Guest guest Posted February 25, 2000 Report Share Posted February 25, 2000 > > You're sure ? I had a terrible time this summer in the green house. A lot of > damage... > We have found it best not to use a green house year around if you are trying to be organic. Either empty it in the winter and let it freeze for about a month, or empty it in the summer, close it up tight and let it cook for a couple of weeks. Thus you either freeze out or cook out a lot of pesty living entities. It breaks their cycles. > oflight in them regular tube lights white light will not give the plants all > the correct kind of light it must be a GROW LIGHT. If you are in the dark > too long it makes you depressed and tired but is you have a grow light it > won't effect you very much, human bodies need sunlight also but a grow light > may be the next best thing. A cheaper alternative for a grow light is to put one warm white bulb and one cool white bulb in each fixture. This gives a broader spectrum of light that is closer to natural then either one alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2000 Report Share Posted February 25, 2000 > > That seems a good idea, if you consider the amount of sunshine or just plain > daylight we get in the summer (up to 24 hours a day). It would really boost > them with some extra nutrients and co2. > But still you have to keep a balance, right? I can imagine they would > appreciate more Co2 in the summer, but not so much in the winter (when they > hardly get sunlight). They won't get overloaded? Humans can be in 100% oxygen (for a short while before it becomes toxic) and they at sea level can only absorb 16% no matter how much they have in their surroundings. I believe that is true with plants also but I don't know the percentage they can "load" in their systems. If you are growing in a green house in the winter. You must add the CO2 to increase your productivity. Plants go dormant in low sun light the CO2 sorta wakes the plants and gets them growing again. A bunch of growlights would also help. In the summer if you use CO2 your plants will need a lot more of compost and manure tea as they go into hyper drive growing and become extremely heavy feeders. I grew a ton of carrots in five gallon (twenty liter buckets) I poke several small holes in the of the bucket and fill the bucket with small gravel (well cleaned and renced) put in about 4 mm of sand and then plant the carrots in the fine sand I then place a board or small stone under the edge of the bucket farther away from the holes so there is a natural gravity flow. I run my manure tea from a suspended 4 liter milk jug through a small hole poled in one corner. There is a pan under the carrot bucket that catches the manure tea and it can be recycled again and again for about one to two weeks the "tea can be freshened from time to time. Place a sock full of bunny berries in a gallon or 4 liters of warm water till it turns "tea colored" and water away. > > <<The pile of manure can be outside the green house with a pipe coiled up > inside it and then run into the green house. > > So, your system is based on hot air then... You'd need a vent or just let it > flow from the pipe into your greenhouse at one point? From the floor or > across the ceiling? Heat rises! start your heat low and let it rise naturally. No, I don't use hot air. I just recycle hot water under the beds to keep the plants warm. A small recirclating pump will do the job. (yes electric) Most green houses have a series of small windows at floor level and several larger near the roof to let out excessive heat or humidity. > > <<If you run water through the pipe you will have a manure heater > > But you get less heat in your greenhouse then you would with hot air, right? > No not necessarily. If you just recycle the hot water again and again. You would want to heat as much as posable and store it in a heavily insulated drum or container. To recycle at night when the plants really need it. > <<or you could use a solar heater same thing only you use an insulated black > box with pipe coiled inside and a glass cover over the top the water will be > heated and can be used for showers and or to heat the green house. > > But that won't work in winter when we need the heating most in the > greenhouse... Really? Why not? The sun shines in the winter also does it not? If the sun won't heat your water then use a huge pile of sheep berries or bunny berries or cow plops. Green manure is notorious for getting hot. Pile the manure up and stand the pipes vertically in the manure and let it rip. > > <<If you need to feed ten people then you must have a green house. Green > houses properly done can produce three times the food you could on a regular > space with half the work. You also have less bugs and disease..... > > You're sure? I had a terrible time this summer in the green house. A lot of > damage... > > <<but because of the climate you will need to place spacers and then add a > second sheet of plastic film to create an air space. That will keep your > inexpensive green house much warmer than a single sheet of plastic. > > Good. > > <<You can pry the lid up with a stick if it > gets too hot and cover it with cardboard or Styrofoam when it starts to get > too cold. > > What about humidity in cold frames? It shouldn't be too high, right? At > least if you look at the limited and crowded space and it being so low to > the ground (less