological heating of the soil (with manure) or technical heating (electric, water heating of the soil).
To heat the stove, coal, wood, coke, and household waste are used as fuel.
Stove heating can be improved and converted to water heating for a greenhouse. To do this, a water heating boiler is installed on the stove, the pipes of which are looped with the water tank, and the wiring is placed along the entire perimeter of the greenhouse. Circulating through the pipes, hot water heats the entire room.
Another option is a solid fuel boiler that runs on wood, wood waste, seed husks or waste oil. This is a very cost-effective way to heat a greenhouse.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring - water heating method

In addition to water heating of the greenhouse using a stove, you can circulate hot water around the perimeter of the entire room using an electric or gas boiler.
Pipes can be laid not only along the walls of the greenhouse, but also below (under the floor), also providing warming of the soil in the greenhouse.

Metal or plastic pipes are used to install a water heating system. Currently, plastic is most often used as the most affordable material. In addition, such pipes are lightweight, do not rust and are easy to install.
Installing a special thermostat to radiators and pipelines allows you to automatically maintain the temperature in the room.

The disadvantages of this heating system include the complexity of installation work, fairly high economic costs and constant monitoring of the system.
A positive aspect of water heating of a greenhouse will be a consistently positive temperature of both air and soil in the room.
It is also practiced to connect the greenhouse to an existing heating system (for example, at home). If the boiler in the house is powerful enough and the greenhouse is located more than 10 m from the living space, you can safely connect. This method is very complex and expensive. In addition, it should be taken into account that the pipes leading from the house to the greenhouse must be insulated.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring - air heating method

Air heating of a greenhouse, where warm air is used as a coolant, can also be done with your own hands.
This heating system is even easier to make than water heating.
The air, heated in the boiler, is distributed through the air duct system (as a rule, a perforated polyethylene hose is used).

Such sleeves, laid along the entire perimeter of the greenhouse, quickly and evenly warm the room and the soil. The main advantage of this method is the rapid heating of any area of the room.
The disadvantage of such heating is a significant decrease in humidity in the greenhouse. Therefore, you should constantly monitor the humidity so that the air does not dry out too much.
For air heating of greenhouses, heating and ventilation units installed on special supports or supporting structures of the greenhouse are used. Such devices warm up the air in the greenhouse well, and additionally use polyethylene sleeves to warm the soil. This combination of air heating methods provides maximum efficiency.
For large greenhouses, you can also use an industrial air heater that runs on solid fuel. It can be installed anywhere in the greenhouse without controlling the subsequent process. The automatic thermostat independently regulates the required room temperature.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring - gas heating method

The gasified area allows you to use gas to heat the greenhouse.
How to heat a greenhouse with gas yourself so that it is safe and effective? You can use gas burners or air heaters evenly spaced around the perimeter of the greenhouse. Regular gas cylinders are suitable for them.
Gas heaters still require constant monitoring and supervision.
To ensure that carbon dioxide and the heat generated by the heaters are evenly distributed throughout the greenhouse, fans are also installed.
An alternative to such heaters can be a factory gas boiler. But, in this case, the cost of this heating system should be taken into account.
The positive aspects of gas heating will be their convenient use for seasonal greenhouses (for example, in spring), the carbon dioxide and water released will promote the growth of plants in greenhouse conditions.
The problematic issue of gas heating will be the uniform distribution of heat throughout the room, access of air for ventilation (chimney) and constant monitoring of heating devices.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring - electric heating method

How to heat a greenhouse in the spring using electricity? There are several options for electric heating that you can install yourself.
The main condition for electric heating is the presence of electricity in the greenhouse (or near it).
The easiest way to heat a greenhouse in the spring is to install electric heaters. By periodically changing the location of the devices, you can easily change the air flow of heat in the greenhouse.

The advantages of this method are the low cost of the heating system, ease of use and management. And electrical appliances with fans help to uniformly warm the building area and prevent condensation from appearing on the walls of the greenhouse.
The disadvantages of such heating will be the unevenness of the heating area when using only one device; and the use of several devices in a large greenhouse will entail significant waste of energy and financial costs. In addition, the devices should not be too close to the plants so that hot air does not hit them.
Another heating method is to install a heating cable for the greenhouse. It is laid in advance, under a layer of soil. With this use of electricity, it is possible to save money, since energy consumption is much less than that of heating devices. The system is easy to use and allows you to evenly distribute heat over the entire area of the greenhouse, and not only the soil, but also the air is heated. This is especially convenient when the greenhouse begins to function only in the spring and the soil after winter is cold and unsuitable for plants.

