The frontiersman., 1963-05-16
Tke SctahhoA4k Gohde&eh

UNIVERSITY oT ALASKA
 Cooperative Extension Service
 Division Of Statewide Services
 It's greenhouse time in Alas ka and the Sourdough Garden CTS question box is bulging with questions from neighbors asking about how to get the most out of their greenhouses.
 Ventilation is the stumbling block for nearly all cheechakos and a surprising number of oldtimers when 1t comes to greenhouses. You see, the word Alaska" seems to mean extreme cold to all too many people. This leads to sealing every crack and corner so tightly that no drafts can get in. This idea spells failure to what could have been a fine greenhouse crop.
 Both the big, commercial greenhouse and the small. home greenhouse must haze proper ventilation to operate effectively in Alaska, just as it does in Michigan or Florida. Today We can only talk about the principles of ventilation Unless you are willing to learn this basic idea so that it IS just about second nature to you. the finest equipment in the world won't make you a good greenhouse operator.
 Don't confuse the words ven tilation and circulation Ven tilation means the uniformly distributed. controlled move ment of air into and out of a greenhouse. Circulation means the movement of air inside the greenhouse. We are not talking about circulation today.
 A uniform flow of cool, fresh air should come in evenly from both sides of the greenhouse. It should move slowly but con- tinuously toward the center, rising by convention as 1t warns. The air should pass the plant area where the mois- ture lost from the leaves is i picked up and finally carried on outside through the top.
 If just the right amount of air is allowed to pass uniform Iy through your greenhouse, a
 great many of your problems
 would be solved. Heating re
 quirments would be held to 2
 minimum. Humidity contro
 would be entirely adequate tc prevent dripping.
 Camping off and other flung 1 Us diseases that depend on 1 moist surfaces to spread, would i not have a chance to develop. Finally. plants would make a maximum growth, unless you have other troubles you have not told me about
 1 know today's talk sounds more like a lesson than the uS- uaI c8nVersat on We have over the back fence, but some things just won't lead themselves to saying any other way. This idea is mighty important, though. and once q feiler gets tire hang of it, half his green house troubles are over.
 Of course. there's always those that say, Just prop open the door. OF perhaps put fan in the gable end. can't deny a lot of crops have been raised thzs way and probably more vglI be n the future, but that doesn't cut any ice here. There may be a good reason why grower has to put up with that eost of thing, but it's not of ten.
 Usually, it's case of saying the old horse was always good transportation so why change; he'll still transport us. All that's true, but it's hard to deny we know better ways of getting somewhere today
 Let's go over this once more now just so there's no misun- derstanding. Air should come in low and uniformly diStribut- ed at the bottom, move contin- uously towards the center and up as 1t warns, pass slowly by the plants themselves picking up moisture, and finally, nov ing out through the top ventil- atorc