GH bizz #2

When the wind blows the covering on plastic or fabric GH's can move up and down a lot--billowing (even if the doors are closed), just like a parachute. This movement causes the cover to wear and tear, and the ground anchors to loosen and maybe give up so the whole GH takes off. Anti-billow straps or ropes are fixed on one side between rafters and run over the top to the other side and snugged down to keep the covering from billowing. They help to keep the cover snugger in high winds. On large high tunnels they put them between every rafter.

This principle will also work on floating row covers, and other grow tunnel techniques. I had a 30' x 4' bed covered with insect barrier over hoops, with another set of hoops going over the top and bricks along the edges. Did a pretty good job of keeping the cover on during some pretty good winds, say 20-25 mph.

never thought of them for row covers i'll have to try that.

hay guys good news"for me at least" talked the farmers market into letting me sale my tilapia at the market. i'm sure it had nothing to do with the market manager wanting to buy some every week. lol "whitebear"

Here's one version... a criss-cross pattern done with haystring, which is really too harsh and started wearing through. But it held in 40 mph... edges wrapped and clipped around rebar-loaded pvc. Then the dog tried to stand on it... so replacing the haystring became sort of a moot point... LOL

hay "Jayryunen" thanks for the pic i'm going to try that with my raised beds.

Whitebear, so how would you present the fish? Gutted and on ice, or live?

hmmmm...I wonder if I could grow them in the pond in my basement...

or in an old broken hot tub, haha

Quicker and easier to get into is just a second set of hoops set over the row cover on the outside between the others, so that the row cover is sort of woven in and out. I used #9 tie wire hoops every 4'--row cover--more hoops of tie wire in between on the outside and bricks or rebar down the edges. That works pretty good for breezy spots, just not strong enough for our spring mountain winds.

The system above is a bit of a pain to get into, but it stays on, by golly!

msrobin, i will sell the live from a tank, threegardeners that is where i winter some of my fish. thanks for the info Jayryunen i want to try it with some lettuce patches i have.

well it's still raining, i was digging up the floor in my greenhouse to place the compost bins and the worm bins but with out the plastic on i was just making little lakes. lol well hopfully in three day it will stop and i can get some outside work done.
i planted up some seeds for more bedding plants, last year my friend sold tomatoes up into the last of june and they still wanted more. so i am starting more:

tomatoes
squash
zucchini
cucumbers
lettuce
patty pan squash
and peppers they start buying them as soon as you can see green, can't figure out why they don't start them them selfs. but thats ok i don't mind the money.lol

as i was typing that last entry it started to hail hope my plants are ok.

hay guys i'm building a small aquaponic system with pic at thread :
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/980672/

Ooo, new tilapia ponds and the ice provided!
But seriously, hope everything's OK with the greenery...

that way they can just chilll. lol

thank jay everything survived thank goodness.

well started about 7 dozen eggs in the incubater wanting to have about 100 hen buy fall to heat the greenhouse. going to build a 8 ft x 60 ft leanto on the side of the greenhouse for them to winter in and help heat the greenhouse.

Excellent idea.... have you seen it work before?

Why not a cow, then you could have milk, butter and cheese... besides the fertilizer.
(just being silly)
LOL

hay "Pagancat" i have a buddy that uses rabbits and they help a lot with the heating. i was also thinking of using some that way i could use their droppings for worm food,

lol funny jay but then i would have to watch my step.

Just put the worm bins under the hutches... I've heard of someone doing that.

And you think you won't have to watch your step with a hundred hens?!

In the old, old, really old, glad we've left that behind old, when all us common folk lived in one room houses, half the room was a corral for the livestock in the winter, for the heat their bodies AND waste produced. That would certainly make for a different house-keeping standard. LOL

In Tibet, the houses are two stories, the ground floor for the animals and their heat rises to the second.

Just a little something to spice up the cocktail conversation when things start to lag...
LOL

high honey i'm home, oh man whats that smell, did you mother come over and cook again. lol

just kidding, my mother in law is a great cook,
i just got done digging red raspberry plant out of a friends garden she gave them all to me for digging them out now i have about 20 big plants and 25 starts.

No, you big lunk, it's your father! He needs an airing, for sure. LOL

Wonderful on the raspberries!

Working up the beds in our high tunnel today, digging up tons of bindweed. }=P Got the herbs in the ground, too.

Well, whatdaheck, guess I could use the ponies for that, then, huh?

Que cute...
and they'd certainly get over that flapping plastic freak-out thing. LOL

Pagancat, cute ponies!

I was just thinking of the stables under the house idea a few days ago. LOL! I really like the idea using animals to help warm up the GH and have run across a few websites where someone is doing so, but with no directions. Think it's a really good idea.

Plant warmth, pony training - geez, I'm going to market this idea....

Don't forget 'farm-based fertility'. AKA manure.

Hey, WB, how 'bout a methane digester to power the grow lights? Hmmmmm...

hay jay had it in the plans for a while haven't found the time to do it. the local dairy will give me all the manure i want. maybe i can make it into a workshop so that i can get free help building it. i was going to use the gas to power the heaters.

You're amazing, just flat amazing! =0)
Can't wait to see the project...

thanks jay. i've read about the methane digester they made in India where they made a round tank out of concert then made another tank that would fit over the first tank then when the pressure of the gas starts to build the top tank will rise and the weight of the tank would make presser to force the gas threw the pipes to their house for cooking.

Our high school sits on land next to a quarry/dump. Way back when, the science club did a methane collection project that has been expanded and heats the building for free. They all probably grew up to be like gthumbus, able to make anything.

I think I saw a methane system that used tire innertubes to store and pressurize in a recent Countryside mag...

Pity they don't do stuff like that anymore in school... now they probably just model it on the computer.

I'm beginning to think WB is a vampire... always so capable, never sleeps... do you dance well, too? LOL
We've been speculating on the usefulness of a vampire over on Homestead...

only war and stomp dancing for me. can't dance other than that.

ok guys this thread is getting a little long so starting another at
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/984156/

see ya there! "whitebear"