My mini greenhouse melted my seedlings in one afternoon

I set up a cheap plastic mini greenhouse on my back deck in Phoenix last spring, thinking it would protect my new pepper starts from wind. Came back from work around 5pm and the inside temp was 127 degrees, all 12 seedlings were wilted and crispy. I grabbed a box cutter and sliced three ventilation slits into each shelf level right then, then moved the whole thing to a spot with afternoon shade. Now I check the thermometer inside every hour on hot days and I never leave the door zipped all the way closed. Anyone else cook their plants before figuring out ventilation?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_flores793d ago

Yeah I did the exact same thing last year with my pepper starts. Thought I was being smart getting them an early start in a little plastic house but came home to wilted stems and leaves that looked like they got hit with a blowtorch. The temp gauge read something stupid like 115 in there and everything was toast. I ended up cutting big flaps into the sides too and now I just leave the whole front unzipped on anything over 80 degrees. It feels like such a rookie mistake but honestly nobody tells you those things turn into ovens in direct sun.

the_eric3d ago

Isn't it wild how many things in life seem like a good idea until you actually see what they do up close? That greenhouse thing happens to everybody, it's like a right of passage for gardeners. But honestly I think it's part of a bigger pattern where we try to "protect" things too much without understanding what they actually need. Like how people wrap their phone in a thick case and then wonder why it overheats, or how parents keep kids inside all day to keep them safe and end up with kids who can't handle the sun. We have this instinct to put a bubble around things we care about, and sometimes that bubble just makes things worse. Your pepper starts needed airflow and shade, not a sealed plastic box baking in the desert sun.