How to heat a greenhouse in early spring - infrared heating method

For infrared heating of greenhouses, special infrared lamps, heaters and thermal film are used.

An economical way to use (compared to electrical appliances), the infrared heating method quickly and evenly heats the soil and plants without drying out the air.
By installing a thermostat on infrared heaters, you can easily control the room temperature and maintain constant climate control.
Infrared radiation is harmless to plants and people.
The advantages of this heating method are the long service life (up to 10 years) of the devices, high returns at low costs and an easy way to install the system.

How to heat a greenhouse during frosts - an emergency heating method

What to do if a cold snap suddenly sets in, but there is no heating in the greenhouse yet? There are emergency ways to heat a greenhouse space. Let's look at one example.
First way. To do this, you will need a barrel and porous bricks soaked in a flammable mixture. A barrel of bricks is placed near the greenhouse. Then it is necessary to mount and strengthen the pipe from the top of the barrel to the ceiling of the greenhouse. When the bricks are set on fire, the greenhouse room heats up quickly and stays hot for about 12 hours.
The method is quite dangerous, applicable only in emergency cases and requires strict adherence to fire safety rules and constant monitoring.

Second way. It is used when there is enough sunlight during the day, but frost is still possible at night. Plastic bottles filled with water are used. They are placed in the soil around the entire perimeter of the greenhouse, without screwing the lids on. During the day they heat up from the sun's rays penetrating the greenhouse, and at night they release the accumulated heat to the soil. Additionally, valuable moisture evaporates, creating a favorable microclimate for plants.

How to heat the soil in a greenhouse

In the previous sections, some methods of heating the soil in a greenhouse were considered: heating with “biofuel” or bottles of water, warm air through special hoses, infrared devices, etc. Let’s consider other possible options for heating the soil.
The soil chimney is a device from a stove located outside the greenhouse. The chimney is placed directly into the soil inside the greenhouse. Thus, it heats not only the soil, but also the air.
A “warm floor” in a greenhouse can be easily provided by installing electric heating cables there. It does not take up extra space in the greenhouse; such a “floor” perfectly warms the soil, and therefore the air. In addition, automatic temperature control can be installed. Despite all the benefits and convenience, the system will require certain costs for the purchase and installation of such equipment.

How to heat a polycarbonate greenhouse

The choice of material for making a greenhouse is very important, as it directly affects the ability to retain and transfer heat indoors.
Glass transmits light well, but has low thermal insulation. Double-glazed windows are too expensive a material. The film is not durable and thin. Polycarbonate is the most optimal option in terms of thermal conductivity and light transmission.
For a greenhouse that is “launched” in the spring, single-layer polycarbonate will be sufficient. For a year-round greenhouse, take two layers of polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate greenhouses can be heated using all of the above methods.

conclusions

Before choosing one or another method of heating a greenhouse in the spring, it is important to decide on a number of factors:

Greenhouse size.
The material from which the greenhouse is made.
Operating conditions of the greenhouse (seasonal or year-round).
Availability of technical resources: gas, electricity, boiler power in the house, etc.
Financial opportunities.

Only taking into account all the above circumstances will it be possible to choose the most rational method for heating the greenhouse.

Having carefully studied all the methods of heating a greenhouse, familiarizing yourself with their positive and negative sides, determine for yourself the most suitable one, ensuring comfortable plant growth and complete heating of the air and soil.

If necessary, it is possible to combine several methods of heating the greenhouse. This is very convenient and allows you to change heating methods (if necessary) or combine them, if necessary.

Heated greenhouses, video

“Heating a greenhouse with wood”:

“Heating a polycarbonate greenhouse”:

“Greenhouse water heating”:

With the first breath of spring, it is time to massively prepare greenhouses for the new season. Cleaning and whitewashing the greenhouse, its disinfection, as well as warming up and adding the components necessary for the earth - this is just an incomplete list of work awaiting gardeners during this period. But only timely and high-quality implementation can be a key factor in obtaining a decent harvest. Proper soil preparation in the spring in a greenhouse can significantly improve its performance.

