Topic: Heating

[PJW_Letchworth]

I have a small freestanding greenhouse.  You know the sort of thing, plastic cover, four shelves, zip up front.  Anyway, I have kale, leek, calabrese, cabbage, cauliflower, sugar snap pea, butternut squash and runner bean seedlings in there and I'm worried about loosing them to the frosts and snow in the next few days.

Obviously I can't put a proper greenhouse heater in there, but would a night light candle under a terracotta plant pot be enough to keep the frost off?  I remember my Dad doing this in his greenhouse many years ago.

My garden is just off north facing and only catches a bit of sun.

Thanks!

[kt.]

Sounds fine to me as long as the plant pot has a hole in the bottom for the candle to breathe. i would also put the candle on a solid surface such as a plate or piece of metal or brick. Something non-combustable. The T-lite candles only last an hour or so but you can buy candles that last up to 50 hours depending on what you want.

[Si]

I have used oil lamps before... just vegetable oil with a shoelace wick in a terracotta pot. They tend to last for ages.

[glow777]

  Anyway, I have kale, leek, calabrese, cabbage, cauliflower, sugar snap pea, butternut squash and runner bean seedlings in there and I'm worried about loosing them to the frosts and snow in the next few days.

looking at the weather its give it bad for a fortnight!
i think the  kale, leek, calabrese, cabbage, cauliflower & sugar snap peas will be ok without any heat. The squash will probably die if the temperature gets low let alone to freezing must people dont sow under glass until mid/late April. You could bring these inside. The runner beans will also not survive low temperatures but again have been sown too early and if they survive will be too big too soon , depending on how many of these you have I would sow again at a later date, what date does it say on the packet?.

someone please correct me if Im wrong please

[okra]

I would bring the squashes indoors if the temps drop too low for a prolonged period.

[Tee Gee]

A friend of mine uses a lead lamp and the heat off the bulb is sufficient to raise the temperature a few degrees.

[MrsKP]

I used to use a candle in two terracotta pots.  One inverted over the other.

The pot got warm, can't remember if the g/h did ! 

I use paraffin now !