Where in US would you set up a greenhouse?

[castor]

I'm still young, no children, no wife or gf and I decided I am going to move pretty much where it tickles my fancy. I'm not moving yet, going to save up some money but I want to move someplace were I can set up a greenhouse, I'm just not sure where.

I know someplace warmer....Bakersfeild CA looks perfect BUT, land prices are a bit....can we say expensice. I was looking at middle Texas were land is cheap as hell, but I wouldn't really want to live there and would seem to get too warm. North of the gulf coast would be okay but there is a lot of cloud cover..........hmmmm I'm looking for the perfect place but each place I look has a large draw back.

If you could move anywhere in the country and setup a decent sized GH were would you go? (and where land is cheap per say)

[royaloaksmoke]

If you are looking for sunshine Colorado has the most sunny days per year in the US.....

[raaden]

Things to look for:
temperate climate (it doesn't get too hot or too cold)
Mother Natures Good Graces (protected from natural disasters) this is a key one
cheap land (anywhere 30 miles or so from a metro area) you will still need access to an International airport
friendly agricultural regulations


I wouldn't worry too much about cloud cover, you will still get more than enough sunlight even on mostly cloudy days except in the dead of winter. The biggest things are to get weather that doesn't go to either extreme, and stay away from areas that get natural disasters of any sort. Hurricanes, Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, anything like this will take you out quickly and most of the time are not insurable

Good Luck

[mr.wilson]

Most people agree that it's easier to do in a colder climate than in a warm one, but that may be the old "the grass is always greener" syndrome.

Bob Fenner concurs that a cooler climate is the way to go. Apparently, Julian Sprung closed his operation in Florida due to cooling issues (costs). Anthony Calfo seems to like Chicago, but I think they have a lot of cloud coverage. Chicago is a big hub for air traffic (American or US Air?). That's a big plus for frequent, cheap flights. Detroit is another good airport (Northwest Air). Dick Perrin has stuck it out there (Michigan) for many years now. Delta Air is based out of Orlando or Georgia I think, but that's back in the natural disaster and over-heating zone.

The top end of california, Oregon & Washington have a moderate climate, but the rain shadow remains as a limiting factor.

Heating is always achievable, but expensive. Cooling can be down right impossible at any cost in some climates. As Raaden stated, cloud coverage is less of a concern. Supplemental lighting will be required for certain items no matter where you are.

[samtheman]

Find a cooler dry climate like central Oregon or Washington. If you then build a solar greenhouse(not a hoop house), you can avoid lights or heat in growing coral.

[samtheman]

Originally posted by mr.wilson
Most people agree that it's easier to do in a colder climate than in a warm one, but that may be the old "the grass is always greener" syndrome.

Bob Fenner concurs that a cooler climate is the way to go. Apparently, Julian Sprung closed his operation in Florida due to cooling issues (costs). Anthony Calfo seems to like Chicago, but I think they have a lot of cloud coverage. Chicago is a big hub for air traffic (American or US Air?). That's a big plus for frequent, cheap flights. Detroit is another good airport (Northwest Air). Dick Perrin has stuck it out there (Michigan) for many years now. Delta Air is based out of Orlando or Georgia I think, but that's back in the natural disaster and over-heating zone.

The top end of california, Oregon & Washington have a moderate climate, but the rain shadow remains as a limiting factor.

Heating is always achievable, but expensive. Cooling can be down right impossible at any cost in some climates. As Raaden stated, cloud coverage is less of a concern. Supplemental lighting will be required for certain items no matter where you are.

I have been researching and planning a greenhouse for 3 years. You say that supplemental lighting will be required. How did you determine that?

[Sk8r]

Western Oregon, SE WA, much less cloud cover during the summer [a lot during winter], but cheap electricity because of dams, less pricey land, easy access to shipping routes. Major portions of the fruit-growing and flower-growing industry are in that region. Near St. John, rows of iris being cultivated; on the WA peninsula, on the other side of the Cascades, tulip farms. And some rose culture. Not, of course, to forget massive apple and berry production over toward the Methow valley. It depends on what sort of operation you're looking for: a commercial product-producing operation that sells to middlemen, or a greenhouse with retail customers, in which case you'd want more city, etc. One thing we don't have is hail: ours is more like styrofoam chips, not bombs from heaven; no great windstorms. What you do have to watch out for is forest fire in some areas, minor 2.5 earthquake [esp near St. Helens], scarcely perceptible; and if pine forest gets really drenched and the ground soaked [fairly rare], and then a 40 mph wind DOES come along, trees can go down: don't put your greenhouse next to a solitary 40 footer. Outside of that, temps in the Inland Empire range to 102 in the summer for about 10 days, about 2 days of gentle rain a week in spring, fall, winter, can be snowy Oct-March above 2000 feet. Snow cover and graded roads above 4000 feet.

