Shane's Vegetable Farm

[Thurston]

Not trying to discourage you and you know whats best for your situation.

My experience with aluminum duct tape leads me to believe any adhesive would end up being a mess to clean or replace and gets dirty as it attracts all sorts of particulate matter in the grow environment. I like something easy to clean or replace. Cut a new piece and tape it on, easy peasy. I also used overlapped pieces so I didn't have to change entire row at once.

 

[Shane Karmann]

Luckily, Ace is closed. I went down to score the spray. I have double faced tape to make it neat and secure.

Thanks for all the advice. Very helpful.

 

[Shane Karmann]

I agree water temps would be higher with black surface.

Also FYI tent material like that has de-laminated on me in the past when it gets wet often.

Never considered that!

 

[curious2garden]

Tbis journal is a place where I show off my gardening practices. I love growing stuff, it doesn't even matter what to some degree. Growing cannabis is fun and rewarding but it can get a little repetitive. I have some raised beds outside totalling a little over 100 square feet. I filled them with equal parts compost, peat and vermiculite. The verm helps with water retention in raised beds, they almost drain too well. They also produce more vegetables than the 2 of us can consume, same as cannabis.
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I live in Minnesota with a very short growing season and success depends on a solid seedling game. Winter is long here and grocery store produce gets uglier and uglier as the season progresses. I have grown a few tubs of lettuce on a styrofoam float in the past, it's easy but still pretty hands on. Growing lettuce outside is also easy, but constant work making new plants and the produce is Invariably dirty. I saw these vivosun units for sale last week for really cheap and decided I had to have them. I have a spare 4x4 tent and light, the whole 9 yards actually, so here's what I'm doing.
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Pumps feed the top tubes and it overflows through the system and drains back into the res, leaving about an inch of water in each tube. I plan to run the pumps for 5 minutes every 2 hours to start. The system came with cute little pumps and timers. We shall see how long they last. First system test revealed no leaks and it was all easy to level. They are designed as wall units but I think my V shape maximizes light exposure for all sites and it looks rad! Yoyo hangers and a couple of zip ties, easy peasy. I forgot how clean a hydro tent can look.View attachment 790

Stupid me did not start any lettuce seed when I ordered the system, but I was out of plugs. Once I get some stuff sprouted, I'll dose the tank and fire it up. And I need to make a lid for my res which came from a Botanicare flood and drain system I used to use. Don't need algae in there. I'm interested to see if that's a problem with light inside the tubes. I probably won't use every single site at first. Excited to see where this goes. 5 tents full of weed was getting old.

When I ran rails I just ran the pump 24/7. What made you decide to go to rails?

 

[Shane Karmann]

When I ran rails I just ran the pump 24/7. What made you decide to go to rails?

Medium free, compact. Abundance. Cheap deal. I know what you can grow in water and I want another crack at it. And I've done everything but rails and full aero. Punching that card!

Running the pump 24/7 makes sense actually, except for the constant waterfall noise.

Also, thanks, your quote post showed me I have a typo in the very first word of my first post of my journal! Fixed!

 

[Shane Karmann]

48 hours to germination.

After some reflection I ordered black shrink wrap for the system. Arriving tomorrow. Could be up and running pretty soon.

 

[Laughing Grass]

Typical Vivosun design. Ever so slightly half-assed. I have a couple weeks before I get plants in there to fiddle and refine it.

Excellent. Made me remember I have this stashed away for 14 years waiting for its moment in the sun! Actual roll of grow tent Oxford cloth. Might be enoughView attachment 801

I gotta ask about that pink wall.

 

[Shane Karmann]

I gotta ask about that pink wall.

Lmao. Years ago, we took all the aging clumpy paint we had plus some from my work and mixed it all together. It was all sort of pale grey until I added a pint of gloss red! We just wanted to avoid taking it to the county dump and paying them. I almost have enough old paint again to coat it with something else!

 

[Laughing Grass]

Lmao. Years ago, we took all the aging clumpy paint we had plus some from my work and mixed it all together. It was all sort of pale grey until I added a pint of gloss red! We just wanted to avoid taking it to the county dump and paying them. I almost have enough old paint again to coat it with something else!

Such a stark contrast to all the other colours you have throughout your house.

 

[Shane Karmann]

Such a stark contrast to all the other colours you have throughout your house.

Just think of it as all of them combined. Even the red, sigh.

 

[Shane Karmann]

1 of 8 shrinkwrapped. My heat gun is not very good at this. Takes a while and the whole tube gets very hot. Good activity for a very cold day.

 

[Shane Karmann]

Got 4 done and took a nap! Looking like it's worth the effort though.

 

[Bareback]

Got 4 done and took a nap! Looking like it's worth the effort though.View attachment 838

I have a funny aquaponics story for you. 25 years ago ( maybe longer ) I had the brite idea that I could grow lettuce on a raft made out of a sheet of foam board in our lake. So I built it with netty cups hydroton and put seed in pantyhose. It worked….as soon as the lettuce got about 2” tall … one day I get home from work and there’s about six turtles riding the raft having a salad. It’s funny how fast nature learns new tricks.

 

[Shane Karmann]

I have a funny aquaponics story for you. 25 years ago ( maybe longer ) I had the brite idea that I could grow lettuce on a raft made out of a sheet of foam board in our lake. So I built it with netty cups hydroton and put seed in pantyhose. It worked….as soon as the lettuce got about 2” tall … one day I get home from work and there’s about six turtles riding the raft having a salad. It’s funny how fast nature learns new tricks.

That was my first indoor lettuce grow. A concrete mixing tub with a foam float. Turtles would have been nice!

 

[Shane Karmann]

My heat gun died in the middle of my 4th tube. 3 to go. Now I have to go outside. Boo!

 

[Shane Karmann]

It cooled off enough to restart and finish. I guess I need some more to wrap the feed tubes.
I was going to order a cordless Dewalt heatgun from Ace. Not in stock, won't ship to the store and the app wants to charge me 18 but to ship. Ridiculous. Glad my Tool Shop pos revived long enough to finish the job.

 

[Bareback]

I bought my first garden seed of the year this week. I got a pound of white acre peas and some carrots that I don’t remember the name of.
I ordered them from Hoss located in Norman Ga. they sell a lot of stuff that will grow in this area but not only this area . Really well packed.

 

[Dboybudz]

I bought my first garden seed of the year this week. I got a pound of white acre peas and some carrots that I don’t remember the name of.
I ordered them from Hoss located in Norman Ga. they sell a lot of stuff that will grow in this area but not only this area . Really well packed.

Fresh carrots are amazing strait from ground and washed and cooked or even just eating raw,so good

 

[Shane Karmann]

Time stopped while I cut out the shrinkwrap over each hole. Hook blade was very useful, too bad it's biased against lefthanders.

 

[Laughing Grass]

too bad it's biased against lefthanders.

the whole world is biased against lefties