We have solar generators to power our house and from around May to September we have more electricity than we can use. So, it makes sense to use it to heat the polytunnel.
I grow tomatoes and chilies without heat, but peppers never do well. I wanting to try cantaloupe melon this year.
Trouble is, we don't get above 10 degree nights until July/Aug and we never consistently get 12 degrees.
This year I've made a heated bench with soil warming cables buried in trays of sand. That's providing a surface temp to the sand of around 6 degrees above ambient temp. So provided night time temps are above 4 degrees my heated bench stays above 10 degrees. Tomatoes are out there now in their pots and look very happy.
I'm thinking of getting some more cables for the polytunnel raised bed. This would let me get the tomatoes planted into the beds now. Then, in June I can move the cables to the front of the bed to boost temps for the peppers - they'll need the extra heat for most of the summer.
Any feedback on this plan? Running costs will be zero so it's just the outlay for the cables. Is it likely to make a difference to my harvest? Or maybe someone can suggest a better use of that excess free electricity?
I grow tomatoes and chilies without heat, but peppers never do well. I wanting to try cantaloupe melon this year.
Trouble is, we don't get above 10 degree nights until July/Aug and we never consistently get 12 degrees.
This year I've made a heated bench with soil warming cables buried in trays of sand. That's providing a surface temp to the sand of around 6 degrees above ambient temp. So provided night time temps are above 4 degrees my heated bench stays above 10 degrees. Tomatoes are out there now in their pots and look very happy.
I'm thinking of getting some more cables for the polytunnel raised bed. This would let me get the tomatoes planted into the beds now. Then, in June I can move the cables to the front of the bed to boost temps for the peppers - they'll need the extra heat for most of the summer.
Any feedback on this plan? Running costs will be zero so it's just the outlay for the cables. Is it likely to make a difference to my harvest? Or maybe someone can suggest a better use of that excess free electricity?
