Green house in NY is it worth having

[Bobkap]

I live in Long Island NY and was thinking of getting a green house. My question which is obvious are the heating costs worth it to have a greenhouse in such a cold part of the country. Does anyone out there that lives in this part of NY have any experience with a greenhouse?
It would be fun and I would be able to expand my collection. I was thinking of a 8 by 12 sized one.

[Paul]

As you know, heating costs for us in the Great White North is generally a huge issue. Sufficient light over the winter can be as well.

Bob, for a different take on this, I'd suggest contacting Rob (LittleFrog). While most folks understandably think "greenhouse" when it comes to growing plants in a separate structure, there is another alternative -- one which Rob currently uses.

Rob used to have a couple greenhouses which he used for his own plants as well as those he sells commercially, so he is very well acquainted with the myriad expenses building and maintaining such in the north incurs. (He lives in Michigan.)

When he moved to a different city, he debated whether he wanted to build greenhouses on the new property. He decided instead to take a different track. I can't remember if there was already a polebarn on the new property or if he decided to have one built. In either event, that is what he currently uses. I don't believe the structure has any windows so all light has to be provided by fixtures. (He uses LED tubes.) Before moving plants in, he insulated the daylights out of the building and made sure there were vents he could open should he need to as well as fans for good air circulation, drains, et cetera. I imagine he may have waterproofed the inside walls to minimize/eliminate mold growing on them. Because of all the insulation, he has found that temperatures are easy and cheap to maintain. When I asked him for an update (I see him at several orchids shows each year) a couple years after he made the switch, he said that his costs for running his nontraditional "greenhouse" are far less than they were for his old greenhouses. This is mainly due to the huge drop in his heating costs. In addition, he does not have to worry about when to get the shadecloth up, whether a falling tree branch or other such might break glass panes (which especially in winter could be devastating), and -- should the heat or cooling system fail for some reason -- because of how well insulated the building is he has far more time before the plants would come to harm than he would in a greenhouse.

[stonedragonfarms]

It depends on what you are growing; I grew for about 10 years in Northern Michigan in a greenhouse, back then I grew mostly cymbidiums. Littlefrog's set-up under lights would not work for standard cymbids (not without some serious lighting and some equally serious cooling), but had I been growing bulbos, phals, catts or pleuros, I would have definitely considered that approach. I'm unfamiliar with the winters in your area, but I can't imagine that I would have had a gh that small, unless it was attached to the house; it would cost much more to heat than a larger structure (ie the small thermal mass is much more prone to rapid swings in temperature than a larger structure)...etc. What are you currently growing? What are you planning on growing? How large do you anticipate your collection will become? Would you like to maintain anything else aside from orchids in your greenhouse? Is the appearance of the greenhouse a priority (ie are you hoping for a conservatory-style house, or is an inflated poly sheet-covered structure acceptable)? What is your utility access where the structure will be sited; how close is water, electricity, LP/Nat Gas?
Adam

[Orchidsandpeace23]

Hello! I live in rochester, and yes I can honestly tell you it's WORTH IT. In my opinion anyway, because first it's much easier to control the humidity and lighting situation, the only thing is heat! I keep a harbor freight 6x8 an orchid house year round. Which I would love to go bigger but for now it's fine with me, when I get my degree and find a sustainable job then I will expand, but I must say there's nothing like not having to worry about the water going everywhere and orchids will appreciate being mounted rather than potted and you will get much faster root and leaf growth with the high humidity out there and the list goes on, heating in retrospect really isn't crazy expensive as long as you insulate well with bubble wrap and ect. Which I do every year, the coldest it got in mine, yes even when it was -15 F out was 45 and I have to say that's great for -15 and I didn't even do as much insulation as I usually do thanks to medical problems, so in the long run it it's worth it. Message me with any questions. Thanks