Greenhouse prepared for planting

When the revision of the greenhouse structure is completed and all identified deficiencies have been eliminated, the next step on the path to obtaining a rich harvest is begun - cultivating the land before planting.

Basic methods and purposes of disinfection

First of all, it is necessary to protect future seedlings from the influence of microorganisms that harmed plants in past seasons. To do this, it is advisable to completely remove the top layer of soil, which contains most of the harmful fungi and bacteria that can destroy the crop.

Before planting, it is important to disinfect not only the soil, but also the room

If this is impossible to do, don’t worry. High-quality preparation of the greenhouse for planting is also possible when it is treated with disinfectants. It should be done several weeks before planting the first vegetation. Moreover, the amount of time before planting seedlings in a greenhouse is, first of all, determined by the characteristics of the use of a disinfectant.

There are several methods for disinfecting soil in greenhouses:

thermal;
biological;
chemical.

Spring preparation of the greenhouse allows you to use them both separately and in combination. All of them are effective in their own way, but each has its own characteristics. We will try to talk about land disinfection methods in more detail.

Thermal treatment of soil

Thermal methods for improving the health of greenhouse soil include freezing and steaming. During the first of them, in winter or early spring, the snow cover is removed and the ground is allowed to freeze to sub-zero temperatures. Naturally, the lower the thermometer reading drops, the more likely it is to destroy microorganisms that can destroy future plants.

Freezing the soil allows you to get rid of many pests

Steaming not only destroys pests, but also speeds up the harvest.

Chemical methods of disinfection

Chemical methods for disinfecting greenhouse soil are the most popular. Among the main reasons for their widespread use:

There are two types of chemicals: for liquid or gas disinfection of soil.

Among the disinfectants for soil preparation in a greenhouse, the use of which is carried out in a liquid state, the following can be noted:

copper sulfate;
carbation;
phytosporin;
viracide;
formalin and others.

Chemicals effectively disinfect the soil in the greenhouse

All of the above drugs are soluble in water (the proportions are indicated on the packaging) and can be applied to a wide range of pests of greenhouse crops. As for specific disinfection preparations, the following have proven themselves well:

Bayleton – a remedy against gray rot;
Fitoverm - a drug against spider mites, aphids and caterpillars;
acrobat is an effective cure for late blight and downy mildew.

The essence of the gas method of disinfecting a greenhouse is to fumigate it with sulfur dioxide released by burning sulfur. Among the sulfur bombs that seasoned gardeners most often tend to choose, the following can be noted:

pawn;
climate;
hephaestus

Carrying out this procedure requires careful sealing of the room, as well as compliance with the necessary safety measures. Such treatment of the greenhouse should be carried out at least two weeks before planting the first seedlings in it.

Disinfection with sulfur destroys pests even in hard-to-reach places

The effectiveness of chemical methods for disinfecting greenhouse soil is indisputable. But their use still does not make it possible to obtain environmentally friendly vegetables. Therefore, it is best to use such methods not in spring, but in autumn, immediately after harvesting. Accordingly, the spring volume of work associated with chemical disinfection of the soil in a greenhouse largely depends on how intensively the greenhouse was prepared for winter.

Safe biological soil renewal

Less effective than chemical ones, but most acceptable in the context of obtaining environmentally friendly products, are biological methods of soil treatment. Their essence is to introduce living organisms into the soil (with manure or compost) that are capable of destroying greenhouse pests on their own. In addition, you cannot do without:

soil replacement;
use of sewing shifts;
growing green manure.

The results of using biological methods for disinfecting greenhouse soil are excellent, but there are several disadvantages:

they are not always applicable for a greenhouse;
their duration of action is calculated from 4-5 years of constant use, and a beginner in greenhouse business cannot use them;
During the compost process, constant digging is necessary to protect yourself from weeds.

To get the maximum effect from biological soil improvement, it is important to remember three factors:

The opinion that pests of greenhouse plants completely die under the influence of low temperatures is absolutely unreliable.
To achieve the desired effect, disinfection as part of preparing the greenhouse for planting must be carried out in conjunction with disinfection of the entire greenhouse structure.
Fumigation with sulfur is highly undesirable in greenhouses with a metal frame: the gas released significantly accelerates the process of rust.

Improving soil fertility

In addition to therapeutic procedures, preparing a greenhouse in the spring also cannot be done without preparing proper soil mixtures - a high-quality basis for the future harvest. After all, in order to promote normal growth and development of plants, the soil needs proper care, as well as a sufficient amount of minerals. In this section we will try to understand the features of greenhouse soils and their preparation.