aeration) I can imagine problems with mold. I even have > problems in my big greenhouse with crowdy plants developing mold. the cold frames if they get too hot or too humid you open the lid and let the humidity waft away. You do not over water in a cold frame. If the humidity is still too high place a towel or burlap sac on the edge so it is half in and half out of the cold frame that will wick out the extra humidity without loosing too much precious heat. If you had a mold problem in your big green house you should have had several big fans one in one end and the other at the other end blasting the humidity out. The fans blow the stale air out and bring fresh air in. Do you remember how stuffy it gets in a room full of people if the windows aren't opened it happens fast. The same happens to plants and they become starved for CO2 and become weakened and are targets for disease. So they need enough humidity and CO2, but ... not too much. > > <<You can get lots more potatoes by planting three sets (plants) in a small > circle and placing a car tire around the three little plants as they get > tall > > yes, I have been able to follow up these texts on the conference. Thanx for > spending time again... > > <<The new leaves will quickly turn into > roots when you cover them with straw, sense you only get potatoes from the > rootlets you are giving yourself six more sets of roots than you ever would > have had before. > > But a consideration: you don't add sand in the tires? Then how do the > plants root in the tires? just from the little straw you add? Yes, just from the straw, no sand. and you can harvest new potatoes from the bottom by just lifting a tire and snagging a few. ( I always feel like I am stealing when i sneaking a few new potatoes from the tires) You must always add lots of manure tea each time as potatoes are heavy feeders. > > <<The plastic bag I use is a dry-cleaning bag on a coat hanger,( I have a > friend who gets all her stuff dry-cleaned) I just pull the bag down to about > the floor. > > About the floor, so you leave space for aeration... Yes but not much the CO2 is what the plants breath any way. This should always be done at noon when the plants are photosynthesizing the most. Around noon is when the plants need the extra "kick start" Don't do this at night the plant has gone to bed and is dormant it will get the least good if done at night or early in the morning. > > <<Yes, it is a special cloth like stuff, it lasts about five years. Lets > sun light in keeps bugs out and acts like a wind break and will hold in some > heat. It will let rain in also. You can leave the fabric > on all the time also. Rabbits don't seem to bother the plants so much also. > > I haven't seen it around here yet and I'm sure it is not the 'mesh' we used > on the apple trees at Balabhadras either I guess ( at least Gosh was > charging us more :-) > We'll see what we can get a hold of when i'm there... > > <<We ran it (exhaust) Straight into the green house no pipes. > > Woo, I wouldn't want to be in your greenhouse... All this is supposed to be > good for the plants ? At least we're advised here not to eat things that are > close to the roads or factories. The generator did not use Gasoline and was not leaded. It burned propane we got as a by product from the oil processing and drilling. > > > > <<All day, sixteen hours. The lamps were grow lamps they have all spectrum > of light in them regular tube lights white light will not give the plants all > the correct kind of light it must be a GROW LIGHT. If you are in the dark > too long it makes you depressed and tired but is you have a grow light it > won't effect you very much, human bodies need sunlight also but a grow light > may be the next best thing. You can stretch the use of the grow light if you put it on a timer and turn if off ten minutes each hour. The plants seem to fairly explode with growth and energy. > > Good you mentioned, cause I was too stupid to think of that. Maybe it will > also be good to have one in my room for winter. I'm annually suffering from a > 'winter down.' I'm always so happy when the spring vibes arrive... > immediately feel energy flowing again Would you stop defficating on your self. There are enough people to do it for you! Yes, in Norway they did a study on depressed people and found if you let them sit in a room with a grow light just two hours a day the suicide rate fate dropped dramatically and the people did not fight as much and were happier I was told. > > <<Actually if you just paint wood panels a bright white and place on the > North side of the green house it alone will reflect a lot of light. > > Good. > > << also if you paint a light blue strip about half a meter wide (18") every > five feet on the South side of the green house that helps the plant growth > also. Something to do with blue spectrum of light. It does work I can tell > you that. Why, I do not know! > > That i never heard of... thanx > > <<Yes, I grew the plants vertically The plants used the Styrofoam beads to > hold on the roots got the compost tea I fed them by me pouring the tea > mixture into the top of the pipe and caught it in a bucket in the bottom. > > You do that how many times a day/week ? I watered them two times a day. Morning and night. > > <<Now I use 4 liter plastic milk bottle and fill it up with manure tea, I > polka a small hole in one corner and hang over the container so it slowly > drips into the pipe. Drip irrigation at it's simplest. > > Yes, that is lazy intelligence, but it does save time so you concentrate on > other useful activities. You can get so much more done... not unlike me > whose always wasting so much time due to lack of creativity... good to have > someone like you around. > > > <<"Bunny berries" can be placed directly on your crops. (straight from the > rabbit to the tomatoes). > > You can dry them and crush to have a powder ? Or is that too hard to do ? > Talking of rabbits: you have experience with them. Anything you want to > share or important things to mention ? I'll also have to take care of > them... Why do you want to crush them to power. I guess you could spread them out on a rock and roll a log over them when they have dried out. Or drivea truck over them or run the sheep over them to mash them flat. That is easy. What are you going to do with the rabbits? If you give them a good wind brake they can stand very cold weather. I had a friend who rases rabbits and he builds a 4 meter square pen. Digs a hole about 1/2 meter deep places chicken wire on the bottom of the hole and then fills the hole to the top with bales of hay. The rabbits dig in and eat the hay and stay warm at the same time. Rabbits have a 60 day gestation period and produce eight young at a time. If you don't keep the boys and girls separated You will be up to your ears in rabbits. That is standard geometric progression. I used to have a rabbit pen in my garden I placed a sheet of galvanised metal on an angle under the cage and the bunny berrys fell out of the cage and rolled down the metal to the need plants. The cage was on wheels and i just pushed it around to where I thought it was needed As I watered I would wash the metal as I watered and would fertilize and wash at the same time. I fed the weeds to the rabbits who processed them and dropped them back as pre processed bunny berries. You must not have just wire on the floor of the rabbit pen. The mesh hurts their feet. So give them a board to stand on about 1/3 meter square. the cage should be at least 2/3 meter tall so they can stand up on their back feet and not hit the top with their ears. Each cage should be five rabbits long so they can hop around and do an occasional back flip. And should be about a meter wide. Rabbits love lots of cool fresh water they drink tons of water. You should clean each cage at least once a week water and a brush, scrubbing hard. Rabbits make great house pets they paper train about as easily as a cat. But they are not as smart. The only bad habit They have as a house pet is that they love to chew on the telephone cords when they are plugged in. That is how copper hopper my new Zealand red died. He ate through the cord when I was on the phone. He went back to God head that second I really like Goth's Idea about using the sheep to heat the green house and be one side of the green house. It might be too humid for the sheep. Boy it sure sounds good..! > > Buh... always figuring out how to make money I am... could do more usefull > things with my thinking...The compost idea is a good idea sense you have so many sheep. bunny berries are great compost and great for indoor plants also! > > Carol > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 27, 2000 Report Share Posted February 27, 2000 Haribol to all We burned Propane. The lead and other toxic fallout from Most hydrocarbons just aren't in the propane. Any way there wasn't any black crap stuck on the walls except a persistent black slime mold that showed up in the kitchen and showers and loved cold temps and humidity. That mold would grow on ice! I think you are concerned with the poor burning of hydrocarbons by our autos. The exhaust contains lead, water, and a thousand another byproducts that are not consumed by combustion. Propane is not so "dirty" It is a gas already and did the job. That was twenty years ago also. The green house stayed "warm" 50o F or 10oC. which for us was heaven. The three grow lights were as close to the plants as we could get. I was not and am not an authority on artic gardening. This worked for me. If they don't have propane to burn then having the sheep in the same area as Gosh suggested would probably work. The sheep would offer humidity and warmth as well as extra co2. Not to mention they would only have to put up two walls the polar side (see, you south of the equator folks, I am trainable) would be the open part with the sheep. You would need some really good fencing to keep the sheep away. Then the sun side would be glass or double wall plastic with an air space between them Doors can be whatever however there should be some high vents to let the excess humidity out of the green house. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 28, 2000 Report Share Posted February 28, 2000 In a message dated 2/28/00 3:33:11 AM US Mountain Standard Time, Samba.SDG (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > So would plants growing near permanent Co2 emmisions not get too > > blackened? and smothered from breathing properly as well as getting an > > extra Co2 input? > > Yeah, and what about lead? > > We used Propane gas! The only black I remember was a black slime mold that grew on ice. There is no lead in Propane gas, I don't think. The products of combustion from the internal combustion motor is not complete nor is it filtered at all. If I had to use a car exhaust for my Co2. I think I would run the pipe into the bottom if of a large container of water and then I would place a blanket over the top of the container to filter the particulate matter from the exhaust fumes. Quick and dirty that would take care of lead and quite a few of the other less desirable products of incomplete combustion. Does this help? Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 28, 2000 Report Share Posted February 28, 2000 Good you informed us on this subject, dear Carol ! <<If they don't have propane to burn then having the sheep in the same area as Gosh suggested would probably work. Uh, I think I missed something here !! I didn't read anywhere Gosh mentioning sheep... maybe the text didn't arrive here (tropical storm ?:-) <<You would need some really good fencing to keep the sheep away. i would think so yeah... I can imagine it being a torture for the sheep actually. the grass is always greener on the other side :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 29, 2000 Report Share Posted February 29, 2000 In a message dated 2/28/00 4:41:48 PM US Mountain Standard Time, Dirk.Vansant (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > E need the heating most in the > > greenhouse... > <<Really? Why not? The sun shines in the winter also does it not? > > true, but in winter we only get 5 hours a day and the intensity of the light > being low. It should be! It is just below the arctic circle! The Manure can still heat the green house. I don't believe the sheep will be out in the arctic wind and cold all the time. They will be in a shed part of the time. Their breath will provide extra Co2 for the plants and the plants provide O2 for them. Cows in the USA live below huge piles of hay in lofts it doesn't seem to drive them mad. The sheep will be fine. You just need a stout wall or wire wall to keep the sheep out of the green house area. > > <<Would you stop defecating on your self. There are enough people to do it > for you! > > Well, then I don't really notice it. Come on folks give it your best! I'm > desperate :-) > > << Or drive a truck over them or run the sheep over them to mash them flat. > > The truck or the berries ? :-) Berries dummy!:-))) LOL > > <<What are you going to do with the rabbits? > > Don't ask me, it's not my farm... > > <<Rabbits have a 60 day gestation period and produce eight young > at a time. If you don't keep the boys and girls separated You will be up to > your ears in rabbits. > > At what point do you separate them? And how do you identify boy/girl? We > used to have sheep here, but I forgot... Dirk old boy ..... turn the rabbits over boy rabbits have testicles and they are the same with cats humans and rabbits..... look for bumps at the bottom of their belly. Boy bunnies have bumps girl bunnies do not. Separate the bunnies when you can tell the difference. > > << That is how copper hopper my new Zealand red died. He ate through the > cord when I was on the phone. He went back to God head that second > > Ooh, did he ? Then who were you phoning to ? :-) > My bookie! he bet me copper hopper would be dead. He won! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 1, 2000 Report Share Posted March 1, 2000 > In a message dated 2/28/00 3:33:11 AM US Mountain Standard Time, > Samba.SDG (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > > > > So would plants growing near permanent Co2 emmisions not get too > > > blackened? and smothered from breathing properly as well as getting an > > > extra Co2 input? > > > > Yeah, and what about lead? > > > > We used Propane gas! > > Does this help? Sure does, thanks. SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2000 Report Share Posted March 2, 2000 > > > So would plants growing near permanent Co2 emmisions not get too > > > blackened? and smothered from breathing properly as well as getting an > > > extra Co2 input? > > > > Yeah, and what about lead? > > > > We used Propane gas! > > Does this help? >Sure does, thanks. >SD So clean gas like propane is better than running an exhaust into the greenhouse. But more expensive. Is there a way of telling how much to apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2000 Report Share Posted March 2, 2000 <<If they don't have propane to burn then having the sheep in the same area >as Gosh suggested would probably work. >Uh, I think I missed something here !! I didn't read anywhere Gosh >mentioning sheep... maybe the text didn't arrive here So, are we saying it is in fact OK to bring on some other animal after cows and oxen, I.E. sheep to aid your rotation? It is considered VERY important in orgainc farming to be able to do this. As we, ISKCON, do not have flocks of sheep, is it OK for them to come and do this valuable service for Krsna? