Hoophouse heating question

Nightshade · January 22, 2009

I almost have my hub talked into building a cattlepanel hoophouse on a cement pad that is already in place here. I'd like to use it for growing tomatoes after their final potting up, changing out the plastic to shadecloth later in the season.

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to balance benefits of the shelter with cost of heating it. Our nighttime averages from January through May run something like this: 39/40/41/44/50F. If the minimum standard temperature needed for tomatoes to set fruit is 50, do I need to maintain that for the entire night, or could the temperature be allowed to dip below that for a couple of hours?

Thanks,
Jan

January 22, 2009	#1
Nightshade Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: So. California Posts: 178	Hoophouse heating question I almost have my hub talked into building a cattlepanel hoophouse on a cement pad that is already in place here. I'd like to use it for growing tomatoes after their final potting up, changing out the plastic to shadecloth later in the season. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to balance benefits of the shelter with cost of heating it. Our nighttime averages from January through May run something like this: 39/40/41/44/50F. If the minimum standard temperature needed for tomatoes to set fruit is 50, do I need to maintain that for the entire night, or could the temperature be allowed to dip below that for a couple of hours? Thanks, Jan Last edited by Nightshade; January 22, 2009 at 06:00 PM.