[redox]

the need for supplimental lighting is due to the fact that the sun is not as intense for as long as it is in indo. They are tropical and it stays that way.As for the rest of us the summer sun comes and goes. I watch the coraline take over in the fall as it bleaches in the summer sun. I have done away with my shade cloth this year and the results have been great. The main reason I used the shade in the past was for heat issues. Now that I have a chiller the heat is no issue(unless the chiller fails) Supplimental lighting might not be totally nessesary but it helps pic up the slack of winter . If I had a choise as where to set one up, it would be as far south as I could go and near water(salt water) like somewhere in Florida. It would be nice if you could just run a pipe out to the water. It would surely be nice. Kinda like what the Wakiki aquarium does

[mr.wilson]

Originally posted by Sk8r
Western Oregon, SE WA, much less cloud cover during the summer [a lot during winter], but cheap electricity because of dams, less pricey land, easy access to shipping routes. Major portions of the fruit-growing and flower-growing industry are in that region. Near St. John, rows of iris being cultivated; on the WA peninsula, on the other side of the Cascades, tulip farms. And some rose culture. Not, of course, to forget massive apple and berry production over toward the Methow valley. It depends on what sort of operation you're looking for: a commercial product-producing operation that sells to middlemen, or a greenhouse with retail customers, in which case you'd want more city, etc. One thing we don't have is hail: ours is more like styrofoam chips, not bombs from heaven; no great windstorms. What you do have to watch out for is forest fire in some areas, minor 2.5 earthquake [esp near St. Helens], scarcely perceptible; and if pine forest gets really drenched and the ground soaked [fairly rare], and then a 40 mph wind DOES come along, trees can go down: don't put your greenhouse next to a solitary 40 footer. Outside of that, temps in the Inland Empire range to 102 in the summer for about 10 days, about 2 days of gentle rain a week in spring, fall, winter, can be snowy Oct-March above 2000 feet. Snow cover and graded roads above 4000 feet.

You've got me sold, although I paused for a second when you mentioned the volcano.

Do you have hot springs where I can collect lace rock for aquaculture?

[Philip Root]

ALABAMA! Is the place to be! Heat is bad but nothing too bad. land is super cheap. I would not go any more north, heating is still the number 1 cost.

[Sk8r]

I think Utah has lace rock, just a little drive to the south.

And St. Helens has been quietly rebuilding her dome for 2 years now. Probably has done her thing for the while. Watch out for Hood, or Rainier---study the historic and paleohistoric old flow zones before you buy a house: funny thing, the lahars tend to go the same direction every time.

But we've got the Pacific Ocean.

[yellowslayer13]

middle of montana constant mid seventys during the summer

[BeanAnimal]

Supplemental lighting will be required for certain items no matter where you are.

I would beg to differ on that one. Anthony had a thriving and profitable greenhouse here in Pittsburgh. Another local club member has built one and is currently stocking it.

He has had to cover the facility with a significant shade cloth due to the extremely high light levels in the 600 gallon stock tanks.

Even overcast days are too bright.

[castor]

thanks for all the replies, washington/oregon sounds like a good bet.... Anybody else think that it would be good?

I would think heating would be a lot easier and cheaper than cooling with a large amount of water. One greenhouse site I was looking at had some nice large heaters that looked like they would do the trick.

I'm doing a mock scale of a setup with the filtration system I am planing to use for the greenhouse in my apartment (don't tell my landlord, lol) to see how well I can get things to grow with the setup that is just for growing coral and go from there and hopefully make some money to go towards a greenhouse, now I just need to find my original stock. Wish me luck!

[gtrestoration]

Originally posted by Philip Root
heating is still the number 1 cost.

Then please tell me why my bill goes up over $200.00 per month in the summer. I don't cool my offices so the increase is all due to cooling the tanks with fans and chillers.


SteveU

[dendronepthya]

Mines in Ohio. It's ok, but here are the downsides:
1. The heating cost in the winter is about 70-80% of the expenses for the whole year. Expect to pay about $1000-1500 per month to heat a good sized greenhouse from November to February.
2. In the winter, you will need supplemental lighting for corals that like a ton of light such as certain SPS and clams. I no longer keep any acropora in my greenhouse because they turn brown and take all spring and summer to color up just in time to turn brown (or die) again.
3. The summer light is very intense and can kill most corals, so you will need to shade heavily. There are a handful of days where the tmeperature is about 95-100 defrees F that you need to worry about your tanks overheating.

Other than those pitfalls, Ohio is fine.

[redox]

the winter is my cheapest time. And I did not use a shade cloth at all this summer. The heat of the summer is by far the highest power bill .Not one of my corals, Acros included were at all fazed by full sun . I did see a drastic color change in the dirrect sun exsposed coraline . The coraline that is not dse is still as beutiful as ever. The winter is cheap for me because I only run two 1000w heaters and my gh has insuated 6' walls everywhere that is not clear. In my opinion it really dosnt matter where you put it, its up to how good of a system you can design that actually works. If I had enough money to choose a location in the US , Id probaly have enough money to go ahead and start a farm in indo somewhere

[Kentanner11]

I would say some where in Tucson, area AZ. You have no hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, mountain slides,
Plus there is sooo many reefers in the PHX area who would be happy to see you!!! lol!

[samtheman]

Originally posted by Kentanner11
I would say some where in Tucson, area AZ. You have no hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, mountain slides,
Plus there is sooo many reefers in the PHX area who would be happy to see you!!! lol!

The cost of cooling would be extreme.

[mr.wilson]

Ask Julian Sprung about his cooling costs.

During heat waves, thee is no cooling system that will keep you safe, regardless of cost. Power outages occur during hot weather.

[Kentanner11]

I Have lived in Tucson for 14 years, and have only had 3 power outtages the longest lasting 2 1/2 hrs. and that was at night.

plus cooling wouldnt be that bad, we have alot of green houses and as long as they are sealed up and have some-what shaded areas you could get by with a swamp cooler.

[redox]

heres a pic to show what I have going on[IMG][/IMG]
ok one cant show all

[redox]

may be two can?[IMG][/IMG]

[redox]

third shot [IMG][/IMG]

[redox]

I think its all down to the system and not nessearily where you put it. But what do I know?[IMG][/IMG]