# Greenhouse temp in hardiness zone 6a?



## EscapingToronto (Jun 27, 2011)

I'm just curious if anyone has experiences with greenhouses in this zone? 

What is the lowest the temperature will typically fall to in the winter?

Thanks in advance


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

This is not my blog, but http://fastgrowtheweeds.com/ may be of great interest to you. She is in zone 6a on the lake shore in Southern MI and has been growing in hoop house type green houses (unheated) year round for several years now. There's a plethora of information and experience throughout the archives.


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

I have been amazed at this lst winter with my greenhouse. I put wine bottles filled with water around the edges and then used plastic milk bottles. A few of the bottles froze and broke. When it is really going down in temps I cover the plants with the spun bond stuff and they don't freeze! I have spinach, onions, lettuce, radishes, beets, peas and Claytonia (miners lettuce). This is the lst time I have had miner's lettuce and it is now a favorite. So mild and tasty and dark green in winter salads!!


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## EscapingToronto (Jun 27, 2011)

Thanks Rita and olivehill, that blog is really neat!


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## semimoonman (Oct 31, 2012)

Hi, I'm in 6b, and our greenhouse (unheated, no foundation) gets down pretty low on winter nights. I'd estimate that at night, it's a couple degrees at most above the outside temperature. During the day, it gets a lot of solar gain. On a sunny, 10 degree (F) afternoon, it will be 70 degrees (F) inside. We need to remember open the door for ventilation on sunny days even in the deep winter.

The key is planting cold hardy varieties during the winter, letting them get big in the late fall/early winter, and making sure that the plants aren't frozen when you harvest. There are plenty of greens that can survive and recover from multiple freezes. Territorial Seed and Fedco Seed are great sources. We plant mainly chard, kale, collards, arugala, and a mixture of Asian greens like bok choi and tatsoi.


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