Special Greenhouse Produces Year-Round Vegetables

Special Greenhouse Produces Year-Round Vegetables BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Thanks to a unique solar greenhouse design that s popular in China Wenkai Liu of Elie Manitoba is growing a wide range of Oriental vegetables year-round Even in the harsh Canadian winter Liu is able to economically produce squash cucumbers peppers radish lettuce tomatoes and even bedding plants such as hothouse flowers That s because the sun s energy is harnessed to provide much of the greenhouse s heating by efficiently conserving it to last overnight     Wenkai erected three of these 2 300 sq ft greenhouses last fall as a research project funded by Manitoba Hydro and a government agency The project is being overseen by researchers from the University of Manitoba     Each greenhouse costs about $14 000 to build The special building materials were shipped to him from China since none were available locally and Liu also had a Chinese technician come over to provide expertise     The original construction design was adapted for the Manitoba climate The north wall is insulated with 6 in each of sand and fiberglass and covered with metal panels     Heat from the daytime sun is absorbed by the metal wall into the insulation layer where it is held and released into the interior at night to maintain an acceptable temperature The building also uses specially designed thermal blankets that are rolled down at night to conserve heat      For tomatoes the safe daytime temperature is 77 to 82¦ F Liu says At night I try to maintain a temperature of 60¦ F Compared with traditional greenhouses this solar greenhouse is warmer at night     Depending on the severity of each particular winter it is still expected that some supplementary heat will be required on the coldest days which in Manitoba can drop down as low as 31 below F or lower          Liu began the first trial of the facilities in February 2005 and was able to produce his first harvest without any supplemental heat He seeded again in June and says his produce will be ready for Christmas     In all the three greenhouses produce an average of 20 000 lbs of crop every six months     He feels he is achieving the goal of extending the growing season at a reasonable cost pointing out that there is a strong market for vegetables in the off-season      We ve been importing a lot of vegetables and they are very costly for the consumer he explains I think there is good potential for us to grow our own     Liu sells his produce to markets in Chinatown Farmers Markets and a large grocery store chain Superstore He ships to Winnipeg Saskatchewan and Alberta He also just opened his own grocery store in Winnipeg in September      I wanted to farm all year round and these greenhouses are letting me do that he says You can make $500 a week on only 800 sq feet with this and that s good money     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wenkai Liu 45 Main St Elie Manitoba Canada R0H 0H0 ph 204 353-4088; kaiwenlius@hotmail com

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