Stormcrow's Hobby Farm

[U_Stormcrow]

That's a lot of lumber! Metal roof on it?

Clear polycarbonate, all the way down. "Greenhouse".

and using clear poly over the tractor means I'll be able to work on it w/o needing to run power for lights.

I'll structure the tractor part like the greenhouse so it looks uniform, and so I can later expand the greenhouse, if desired.

 

[Sally PB]

Clear polycarbonate, all the way down. "Greenhouse".

Duh.

 

[Sally PB]

How will you cool it?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

How will you cool it?

Good question.

Most of the year, it wont have full walls, so it can cross breeze. Its going to attach to the side of the barn, where the existing soffits (wide open) will allow it to vent up and out as well.

Looking at solar and some fans to force air, if necessary.

This is going to be a learn by failure process.

Oh, and having 400 gal of water inside when I do the aquaculture should provide some stabilizing thermal mass.

That's the theory, anyways...

 

[Sally PB]

I'm very interested in how it goes.

I tried to grow a couple of tomato and pepper plants in our greenhouse the first summer, thinking I could then stretch the season out when it cooled back off in September. Ha ha. The tomato plants looked very stressed from the heat, even with the door open and two screened areas on the east and west sides to let in a cross breeze.

The tomato plants got BIG, leggy, didn't flower, and died in August. The pepper plants looked slightly better, but didn't produce anything.

Another issue I had and still have: Wasps. I've learned to take a can of spray with me when I go up there.

 

[Molpet]

Good question.

Most of the year, it wont have full walls, so it can cross breeze. Its going to attach to the side of the barn, where the existing soffits (wide open) will allow it to vent up and out as well.

Looking at solar and some fans to force air, if necessary.

This is going to be a learn by failure process.

Oh, and having 400 gal of water inside when I do the aquaculture should provide some stabilizing thermal mass.

That's the theory, anyways...

I have clearish tarps over my hoop coops. I put 70-80% shade cloth tarps over in the summer

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I could ABSOLUTELY hang some shade tarps thru most of the year.
That's Brilliant!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Working on that greenhouse.

Cutting 4x4s to lock together to use as my footer now. Getting a good sense of my elevation changes (Significant). Looks like I'm goign to have to teach myself how to mix mortar and set CMUs (contrete masorny units, or "cinder blocks" colloquially), then fill with concrete. After first digging a trench to serve as a footer, of course. In better news, it will keep the shallower grasses and blackberries from sending roots under the walls and into the greenhouse. May have to lay a french drain around the outside, as well.

Oh, and my wife wants to run water into it now, a sink, and a gardening shelf - so she can pot/repot plants inside w/o needing to run back and forth. So I'll also need to plumb a drain. Not bad ideas, but definitely setting back the timeline some.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Reserved for Math.

2 pallets CMUs 2 x 72 = 144 @ 2.28 = 330 ish
1 60# Mortar per 13 CMUs - ish.
12 bags at 7.50 = 90.
Apprx .33 cu ft concrete per CMU = 50 cu ft.
2x80# Concrete per cu ft
100 bags at 6.96 = 700.

Tax and Delivery = 1,125 ish.

Short truck of concrete (5 cu yd) w/ delivery = 750
Plywood (average wall height 2') = 22 per 8 linear foot
Approx 64 linear foot = 175 ish
12 CMUs to maintain spacing 28
Scrap 2x4s for framing (on hand)

Option 2 is $100 cheaper and certainly faster. Also leaves me w/ 3 cu yd of concrete +/- for another project...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

No antenna tower, so really short truck.