Hello, first post.
I have been searching all over to the challenges that I am sure to encounter with my latest proposed
project.
I am living in Coastal Central Florida. We don't have soil, we have sand, so growing almost anything that isn't a pineapple, is an immense challenge. Add to that, the fact that we have just a few days a year, where the temps dip low
enough to kill off traditional garden plants. (the types that I want to grow) So, after having moved my hydroponic tomatoes and peppers inside for the next 2 days, at great personal labor to myself, I have decided to think about a
greenhouse.
My reasons are simple - I want to raise my own food, ALL year round. I don't want to start new plants anymore than I have to. Tomatoes and peppers are perfect for this. Also, because of the poor soil, and the incredible growth rate and performance, I like hydroponics. So I want to do both
greenhouse and hydroponics, at the "hobby" level. This would mean a greenhouse no bigger than 10 X 15, at the very most.
Here is the problem that I have so far. #1 is keeping the greenhouse at a decent temperature. I'm pretty sure that to do this, I'd probably want some sort of evaporative cooling. Heat will NEVER be a problem. Cool will almost ALWAYS be a problem. #2 issue, is keeping nutrient solution of the hydroponics systems cool. Preferrably between 65 and 73 degrees. I'm not sure that burying is not an option here, as I have heard that the ground temperature isn't really conducive to this type of thing.
So that's it, in a nutshell. This is my starting point. Thank you in advance.