High-quality soil significantly increases productivity

Features of an ideal greenhouse soil

Let us immediately make a reservation that soil for greenhouses, which would be suitable for absolutely all plants grown in them, simply does not exist in nature. The choice of greenhouse soil mixture depends on many factors:

requirements of the crop being grown;
time of year and the presence of additional heating;
climatic features of the region;
availability of necessary ingredients.

To ensure normal yields, the soil in the greenhouse must meet the following requirements:

ability to ensure normal heat and air exchange;
high-quality water saturation during irrigation, as well as the ability to transmit it when growing non-moisture-loving plants;
absorption of necessary microelements in cases of its fertilization.

The best soil mixtures in terms of their physical properties are those in which the ratio of liquid, solid and gaseous fractions is 1:1:1.

Soil for greenhouses: components and their properties

Among the possible components of greenhouse soil are the following elements: turf, sand, peat, clay, as well as conifer bark, straw, sawdust and fallen leaves, green manure and fully prepared composts. In addition, organic agents in the form of pus, humus and bird droppings, as well as a full set of necessary mineral macro- and microelements, are added to the soil mixture.

Each of them has its own special purpose in creating optimal soil for growing plants. So, sand serves as a baking powder and insulation, and clay retains moisture well. Sawdust, leaves, straw, etc. maintain the desired volumetric mass, improve the water regime and release carbon dioxide, and the bark serves as an antiseptic. The introduction of these components perfectly replenishes the soil with organic matter.

Another supplier of organic fertilizers to soil mixtures is manure. In addition, it perfectly maintains the structure of the soil, and also saturates the plants with a full range of micro- and macroelements. Peat eliminates excess life-giving components, releases carbon dioxide and adds organic matter. And lime materials optimize acidity and improve soil structure.

The more components are used to create a mixture, the more the possibilities of proper nutrition, formation and development of plants improve. In addition, by qualitatively complementing each other, the elements of multicomponent soils also mutually neutralize negative manifestations.

So, if fertilizers are applied in excess of the norm, their excess will be absorbed by sawdust, bark or peat. In turn, bird droppings will enrich them with nitrogen, and sand resists oxidation.

Do-it-yourself preparation of soil components

In fact, preparing a greenhouse in the spring for harvest begins with the preparation of components for greenhouse soil. And their combination is carried out depending on where and what vegetables are planned to be grown. Let us consider here the features of preparing the main components for the production of soil mixtures: turf, humus and composts.

The harvesting of turf land is carried out in late spring or early summer in areas where perennial cereals and legumes grow. Manure, lime and mineral fertilizers are spread onto freshly plowed, harrow-crushed soil, after which they are raked and placed in piles up to 2 m high. Throughout the summer, they are watered several times with liquid manure and shoveled using improvised mechanisms.

Preparing humus

An excellent biofuel for greenhouses, humus is nothing more than completely rotted manure.

To prepare this component of the soil mixture, you need to take manure that has already been used in the greenhouse and lay it out in piles. The finished heaps are sprinkled with peat and systematically watered with slurry. To avoid drying out, the stacks need to be swapped from time to time.

Another great fertilizer for preparing soil in a greenhouse in the spring is compost. It can be harvested almost all year round, because the basis of this product is made up of almost any plant residues: mown grass and weeds, fallen leaves and kitchen waste, rotten vegetables or fruits, manure, peat and others. Each layer of organic matter is sprinkled with fertile soil and watered from time to time.

Conditions for natural ripening

Compost maturation lasts from 6 to 12 months. The readiness of the fertilizer can be determined by its color (it becomes uniform and dark) and, most importantly, its smell and substance. Mature compost has a rather pleasant aroma of freshly plowed soil or forest litter. To avoid drying out, compost containers are placed in the shade and sometimes covered with film. In winter, to protect from freezing, they are carefully covered with snow.

Making compost

Important to remember:

Regular ventilation significantly speeds up the compost preparation process.
It is extremely undesirable to harvest turf in areas with marshy areas - the result will be a soil mixture with very high acidity.
Dry peat crumbs, due to the impossibility of high-quality wetting with water, are not used in the production of greenhouse soils.
Soil in which insects, pests or pathogens of various diseases are present is unsuitable for preparing greenhouse mixtures.

