Stormcrow's Hobby Farm

[Sally PB]

Maybe your helper can take care of the weeds that are coming up.

I had a bunch of thistle growing in my green house this summer.

 

[Sally PB]

Any more progress?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Nope. Work busting my butt (OK, I love what I do - but I have been putting in serious hours).

I had hoped to work on it this afternoon, but was trying to find the owner of a lost cat, and dealing w/ some family medical. (Nothing permanently bad, and what's serious is improving).

 

[Sally PB]

Did you find the cat's owner? Hope the medical issue continues to improve.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, found the cat's owner - "next door" neighbor, some 14A away. Surgery (not me, my wife, our children) repeatedly delayed, but went well. Won't be going thru any metal detectors in the near future, no plastic surgery (hopefully) required. Bad break, lots of new "hardware". Close family.

 

[Sally PB]

Glad both worked out well.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Greenhouse keeps getting more expensive. $1,300 in materials coming today, should allow me to do roof, door, walls. Framing (other than one corner which is still temporarily braced) is done.

My wife [brilliant woman, doesn't get enough mention] has convinced me to extend the greenhouse (roof) another 24 feet. I think she wants me to move the tractor from in front of the RV???

Anyhow, starting to look into solar and the Aquaponics next. Have two IBC totes (275gal-ish ea) will form the main fish tank. An existing black 55 gal drum as my solids settling tank. Guy up the road stocks the half-height totes (125gal), which will become my grow beds. Still need pricing. I could support nine of those with the two big tanks as my reservoir, they are about 13.3 sq ft each - that's 120 sq ft of grow beds (think 3' wide raised garden bed, 40' long). However, that would also - after accounting for walkways - fill almost the whole greenhouse. Have some measuring to do.


Amazon has new solar panels (Renology) on Sale which deal well with part shade, and Harbor Freight has a waterfall pond pump which doesn't pull a lot of power, but moves enough water that running it off Solar with a battery back up is actually a possibility. Enough spare power, in fact, that I could add a pair of grow lights if desired. And Lowes is stocking bulk rock - NOT local limestone - in bulk as a potential grow medium flood flood and dump tanks. All that leaves is a good bit of plumbing and bulkhead fittings. and time, of course, always time.


So, its all coming together - slowly moving from pipe dream to reality. Have to do some "vertical planning" before taking next steps, to ensure I cand do a gravity fed system, rather than relying on a lift pump - that's adding a critical failure point I can ill afford, even if I find the cash for this.

 

[Sally PB]

My wife [brilliant woman, doesn't get enough mention] has convinced me to extend the greenhouse (roof) another 24 feet. I think she wants me to move the tractor from in front of the RV???

That is a brilliant idea!

While your tractor is very nice, I'm not sure it's the most picturesque thing you can see out your front windows.

 

[NanaK]

Maybe do something like this until you move it??

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Anyone that wants to offer floorplans, imagine a rectangle 166" wide by 284" tall. Doorway at bottom right corner, entering from the side.

Totes measure 40" x 48". The big tanks go OUTSIDE - its only the grow beds I need to both place, and be able to walk around. Does me no good to have 48" of bed width if I can only reach the first 20" or so. Will probably start w/ 6, and expand the system outside if it works well. Working theory, anyways.