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2000 Report Share Posted March 3, 2000 In a message dated 3/2/00 3:50:19 PM US Mountain Standard Time, Radha.Krsna.ACBSP.GB (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > So clean gas like propane is better than running an exhaust into the > greenhouse. But more expensive. Is there a way of telling how much to apply? > >Well Guys this was my first green house experience. It was twenty-five years ago. We were above the arctic circle. The average temp was twenty to thirty degrees below zero and that is -40 C so it was pretty chilly. It was also eternally dark that time of year. I really don't think the green house ever got above 75oF or 25oC I don't know how warm it got. I do remember that you couldn't stay in there more than about ten or fifteen minutes without getting a blasting headache we piped humid air from the kitchen into the green house using a damper and a small fan from some damaged bit of equipment. The system badly rigged as it was by a bunch of rank amateurs did work! To the supprise of almost every body. Me and the cook most of all. We did have fresh clean veggies none of them were black,...... well, except for a ghastly accident with some tar we were using to patch one of the containers I didn't think I would ever get that stuff off my hair and skin! Well, enough said about that little episode. It would have been hilarious if it had happened to one of my enemies. It is a little funnier with the passage of twenty five years Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2000 Report Share Posted March 3, 2000 Haribol to all I promised to stay out of the scripture section of KC due to my vast ignorance, but I don't believe any critter will be denied the right to provide service to Krishna. We have bees, horses, cattle, ducks and at the Manor they have several pigs. Our temple has peacocks, parrots Koi, cats and a dog. Are there any unclean animals? If so what makes them unclean. Krishna had little dogs, and hung around cows. I would think if any animal would be unclean it would be a mosquito. But who am I to say. The larva feed small fish which when grown keep the channels free of choking weeds. which prevent flooding and a host of other things. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2000 Report Share Posted March 3, 2000 > In a message dated 3/2/00 3:50:19 PM US Mountain Standard Time, > Radha.Krsna.ACBSP.GB (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > > > > > So clean gas like propane is better than running an exhaust into the > > greenhouse. But more expensive. Is there a way of telling how much to > > apply? Wait a minute, I got the impression that the propane was used to run a motor, and the exhaust was piped into the greenhouse. Am I wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2000 Report Share Posted March 3, 2000 In a message dated 3/2/00 9:45:07 PM US Mountain Standard Time, Samba.SDG (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > > So clean gas like propane is better than running an exhaust into the > > > greenhouse. But more expensive. Is there a way of telling how much to > > > apply? > > Wait a minute, I got the impression that the propane was used to run a > motor, and the exhaust was piped into the greenhouse. Am I wrong? > Before this gets wild and woolly. The propane was used to run the main generator for the offices and the mess hut. We built the "green House" between the generator shed and the Kitchen. We piped the exhaust directly from the generator to the green house. A distance of less than six feet. We had to really insulate the exhaust pipe so we wouldn't loose all the heat on the six foot trip. The Original idea was to heat the green house with the exhaust! Then we realized that plant don't "breathe" 'Oxygen we had been worried that the plants would suffocate with all that CO2 till the bells rang and the cook realized that plants really don't "breathe" oxygen. OK so we weren't very smart! When after four weeks the green house really warmed up we had to insulate the floors with Styrofoam to keep from melting the snow and ice that was the "floor" in the green house. And have the green house slowly vanish into the ice. I am certain that there was indeed "dirt" down there somewhere. But it was at least 10 to 200 feet below! Does this help guys? Carol > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2000 Report Share Posted March 4, 2000 AS FAR AS I NOW and from experiance i have seen it is good practice to rotate the/any animals from field to field and give the field a rest so the worms bugs and bacteria cycles etc. have a chance to burn out (normaly 28-30 days) this is for the animals benerfit to keep them free from desese you will see things in there stool you need to now what these things look like usualy like white things The other thing is to benerfit the land it is good not to take the same thing out of a patch all the time repeatedly as this causes depleation of certen elements It is/was (before the advent of chemicals) concidered good practice to put animals on to clear land after one crop and before another this Was comonly done to clear tops of root crops like turnip sugar beet etc before harvest and add dung to the field Most of these practices are related to the feding and breading of animals for human consumption it is important to seperate the nesesary activites for food production as oposed to animal production there are available some good books called -the elements of agreculture- produced anualy if you get the old ones from the 30s -50s you will see good arable and husbandry practices of the type you are looking at as a model GAURA <<---------- If they don't have propane to burn then having the sheep in the same > > area > > >as Gosh suggested would probably work. > > > > >Uh, I think I missed something here !! I didn't read anywhere Gosh > > >mentioning sheep... maybe the text didn't arrive here > > > > So, are we saying it is in fact OK to bring on some other animal after > > cows and oxen, I.E. sheep to aid your rotation? It is considered VERY > > important in orgainc farming to be able to do this. As we, ISKCON, do > > not have flocks of sheep, is it OK for them to come and do this valuable > > service for Krsna? > > > Exactly how do the organic farmers do this rotation? > > Are you talking about animals grazing in fallow land, that is next put > into production? And rotating the grazing land, with sheep, cows etc. Can > you explain the workings of this reccomended rotational system? I need to > know. > > YS Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 >if you get the >old ones from the 30s -50s you will see good arable and husbandry practices >of the type you are looking at as a model >GAURA This is my school. As far as we can determine these older practises operated with the soundest results. These methods can be traced back deep into the ancient Chinese Culture. Composting goes back (recorded) as far as 4,700 years.(Farmers of Forty Centuries. Dr. F.H. King) Today's senario is somewhat different. The Soil Association of today feel that all nutrients taken from fields through our tradition of crop production can be replaced by rotation and green manuring. I do not agree. Nor do many others who study this subject i.e.including those I have recently spoken with: Dr. Tony Schoefiled, Wye College ADAS Soil science division Dr. Howard Lee, Research Group Co-ordinator, Wye College. This is why for one reason the food quality of the world is deteriorating and people are becoming more and more ill. Western agriculture is taking food source continually from something like 500 plants. There are 20,000 species of edible plant (Plants for a Future). Poetical Recycling slogan: 'Out of the Earth are we, and the plants and animals that feed us created and made, and to the earth we must return the things whereof we are made if it is to yield again foods of a quality suited to our needs.' (Major general Sir Robert McCarrison, nutritionist) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 >Exactly how do the organic farmers do this rotation? There are lots of books on this subject. Try the Library, if not I will try and get some titles for you. Basically there are four or seven year rotations etc.undersowing and bi cropping techniques, and it entirely depends on what you have available on your farm, different animals etc. But many of the good old seeds recommended in the ley part of your rotation are sadly no longer available any longer. All the more reason to seriously make compost. If you do not have flocks of sheep available, which give can give in a four year ley as much as 20 tons of dung and urine per acre, which should be harrowed in to ensure uniform distribution. This organic activation, coupled with the considerable root system of the ley, some plants go down 2-3 feet, when ploughed under at the end of the four years, provides the land with such a surplus of humus that one or two heavy crops of roots can be taken and two corn crops, and there is still enough humus to establish the next rotation. Grass can be cut at 2-3 tons to the acre in one cutting.. Average meadow land of the permanent type seldom gives more than 15 cwt to the acre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 In a message dated 2/24/00 1:07:48 PM US Mountain Standard Time, Dirk.Vansant (AT) bbt (DOT) se writes: > > > Dear Carol > > Thanx for the extensive effort... > > <<At twenty eight I had a job five kids, husband and a garden you blossom > where you are planted. > > Well, you can't change the past, but that is defenitely not yet my future. > Need to do some more growing up before I would choke in it. > > <<Yes, opening the doors during the day helps. But the pressurized gas is > sorta like an extra side dressing of manure tea. It will make up for > extremely short days and if the green house gets full sun all the time you > can really get a great crop it encourages your plants to grow very quickly > and become very healthy. Your crops will be growing under extreme > circumstances, so you give them all the love and advantage they can get. In > extreme cold it is usually also very dry. So you keep the floor damp to add > humidity. CO2 is like another kind of fertilizer it really works! > > That seems a good idea, if you consider the amount of sunshine or just plain > daylight we get in the summer (upto 24 hours a day). It would really boost > them with some extra nutrients and co2. > But still you have to keep a balance, right ? I can imagine they would > appriciate more co2 in the summer, but not so much in the winter (when they > hardly get sunlight). They won't get overloaded ? > > <<The pile of manure can be outside the green house with a pipe coiled up > inside it and then run into the green house. > > So, your system is based on hot air then... You'd need a vent or just let it > flow from the pipe into your greenhouse at one point ? From the floor or > accross the ceiling ? > > <<If you run water through the pipe you will have a manure heater > > But you get less heat in your greenhouse then you would with hot air, right? > > <<or you could use a solar heater same thing only you use an insulated black > box with pipe coiled inside and a glass cover over the top the water will be > heated and can be used for showers and or to heat the green house. > > But that won't work in winter when we need the heating most in the > greenhouse... > > <<If you need to feed ten people then you must have a green house. Green > houses properly done can produce three times the food you could on a regular > space with half the work. You also have less bugs and disease..... > > You're sure ? I had a terrible time this summer in the green house. A lot of > damage... > > <<but because of the climate you will need to place spacers and then add a > second sheet of plastic film to create an air space. That will keep your > inexpensive green house much warmer than a single sheet of plastic. > > Good. > > <<You can pry the lid up with a stick if it > gets too hot and cover it with cardboard or Styrofoam when it starts to get > too cold. > > What about humidity in cold frames ? It shouldn't be too high, right ? At > least if you look at the limited and crowded space and it being so low to > the ground (less aeration) I can imagine problems with mould. I even have > problems in my big greenhouse with crowdy plants developping mold. > > <<You can get lots more potatoes by planting three sets (plants) in a small > circle and placing a car tire around the three little plants as they get > tall > > yes, i have been able to follow up these texts on the conference. Thanx for > spending time again... > > <<The new leaves will quickly turn into > roots when you cover them with straw, sense you only get potatoes from the > rootlets you are giving yourself six more sets of roots than you ever would > have had before. > > But a consideration: you don't add sand in the tires ? Then how do the > plants root in the tires ? just from the little straw you add ? > > <<The plastic bag I use is a dry-cleaning bag on a coat hanger,( I have a > friend who gets all her stuff dry-cleaned) I just pull the bag down to about > the floor. > > About the floor, so you leave space for aeration... > > <<Yes, it is a special cloth like stuff, it lasts about five years. Lets > sun light in keeps bugs out and acts like a wind break and will hold in some > heat. It will let rain in also. You can leave the fabric > on all the time also. Rabbits don't seem to bother the plants so much also. > > I haven't seen it around here yet and i'm sure it is not the 'mesh' we used > on the apple trees at Balabhadras either I guess ( at least Gosh was > charging us more :-) > We'll see what we can get a hold of when i'm there... > > <<We ran it (exhaust) Straight into the green house no pipes. > > Woo, I wouldn't want to be in your greenhouse... All this is supposed to be > good for the plants ? At least we're advised here not to eat things that are > close to the roads or factories. > > <<it got down to eighty below zero F at point barrow quite often, cold > enough that if you spit it froze before it hit the ground. I threw out a > cup of boiling water and it froze on the way down but it was 100 degrees > below zero F. The coldest day we ever had. > > I'm sure it won't get that bad in Iceland... > > <<All day, sixteen hours. The lamps were grow lamps they have all spectrum > oflight in them regular tube lights white light will not give the plants all > the correct kind of light it must be a GROW LIGHT. If you are in the dark > too long it makes you depressed and tired but is you have a grow light it > won't effect you very much, human bodies need sunlight also but a grow light > may be the next best thing. > > Good you mentioned, cause I was too stupid to think of that. Maybe it will > also be good to have one in my room for winter. I'm annualy suffering from a > 'winter down'. I'm always so happy when the spring vibes arrive... > immediately feel energy flowing again. > > <<Actually if you just paint wood panels a bright white and place on the > North side of the green house it alone will reflect a lot of light. > > Good. > > << also if you paint a light blue strip about half a meter wide (18") every > five feet on the South side of the green house that helps the plant growth > also. Something to do with blue spectrum of light. It does work I can tell > you that. Why, I do not know! > > That i never heard of... thanx > > <<Yes, I grew the plants vertically The plants used the Styrofoam beads to > hold on the roots got the compost tea I fed them by me pouring the tea > mixture into the top of the pipe and caught it in a bucket in the bottom. > > You do that how many times a day/week ? > > <<Now I use 4 liter plastic milk bottles and fill it up with manure tea, I > polk a small hole in one corner and hang over the container so it slowly > drips into the pipe. Drip irrigation at it's simplest. > > Yes, that is lazy intelligence, but it does save time so you concentrate on > other usefull activities. You can get so much more done... not unlike me > whose always wasting so much time due to lack of creativity... good to have > someone like you around. > > << Smart man that is a good Idea. > > Hum... ideas enough, but they hardly ever manifest... > > <<"Bunny berries" can be placed directly on your crops. (straight from the > rabbit to the tomatoes). > > You can dry them and crush to have a powder ? Or is that too hard to do ? > Talking of rabbits: you have experience with them. Anything you want to > share or important things to mention ? I'll also have to take care of > them... > > <<See you are already thinking. > > Buh... always figuring out how to make money I am... could do more usefull > things with my thinking... > > dirk > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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