I'm leveling a spot out next week to build my greenhouse (bought a 12 x 20 from a 77 year old man who bought it at an auction, and after getting it home decided he didn't want to fool with it). I'm going to use gravel for the floor, and am considering using 55 gallon drums as solar heat sinks come winter. But then I was browsing through the archives, and see that some of ya' all have looked into putting rabbits inside the greenhouse for the extra heat. Has anybody gone from the gee neat idea phase to actually implementing this? I have 2 rabbits so far, and am hoping to get more soon...

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), July 13, 2001

Answers

It is a WAY cool idea . . . but better make those pens secure. I hear that wabbits make a weal mess of your potential crops.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), July 13, 2001.

Perhaps you might consider a compost pile in green house during winter. It will create heat and co2. With some thought you could make raise hot beds with the compost supplying some or all of the heat. Along with the rabbits making heat and co2 and water for thermal mass you could add a grow lite or two for those short winter days or when you need a little extra heat in the am. Not sure about compost pile bring in pests. Good luck, sounds like fun.

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), July 13, 2001.

Hi Eric, Nope haven't done it, but I sure have thought about it. I wondered about hanging hutches a little low, maybe with the bottoms two feet off the ground. The tops would be, what, 48 inches off the ground? Then, for shade and security for the rabbits, you could put boards on the cages, then greenhouse plants on top of the boards. Then bedding on the floor, and chickens (with clipped wings) on the floor to keep the bedding and rabbit manure stirred up. When the bedding gets too deep, make a compost pile or raised bed, add water and let it heat up. In the summer, keep the chickens, and probably the rabbits outside. Also, probably hang a sheet or some other finely woven cloth between the air for the plants and the air for the chickens and rabbits to keep the critter dust off the plants. I don't know if all this would work, but I'll probably try it as soon as I can have rabbits (couple years). What do you think?

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), July 13, 2001.

There is an article in an old issue of Organic Gardening mag about a commercial greenhouse up around Boston called Solviva that implemented the same method on a larger scale. It's a great article if you can get hold of a copy. I have heard that a book has been written about the venture, titled "Solviva", author is Anna Eddy, or Eday, can't remember which. I was fascinated by what they were doing and would use the method for sure if I lived in a cold climate.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), July 13, 2001.

Was just wondering how well it worked, how many rabbits might be needed, and how much compost I'd need to get things warmed up. If I do decide to do it, I'll let ya's know how it works!

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.