Warming up the greenhouse soil before planting

The final stage of spring soil preparation in a greenhouse is its warming up. The importance of the procedure lies not only in increasing the temperature in the greenhouse, but also in other factors:

the indoor microclimate improves;
the root system matures faster;
as a result, productivity increases significantly.

To naturally obtain the 10-15 degrees necessary for the growing season, you can arrange high beds and use cellular polycarbonate as a covering. The excellent heat retention capabilities inherent in this material, along with good heating of the soil in the greenhouse, will allow you to achieve the desired result in a short time.

High beds in the greenhouse warm up perfectly

In addition, you can install forced heating of the room. To do this, special electric plates are placed under the main soil, which:

absolutely safe for both humans and farmed products;
have the ability to regulate the supplied heat;
switched on in forced or automatic modes.

Important things to consider:

To better warm up the greenhouse soil, you can cover it with a dark film.
Under no circumstances should snow be thrown into the greenhouse, as it will become a powerful insulator between the soil and the warm air in the room.

High-quality preparation of the soil in a greenhouse in the spring will not only increase the yield of greenhouse crops, carried out taking into account the above recommendations, it will make it possible to grow healthy, environmentally friendly vegetables with which you can delight yourself and those close to your heart all year round!

If there is literally nowhere for an apple to fall on the windowsill with seedlings and vegetables for forcing, and your enthusiasm still does not dry up, there is only one way out: it’s time to get out to the greenhouse. I patched it up here, insulated it here, loosened the soil - and now it’s ready to receive the first green settlers of spring!

Some experienced gardeners, without waiting for the sun to warm up the greenhouse before sowing, heat it. Then an early harvest is guaranteed!

This is what Igor Shulgovsky from Shklov does. In early spring, a gardener uses a 1.7-acre greenhouse as a nursery. And so that the heat does not spread throughout the entire greenhouse, at first it is partitioned off with film.

During his practice, he tried several types of stoves: both gas and diesel. But they caused a large amount of carbon monoxide to accumulate in the greenhouse, and the plants turned yellow. Now the gardener has returned to the good old potbelly stoves using wood and briquettes. To heat such a space, he needs two - a large and a small one.

From them, to remove smoke, the owner ran thin-walled pipes to the roof, and additionally placed a vat of water on the stoves themselves: when it boils, warm evaporation occurs.

To maintain the temperature in the nursery within +16... +25 degrees, and the humidity not higher than 60%, he lights the stoves every day in March at 10 pm (then the sun helps more and more every day) and periodically ventilates (does not allow drafts!). Seedlings of cucumbers and peppers are kept on wooden racks located at a distance of 70 cm from the ground, and onions and radishes are usually grown under them.

To better retain heat, Igor Anatolyevich lined the sides of the greenhouse with two layers of polyethylene film (between them there is an air gap the width of the bar - the frame of the greenhouse). The top was covered with one layer of dense (150 micron) light-stabilizing film.

And here is Viktor Tumanov from the village of Bolshoye Stiklevo, Minsk region. Cucumbers are sown at the beginning of February in a heated nursery with lighting (area 8 sq.m.), a little later - tomatoes.

And already in the second half of March, he transplants cucumber seedlings into a heated greenhouse made of film, glass and polycarbonate, and tomato seedlings aged 50-60 days - in April (warms the room to at least +16 degrees). The owner heats both the nursery and the greenhouse directly from the house: from there he ran pipes through which hot water runs. The first cucumbers are picked in April!

FACT: Polycarbonate greenhouses retain heat best, followed by glazed ones, and then film ones. Regarding the shape of the structure, an arched greenhouse is better; snow and rainwater roll down better.

Warming up the earth in a greenhouse

As soon as the ground thaws, I dig it up to make it permeable to the air warmed up in the sun during the day. At the same time, I dig trenches with the bayonet of a shovel - in the ridges formed between them, the soil warms up faster.

Then I spill the soil with warm water or Baikal EM-1 solution - this awakens soil microorganisms. I don’t throw snow into the greenhouse. Yes, this way the soil will be saturated with melt water, but until this happens, warm air will not enter the soil, and sowing will have to be postponed for two weeks.

Then I cover the area with transparent or dark film.

