Weekly Garden Thread - Nov. 25- Dec. 1, 2023 [The Ultimate Christmas Tree Guide Edition]

| November 25, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Pollard]

Tallied things up today. I’ve got $1400 to go on the high tunnel with most of that to open/close the vents and drop down sides based on time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction or any combo of those inputs.

Vents for the gables, linear actuators to open/close those and the sides, wind speed/direction sensor and a controller to read them, about $1k.

[Pollard]

Friday night ramblings

Excerpts from prior excerpts

Tunnels help 37% of surveyed tunnel farmers grow year round. Another 36% gain 4-8 weeks extra production on each end of the season.

Failure to ventilate on a 60 degree, sunny day can result in indoor temperatures over 100 degrees.

It was too hot if I left it closed all day, and too cold if I opened it because I didn’t get home until 9 p.m.

Timely opening (morning) and closing (night) of the structure is necessary in the spring and fall, making it difficult if you have an off-farm job or leave for the weekend. Structures may need to be closed at a moment’s notice if high winds develop.

One other bit of advice would be: plan on spending more than you originally budgeted to get your house totally finished like you want.

Drop-down sides protect young plants from harsh winds, making them much more desirable.

Programmable thermostats that automatically roll up and drop down sidewalls are available for several thousand dollars.

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My cost for doing that

• Linear Actuators for drop down sides($300)
• Gable Vents($150)
• Linear Actuators for gable vents($200)
• Wind Speed/Direction sensor($160)
• X-420 controller for wind sensor($360)
• Temp/Humidity Sensor($100)
• Controllers with Relays($300)
• Parts and pieces($400 for entire tunnel)

Total ($1410)

My Drop Down Sides will be able to open/close to any position based on time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction or any combo of those inputs.

Already have relays, temp humidity sensors and controllers for everything but wind sensor.

Still need X-420, linear actuators, gable vents, and parts and pieces.($1410) Also poly film.($400 makes it $1810 total)

I thought I was further along. I'll get there when I get there. One $100 linear actuator to test and the rest of the stuff as needed when I can afford them with the X-420 being last on the list.

Something that's killing me is analog inputs. The wind direction, plus all four linear actuators each require one analog input, five total. The X-420(required for wind speed) has four analog inputs and every other module/controller has at least four. All are $330 or more.

That means I need just one more analog input for $330. That is not included in the figures above. I'm hoping I'll find something on ebay for analog.

I may go back to splitting each drop down side into two, one for each side. Would be another $300 in linear actuators but no extra cost in analog inputs and I have enough relays. They would each be stronger and it might be handy for protecting young plants if I lay out plantings a certain way.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So basically, at this point:

[Pollard]

Sounds entertaining.

Just have to keep reminding myself how much I'm saving over purchasing a kit.

This is Rimol's basic kit with no automation/controls.

Add this(controller with added wind/temp/humidity sensors)
(I'll be able to surf the web with the PC that will be my controller interface)

Add this x2(with linear actuators for controller)

Add this x2

Total: $9779.00 (The $149 tomato)

I'll be at less than $5k for the above.

Now if I could figure out how to easily split the poly down the peak AND change it later, I could save on poly in the future by not having to replace the NE side near as much as the SW side. That would cut film replacement cost by 30-40%. Maybe plan my bracing so that I can put walk boards up on the trusses for replacement time.

Thought about a monitor barn style roof for the split which could double as top ventilation. Not sure how it would look on a gothic frame.

Maybe a 16-18" wide raised section, 6-8" tall, just enough to vent. That center top roof could be double layer polycarbonate. Vents for a monitor barn roof can come later.

Also thought about a clerestory type roof like below which could still be done.

We'll see how much time, energy and money I have for that in early 2024. Gotta get going on that $30/lb lettuce asap.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yep! My greenhouse ended up costing about $2,500.00 all told, counting the gravel and the leveling of the spot - but we put it all together ourselves - and our relationship survived it, which was the real ‘bargain.’ ;)

I’m down to about $5/flat for lettuce right now. MUCH cheaper than the $3 they want for three skinny ‘heads’ of Romaine!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

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