So...DH found me a greenhouse. I am thrilled...can hardly wait until next spring so I can start seeds.

The problem is he seems to have it in his head that I should be using it now...in the summer...sigh

Is there anything that I can put in there that won't keel over from the heat and humidity so that he'll be happy?

I keep basil, peppers, long English cucumbers and a couple of late maturing tomatoes. (all in pots, since there is a gravel floor). I also take the door off & open all the vents to allow good air flow.

Thanks Joanne!!

My maiden name is Stark. I don't see it very often.

It isn't a very common name...maybe we're related!

Interesting -- my mother's maiden name was Stark!

Hot peppers have done well for me in the GH over the summer - if given plenty of water. And I have a nice rosemary plant that's been in there all summer this year and certainly seems to be happy. In full disclosure, though, my GH mainly gets used for growing seedlings until it's time to put them out in the garden (after initially starting them in the house, under lights... In retrospect I kind of wish I had set it up so that I could plant in-ground, but now i have two 7x15 hoop houses for that (and really wish I had a big one over the entire garden...)

that would be great Sandy!!

My mother's maiden name was Stark, too...

I use the controlled, sustained heat to strike cuttings in the greenhouse in the summer.

Good idea about the cuttings, Paul -- do you cover them with something to keep them from drying out too much? (sorry if that's a dumb question, I haven't worked much with cuttings other than the absolute easiest ones, but would like to learn more about it!)

At the rate we're going with the Stark name, we'll soon be able to have a family reunion!

Humidity tends to be higher in the greenhouse, so it depends what I'm starting. Sometimes I even set up the misters on a timer.

are you's talking greenhouses made of glass? plastic?

I know someone with the last name of Stark! Guess it isn't as uncommon as I thought!

Paul, thanks for mentioning starting cuttings in the greenhouse. I had never given that a thought, and it's a great idea! It's so dry where I live that it's almost impossible to start cuttings outside, but in my cold frame, it seems like it's raining when I walk in there in the Spring. I can't wait to try cuttings in there next year!

Bree, I've never grown under glass. I've done everything from fiberglass to polycarbonate to the woven film I'm using on my main greenhouse these days. I like the coverings that scatter the light a bit.

Natalie, don't forget the fans. Lack of air movement is the biggest problem I've seen with starts in a humid greenhouse, leading to rot, fungus, and all manner of damping off and disease. Such an odd suite of ailments to those of us who live in the desert.

Thanks for that advice Paul. I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise! Yes, dealing with those things in the desert is odd! Our humidity here can be as low as 5% regularly, so cracking skin is my biggest worry most months!

I have you all beat. I live in Starkville, Mississippi, but I am not a Stark. I have two greenhouses, one dedecated to orchids and seedlings, and the other one for all other vegetable or tropical plant species. The "orchid" greenhouse only gets direct sun until about 1:00PM, so it is the cooler of the two. I have two fans in each greenhouse, that are at opposite ends, that run from 8:00AM until 7:00PM. I am in NE Mississippi. About all I have left in my "all other plants" greenhouse is pepper, rosemary, parsley, and chives. I have to water about every day. Even with fans, the greenhouse is just hot, and I have 80% shade cloth over both. Plants simply do better outside during the late spring to early fall. The vast majority of my plants are tropicals. During the early fall all my plants have to come in to over-winter in either the greenhouses or in my enclosed porch.

Ken