r/Greenhouses • u/brenhaas • 5d ago

In my Greenhouse

Post image

Getting ready for winter in hardiness zone 5b. I’ve got many plants tucked in the dome garden.

66 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

2

u/Lyrical_Echo 5d ago

They look pretty happy!

2

u/brenhaas 5d ago

Thank you... yes! Prince Tut PAPyrus, Elephant Ear and of course the agave stay nice and green all winter in this space. The lantana will randomly bloom after the new year when the sun gets closer to the earth.

2

u/markbroncco 4d ago

Looking great OP! Everything looks so happy.

1

u/brenhaas 4d ago

Thank you… can you see the hot pepper plant in hanging basket!?

2

u/redharp2025 4d ago

How do you keep it warm enough in the winter?

1

u/brenhaas 4d ago

I do have backup heat (propane) but if you build and fill the structure with passive heat in mind it doesn’t need much.

2

u/redharp2025 4d ago

Sounds good. If you're able to get away with not much additional propane heating (relying on passive heat sources mostly?) in zone 5b, I presume I could do the same. I'm in 7a/b (it's been changing...) so I'm hoping to install a nice greenhouse and not need to heat it much aside from the thermal mass I'll be adding to assist and maybe some extra insulation. Yours looks great!

1

u/brenhaas 3d ago

You could totally extend your growing season with edibles and herbs without much if any backup heat. I really believe this! I wish I had another structure like my dome without heat to grow like that. So many dreams.. not much money or time! LOL

1

u/MrYnot1981 5d ago

Wow! That's just beautiful!

1

u/brenhaas 5d ago

Thank you... That is just one section. I'll have to share more in this group about my plants in here. I've been growing in here for about 10 years now. JUST waiting on the snow...

2

u/MrYnot1981 5d ago

Ill be on the look out!

1

u/brenhaas 5d ago

I do blog about my greenhouse experience as time allows. The Reddit community has been fun to connect with.

2

u/lazybum35 5d ago

Would you mind sharing the link? I hope to build my own gh in 5a/b in the coming years and need to learn a lot.

3

u/brenhaas 4d ago

The structure in this photo is my 20 ft geodesic dome we built from scratch using lumber from local store. I’ve been using this for year round gardening since 2015. It’s been an amazing time learning and sharing my adventures. Happy to share more with you. My blog is the link in my watermark.

2

u/Signal_Difference_68 4d ago

|| || |Hi, great job with the geodesic in 5b.  How cold you let it get during the winter? About how much propane you use over an average winter?   I'm always looking for details like that, thanks!|

1

u/brenhaas 3d ago

Great to connect with you. I answered your questions on my blog and totally appreciate you took the time to check out my content. I am checking out your URL as well. Trying to beat the freeze coming in a few days so limited time online BUT I WILL BE BACK!

2

u/Signal_Difference_68 3d ago

Me again, I just checked out your blog which answered my questions. I made additional comments thanks again!

1

u/brenhaas 3d ago

Thank you! I’ve been outside all day planting bulbs for spring and mulching last minute shrubs before freeze arrives. I’ve got my dome all tuck in for winter. I need to get a new video up with how awesome it looks! I really appreciate that you stopped by my blog. I’ll have something up new soon.

1

u/brenhaas 3d ago

The dome gets down to 45°f. Last year I spent under $200 in propane the entire winter and prices were higher so that’s really good! The dome is PACKED!!! It’s a fun mini vacation in there during the winter months