Greenheat on a micro scale for a small greenhouse

[Sunbala]

My wonderful husband built me an 8 foot by 6 foot greenhouse this summer. We are trying to figure out how to responsibly heat this wonderful space for the mild Tennessee winter.

I have veggie table scraps,dead leaves,and a prodigiously pooping bunny,so clearly the answer for the heat problem is compost! But the floor of my greenhouse is not diggable, so the common compost trench with pipes and grates will not work.

So I am trying 2 experiments:

1 using haybails to build compost piles next to the greenhouse, with a double layered cardboard "Wall" to protect the greenhouse wall.

2. Using my largest ceramic flowerpots as "braziers" full of compost inside the greenhouse.

Compost recipe: like a lasagna layer leaves or paper shreds, bunny poo, veggie table scraps, leaves bunny poo, etc. till pot/ bail box is full , watering each layer as you go. For aesthetics make top layer leaves. Stir water and repoo as needed by bunny hut cleaning and temperature cycle.

I know the bail boxes will get hot, but I don't know if the heat transfer will be enough because the pile heats from its center. I'm not sure the flower pots will heat very well at all because the mix is small and not in contact with the wonderfull supply of " earth germs". Given by the ground.

I might try to run some scrap metal from the center of the bail boxes to the greenhouse wall. For the pots I'll try adding some earth if they don't heat.
 


If anyone has suggestions or composting/heating wisdom to share, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers!

[MissingWillow]

How about a black rain barrel full of water (if there's room)?  You'll have both thermal mass for heating as well as a reservoir for watering.

[PaperBeau]

Or a smaller version of MissingWillow's idea - paint old plastic bottles black and fill them with water then they can nestle right in among your plants.

Or you can put in a little firepit, and use your greenhouse as a place to chill out near the fire on particularly cold days. You can then use the wood ash for roses or your compost if you have a lot of acidic citrus peels going in Surround the fire pit with big stones, and they will store up the heat and let it out slowly overnight even after the fire is safely out. That's what we did in when I lived in a tipi.

Good luck