[Food] Production - Greenhouses

spear · Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 1:18 am Post subject:

True when I made the decision to use it (pvc) I hadnt thought of the environmental and health hazards right off.Thats why its good to throw an idea out there,and even it is a brainstorm,there will be some feedback and help clear things up.
My idea basicly is to use some sort of plastic pipe 19mm and reinforce it internally with rebar.Now there are other plumbing pipe (plastic)which are used for water,inside buildings .thick walled.I will look into that now.
I dont think that is pvc,because it is used for drinking water lines in Europe.
but then I dont know how cost effective that would be yet either.Will look into it and let you know.
BTW.thanks for the links.
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Chaparral · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject:

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5386 Location: Oklahoma

WisJim · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:45 pm Post subject:

[quote="Shannymara"]
As for getting rid of unwanted bamboo, my in-laws suggested pouring concrete over the area! [quote]

Not the same plant, but I had friends that were doing some remodeling and changes outside their house, and poured sidewalk over some rhubarb plants. The next year the rhubarb came back, cracking the sidewalk, and growing up through the cracks. I'm not sure if bamboo is that tenacious, having no experience with it, but from what I here, some varieties might be!

Chaparral · Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:42 pm Post subject:

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

Oh my! Supplemental lighting for greenhouses: High Intensity Discharge.

For me, going to get this for current apartment indoor winter growning 8x8 with large glass door exposure. Also going to enhance with light redirecting mirrors. Summer, spring, fall, balconey more than doubles growing. Will get this all set up (much stuff growing now) within a month. Then move (and keep apartment). Just experimental to see that apartment can produce alot of vegetable/herbs for consumption year round. I experiment and prove what can be done and it is also a back up.

http://www.advancegreenhouses.com/why_use_supplemental_lighting_for%20greenhouse%20gardening.htm

Looking into a bit of light redirecting including optical fiber to route light indoors, as well as mirror capturing/redirecting.

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

These HID's probably do the trick. Pick under $200 or under $300.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights2.shtml

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

Just jabbering some notes on apartment growing - might help a newbie like myself. (Actually I did a bit of gardening as a child and teenager, as my mother never gave up her farm depression habits of growing and preserving everything - even in the midst of prosperity - I even picked up about 7 jars of preserves she left - died over a year ago plus some manual processing tools of produce).

So for small city dwellers, some tips:

1) Find a pile of ready made compost - in my case a big pile of composted wood stuff at a land preparing to be made into housing lots - bull dozed good stuff into a large pile. Now I know to get some chicken wire sifter to just get the fine particle stuff - sort of like pure peat moss.

2) Planters should at minimum, be NOT heavy. Being light is better. Don't fill even 1/2 with heavy soil. 80-90% light peat moss like / sawdust like / vacuum cleaner fluf like light weight compost. Like they do at nurseries when they sell seedlings. LIGHT weight.

3) Do not over water - especially if you made the mistake of too much heavy soil. Digging out heavy soil out of planters (around growing stuff now), I see how water logged even twice a week watering made it. Now max once per week, and not heavy watering. Try and drought your plants out if you can - you won't.

4) If you are really low budget, you really can get alot of stuff growing in (easily found now, hard to find later) cardboard boxes lined with grocery plastic bags. I bought good plastic planters, but will now use the above to save money for time being, better spent elsewhere. Get a tub, chicken wire sifter and you get for free 90% to 100% of peat moss like planting material. Only need to get the seeds as an expense - maybe you figure a way to do that for free also.

5) Mirrors can double the light on plants. I don't even need mirrors, much less an HID for my southern exposure situation - even in winter in my northern climate, but mirrors are energy efficient - no electric bill.

6) Just do and learn. I've already figured to double planting space in smaller overall layout. I'm figuring what else to grow, because I have the space. And that's not counting doubling that doubled space when spring arrives and the balcony is availabe. Not heavy weight - light weight, so no problem.

It is all doable for a fairly productive amount of year round gardening for maybe $100 expense? Maybe $1,000 if you go for the gusto and get all nice planters and a supply of miracle grow, soil, store bought adjustable shelving, etc.

Next project is to find easily available source of high-mineral rich rock dust or volcanic dust, for a high mineral enrichment sprinkling.

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

Scratch that DOUBLED growing space. And scratch buying store bought shelving for plants. From materials gathered from 2 dumpsters, good shelving boards, light weight, I disassembled and saved all screws, hinges, etc. from discarded closet folding / opening doors for a future use. Found the perfect bar for hanging plants. Trying to figure how to make something stable that cannot be knocked over and voila!

Invented (using Buckminster Fuller principles) the A-Frame shelving which is stable enough for me to do a pull up on. However it created another problem, in that I have now approximately doubled yet again the growing space. Moved most of the growing planters into bedroom with only 4' by 4' window and this A-frame with mirrors on the inside side will reflect full overhead light onto plants. Extra light captured on sides, etc. And since I work weekend nights every other weekend part time job, this sucker will be bright inside the growing area but only ambient light over the top. I could grow 7 or 7 1/2' trees there if I wanted. Who says stuff can't be done. Probably in my nice 1 bedroom apartment, I will end up with quadruple back up food systems, only 1 alone could sustain me for months.

Everything just nearby, making good use of it all and my inventive engineering mind lucking onto accidental 2 birds with one stone discoveries. Thoroughly do I enjoy this so much, I may just stay in the damned apartment - getting attached to all and any land, greenhouse domes, etc. is for other people's needs.

Everything is doable by disassembling and re-assembling for maximized use. All do-able anywhere - especially if I figure it out and provide instructions.

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

Regarding greenhouses, I suspect the proper order of effective design would be in order: Geodesic dome, pyramid, A-frame and then the conventional designs - boxes, etc.

mikeh433 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 201

Another ready-made invention for apartment / home / greenhouse growing is the box spring. Grabbed one outta the dumpster, ripped off the outer covering and I would swear it is a perfectly designed wire mesh (to be elevated say 5') system for holding 2-3 planter boxes growing cucumbers / zucchini / melons (year round). It is light and doesn't block light, wire mesh holds the goods, though I suspect those produce will create quite a canopy that will block light from above, so I has to be sure with the mirror system, that plenty of light gets to the 5' below it layer of other food crop.

Mirrors are a critical component. Probably I'll end up spending $250-300 for a bunch of ($7) door mirrors. All this will be 4 season (or 2 season?) indoor availability. A bit larger wider-base A-frame for that one in front of a 6' x 6.5' sliding glass door.

Luckily I have 2 part time, easy, boring jobs and lots of in between time. This preparing for post-PO, I can get quite a workout, drinking coffee and skipping many meals as I get into it so much.

I bot a bunch of 10 cents a pack seeds (and 25 cents and $1) from Walmart. May not be heirloom, but I already spent $60 on a bunch of heirloom herbs and vegie seeds in addition to organic vegies / fruits / herbs which I also gather seeds and have some growing right now.

With all the increased growing capacity, I'm figuring what else do I wanna grow, because I got the space and technology available.

uNkNowN ElEmEnt

Anyone ever hear of an Eathbox? I think this could be an interesting modification for container growing. It would certainly work for indoor growing space. Here's a llink to a homemade one.

I would look at the dimensions and use the center of the lid, which they jsut throw away as the inside layer so that you only have to use one container instead of using two and chopping one up.