After 10-14 days, I remove it, level the ridges, form beds and sow seeds of radishes and green crops. I also plant seedlings of Peking cabbage, early white cabbage and cauliflower here for growing. A couple of times, when the dark film “lived out” the last season, I planted plants without removing it, i.e. into the cross-shaped cuts made in it - I liked the result. If it gets colder, I cover the bed with spunbond, and the plants themselves with bags made from old newspapers.

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Alexander Spitsyn 03/30/2015 | 5359

The strongest influence on the rate of plant growth and development is exerted by water, light, mineral nutrition and temperature. We will talk about the first three factors separately someday, and today we will talk about temperature.

When does a person say that it has become warm? Correctly, when the air temperature has reached a comfortable level. But plants are still not people, and opinions on this matter may be different. Not only air temperature is important for plants, but also soil temperature.

How to speed up soil warming?

The easiest way is cover the soil ridges with black spunbond or black film. Black color absorbs more solar energy, and the material itself prevents it from escaping at night. A strong greenhouse effect is created.

In my opinion, cover with spunbond better than film, since the latter deprives the soil of oxygen, which can be dangerous for underground inhabitants - worms and insects, and we need them alive.

Covering with spunbond is good to practice even in an assembled greenhouse, if it is not heated. The fact is that the cubic capacity of greenhouses does not allow for a significant increase in soil temperature in the spring. In addition, glass, polycarbonate and polyethylene coatings cool down quite strongly on clear and frosty nights.

Another way to speed up warming up the soil and stabilize its temperature at the required levels - this is the creation of a water buffer. This method is good for planting seedlings of tomatoes, paprika, artichokes, cucumbers and cabbage.

Creating a water buffer

Creating a water buffer is simple - we alternate the planted seedling bushes with dark one and a half to two liter plastic bottles dug into the ground at the same depth as the seedlings. We pre-fill the bottles with water.

From a school physics course we know that water has a high heat capacity. At night it will slowly release the accumulated heat to the soil, and during the day it will counteract overheating. The fact is that water reaches its maximum heat capacity at a temperature of about 37ºC and it is difficult to heat it to higher values without an electric kettle. So overheating will be just as excluded as hypothermia. There is one important point: the “water buffer” does not work well against frost without covering material.

I had one unsuccessful experiment. I planted tomatoes and cucumbers on the external (outside the village) plot. Thoroughly mulched the soil, placed dark bottles of water between the seedlings, but was too lazy to cover the top with spunbond. More precisely, I wasn’t lazy, but it was hot in those days. And then - once! And frosts. And all my work was covered with a copper basin. And all because I didn’t cover it with spunbond before.

But I wasn’t very upset - because now I can tell you about it, and you won’t do that. When planting heat-loving plants in regions where there is a danger of frost, a water buffer works better when covered with spunbond or, at worst, film. At worst, because under the film the plants will be deprived of rain watering and you will have to constantly water them.

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A distinctive feature of warm beds is the increased temperature inside the soil, which promotes the normal development of plants, even when there is frost outside the greenhouse. This design allows you to start growing vegetables in the first spring months, regardless of bad weather conditions.

Solar heat warms the beds only by the beginning of May, in some regions and by the end of May. Artificially heated soil is suitable for planting plants as early as March, while the root shoots are in comfortable conditions, which contributes to their strengthening and plant growth. In addition, the heat generated by the earth helps warm the air in the greenhouse.

Advantages of warm beds:

Early planting and achieving maximum yield in the first summer months;
Getting good results even on relatively fertile soil;
Reducing the need for plant nutrition;
Increasing the fruiting period;
Reducing water consumption during irrigation;
Weed control.

Preparing a warm bed in a greenhouse is carried out in autumn or early spring. There are several options for heating the bed: electric cable, water pipes, biological compost. When using a cable, it is laid under the soil in advance and heated using electricity. These designs are highly efficient, but expensive to maintain.

Water heating is used using special pipes made of polymer material, which are laid under the ground.

Hot water flows through the pipes, capable of heating the earth. For biological beds, plant residues and manure from livestock farming are used. The heating element is the rotting process, as a result of which the soil temperature rises. This is the most economical way to heat beds. Each method has its pros and cons. The gardener selects the most appropriate option based on his own views on growing plants.

Heating the soil in a greenhouse using an electric cable

Cable heating of greenhouse beds allows you to maintain the soil temperature as accurately as possible, which makes it possible to effectively grow plants.

The main advantages of an electric heating system include:

The ability to grow any, even exotic crops;
Increased productivity;
Ability to regulate soil temperature;
Easy to install cable system;
Long service life.

