Episode Details

There’s a type of heater setup that delivers heat right where you need it and can offer some important advantages over forced air heat, but we don’t see many of them in the field. We think lack of knowledge about the technogy is the limiting factor, and it turns out there is also some customization involved, so we got ahold of John Wells at Rimol Greenhouse Systems to break it down for us. The tech we’re talking about is called convection tube heating, and it has as much to do with how the heat is delivered as the specs of the heater itself. 

The big difference from most heaters is that hot air goes into a plenum (like a manifold) that channels the hot air into multiple separate ducts that are attached to big, perforated plastic tubes that distribute the heat evenly through the greenhouse. The tubes typically run down pathways, and in vining crops they have the advantage of heating the air at the base of the plant, where disease tends to start, and rises from there warming the whole plant. In winter greens crops, it means growers can run the tubes under row cover and only heat the area under cover- meaning you only need to heat the fraction of the greenhouse where your crop is. Listen to this episode to learn about the specs needed to run such a system- plus best practices for cooling the greenhouse with shade cloth. 

Connect With Guest:

Website: rimol.com

Instagram: @rimolgreenhouse

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Farmhand is the all-in-one platform built for direct-market farms — CSA, farmers market, and farmstand growers who'd rather be in the field than juggling five different apps. Online store and subscriptions, delivery and pickup routing, SMS and email marketing, waitlist management, and now farm events: sell tickets to u-picks, tours, dinners, and workshops in minutes, with capacity caps, QR check-in, and SMS/email confirmations built in. Every ticket also puts a name, email, and phone on a list you keep. See how farmers are growing direct-to-consumer sales and set up a free account at farmhand.partners/gfm

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to 

Listen Now