The summer my greenhouse hit 110 degrees and I lost everything

Back in July 2021 I had this perfect week planned where my tomatoes were finally turning red and my cucumbers were climbing like crazy. Then the AC unit in my little greenhouse out back just died on a Tuesday and I didnt notice until Wednesday afternoon. By the time I opened the door it was like walking into an oven and everything was wilted or cooked. I lost 12 tomato plants that I started from seed back in March and 8 pepper plants that were just starting to fruit. My neighbor Dave came over and helped me rig up a swamp cooler with a bucket and a fan which saved maybe 4 plants. Has anyone else had a heat spike wreck their whole season like that

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley_jones20d ago

Man that's brutal, sorry you had to deal with that. I had something similar happen back in 2020 with my pepper plants when a freak heatwave hit and I was stuck at work all day. Walking into that greenhouse must've been like stepping into a sauna, I can't imagine the feeling of seeing everything wilted like that. At least your neighbor Dave came through with that swamp cooler idea, sounds like a good guy. It really stings when you start everything from seed and put all that time in just to lose it in one afternoon, I've been there and it sucks lol.

rose_reed20d ago

Wait, your neighbor rigged up a swamp cooler with a bucket and a fan? That's actually kinda genius, I can't believe it saved 4 plants in 110 degree heat. I mean, I had a heatwave hit my garden last summer and it was awful but nothing like that. My tomatoes just got sunscald on the shoulders but they didn't totally cook. 12 tomato plants from seed lost in one day? That would've made me cry, honestly. I've killed plenty of seedlings before but losing the whole setup at once just feels different, like you did all that work for nothing.

hall.joel20d ago

Yep, that swamp cooler trick is a solid hack for small spaces. I've used a similar setup with a 5-gallon bucket, a box fan, and some ice packs when my AC went out during a heatwave. For seedlings, the trick is to start hardening them off earlier than you think, like 2 weeks before transplanting. Put them outside for a few hours each day in partial shade, then bump it up gradually. Tomatoes can handle heat better if they're already adjusted to it. That sunscald on shoulders is usually from too much direct sun after a cool spell, so a light shade cloth over the plants for a week can fix that.