To arrange the bed, it is necessary to remove up to 40 cm of top soil. Next, lay thermal insulation material so that energy does not escape into the lower layers of the earth. Prepare a cushion 5 cm high with sifted sand, pour water on it and compact it.

To protect the cable from various rodents, you need to install a special mesh over the sand.

Next, lay the electrical cable on the mesh like a snake. The laying distance between the tape should be no more than 20 cm. Using special clamps, secure the wire to the mesh, cover it with sand and compact it, creating another pillow. Next, in order to avoid mechanical damage to the cable during excavation work, lay another mesh and cover the entire structure with earth. Thanks to this device, plants can be grown in greenhouses regardless of weather conditions, using additional lighting in autumn and winter. In return, the family will receive fresh vegetables at any time of the year.

A simple greenhouse with heated soil with your own hands

Water heated beds also have a number of advantages. Firstly, the condensate formed on the pipes additionally moistens the soil. This design provides uniform heating of the air in the room. To heat the greenhouse, you will need a gas or electric boiler; you can also use a small wood-burning stove made of brick or metal.

You need to purchase a smoke outlet pipe for it. The choice is made in accordance with the configuration of the heater.

To install a furnace or boiler, it is necessary to prepare a foundation; for a brick structure, a concrete foundation. A metal boiler can be placed on a sheet of asbestos and cement mixture. Next, the structures provide stability and attach the chimney, hermetically sealing the connection points.

Insulation of beds with pipes, necessary work:

Remove soil 35-40 mm thick;
Material for thermal insulation is laid at the bottom of the resulting trench; foam plastic is usually used;
Water pipes are placed on top and connected to the heating system;
Fertile soil is laid on top of the pipes.

This heating method is considered optimal, but it is necessary to ensure that the temperature of the water in the pipes does not exceed 45 o C, otherwise you can burn the roots of the plants.

Warm bed in a polycarbonate greenhouse: biological method

The biological method of heating beds is made using natural biofuel placed in the subsoil layer. Plant residues, sawdust and manure are used as filler, which is spilled with water for the rotting process. Such beds are the most economical design.

Warm beds running on natural fuel are usually divided according to the type of construction:

In-depth, when fertile soil is removed, a trench is dug, compost is laid and filled with soil on top so that it is level with the total mass of the earth;
Raised beds, the top layer of soil is removed from the surface and placed in special wooden boxes, which serve as protection against shedding and washing away of the soil during operation;
A hilly bed, laid without a box on top of the main platform;
A combined option, when the lower layers with organic matter are laid at ground level, and the fertile soil layer is fixed with a box.

To make a structure for a combined warm ridge, you need to mark out places for future plantings. Then carefully remove the layer of turf, putting the fertile soil aside. Next, you need to dig a trench up to 60 cm deep. To protect against freezing, foam plastic or closed plastic containers are placed at the bottom of the trench. Next begins the first layer of organic matter, consisting of large branches, wooden chocks, and large plant objects.

This layer will play a drainage role. Then a paper backing consisting of waste paper is laid.

After this comes a layer of finer organic matter, food waste, tree leaves, and small grass stems. Next, add ready-made compost, or semi-rotted manure, to begin the rotting process. We install a pre-prepared box into which we will pour fertile soil. Each laid layer must be thoroughly watered. We cover the last layer with fertile soil. Soil enriched with organic matter is perfect for planting tomatoes, pumpkins and cucumbers. The rotting process can warm the earth for 2 months.

How to warm the soil in a greenhouse in spring

Having a polycarbonate greenhouse, you want to start sowing plants in early spring. To do this, it is necessary to warm the soil and air in the greenhouse.

There are various ways to increase soil temperature:

Electric heating with air, a simple and affordable method, you need to purchase a heater-fan and connect it to electricity;
Electric heating of beds with a cable, an easy-to-install system that allows you to heat the soil to the required temperature and maintain it in this condition;
The infrared method, using special lamps, a feature of this option is the ability to heat only the plants without increasing the air temperature in the greenhouse;
Water pipes serve as an excellent heating element for the soil, beds and shelving while moistening the soil with condensation.

Warm beds in a greenhouse (video)

Greenhouses with artificial heating are able to heat and insulate the soil and air due to the energy-heating structure, allowing plants to be grown from early spring to late autumn.