Isaac Hunter wrote:....
2. Temps typically do not get high enough in the summer to grow peppers or tomatoes and when it does the heat is quickly stolen in the afternoon by strong winds that blow in from the north. I can heat up a gallon milk jug of water so its warm enough to shower with, but I’m wondering if a green house will make much difference? My plan is to put a permanent cold frame over one of my docks (8x16) with a 3ft bed on either side. It would be completely enclosed using pvc hoops and clear plastic with framed walls at each end, one end with a door. It would not be tall enough to walk in, maybe only 5 ft at the center, just enough to get in and sit down in a chair to work the beds.
Will this warm up in the summer enough to have a chance at growing peppers, cherry tomatoes, maybe even strawberries?
My plan is to grow hot vegetables in the green house during the summer and then salad greens during the winter.
Will the green house even be functional without direct sunlight through most of the winter? Does it need direct sunlight to heat up?
I’ve had a few tents down on the dock in the last few years and they do heat up some in the winter, and run you right out in the summer, typically too hot to sit in from about 10am to 4pm.
......
These are the things against you:
-north facing propery (best solution sell/swap it and get south facing property);
-you're attempting this over the water: moisture on anything in any type of weather results in a quicker heat transfer (by just not sealing a wall with paint, you will lose 5 degrees F due to moisture);
-you're losing heat to the water below you which is a huge heat reservoir with a temperature well below your desired growing temperature AND it is wet ( best solution: solid vapor barrier between the grow beds and dock bottoms and three feet of peat moss under the beds for insulation);
-the north winds are still going to drop your temperatures like a rock even in the summer time after dark....this will be exaggerated over a huge thermal reservoir of cold which is also wet.
these things are for you:
-your determination to do it anyway;
-your determination will lead you to find the species which love the cold and the wet;
-there are many edible plants that love the cold and the wet;
-your determination will lead you to find the best ways to make these edible plants enjoyable to the majority of humans;
-there are root crops which are grown in the cold North East of the US under the snow, under straw, when I saw pictures of people doing this, I freaked
you can find a version of that here:
winter crop
and if you google long enough, you will find the crazy pics I found some time ago but can't find right now with people actually digging through two feet of snow to harvest their winter crop.
there are many gardeners on this site that might know of the winter crops I'm talking about or know other gardeners with the hutzpa to do extreme winter crops....I only ran across the pics when trying to find hardy plants.
in my opinion bears and coons will also love your food store once you find the right species to grow.....bears are clever but not as clever as a determined coon: take your determination and pretend you're a coon and you are really hungry -maybe you can divert them then.
if you really don't want to swap property that is more conducive to growing peppers and tomatoes in the winter, then you might consider property sharing in which the south facing property owner can provide you with space to grow and make wind breaks on land while they can ice fish on your property. Otherwise you've got alot of experimenting to do for the next 3 to 5 years before you find what you can really do, not what you thought you might.
Good luck on your experiment!