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AJs 2012 Season - A Pictorial Discussion

I am getting a one day jump on last season...today is my 2012 season start...

The Germinator has been cleaned, I am using new trays for seed starting and Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix as my grow media...

If any of you decide to use Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix, be patient, it takes as much as 24 hours pre-soak to get this light weight mix totally wet...I have said it before and I will say it again...this is the cleanest seed starting mix I have ever used....clean and light weight means better root growth IMO..

12-30-11A001.jpg


All circuits and systems are a go on the germinator...am stabilizing the temperature for the next 24 hours...as you can see, the upper box is about 93F and the lower box is 85F...I have to vent the top to let both chambers reach the same temperature...

12-30-11A002.jpg


12-30-11A004.jpg
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something tells me this is going to be another hot summer....close to record heat again...so the season will go as mother wants it to...I am learning each year how to change my grow techniques and am adapting to North Texas...

hope you folks enjoy this thread...if anyone has any questions or comments, they are welcome...
 
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AlabamaJack said:
thank you...what I am doing is kinda breaking the area down into 18 "sections" and considering each "section" to have a point source...(I have 18 CFLs in my 4' X 4' growbox...that's close enough isn't it? the CFLS are almost equidistant from the sides and each other....
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Oh yeah, plenty close enough. You just probably have somewhat better intensity than you think you do... assuming your bulbs are producing their rated output. I have some T12s that just won't burn out (knock on wood), but I'm pretty sure their output isn't what it once was.
 
now I know who to call on if I have a physics question...it's amazing at the various technical fields that are represented on this forum...

please don't ever hesitate to correct me if you see something I wrote that is incorrect....I appreciate the knowledge learned...
 
OK...plants are watered and fanned...been workin' on that all morning...and now I feel a little inclined to do some outside work...temps supposed to be in the 70s today...

As I said in an earlier post, I am running out of room inside my growrage, especially since I started transplanting to 6" contianers...soooo....I am going to expand the grow to outside...but I need to build something...the wind/snow (yes, I said snow...that ugly "S" word) has taken down every makeshift greenhouse structure I have built until last year and now that area is a "shade structure...

a thought hit me like a ton of bricks...build a mini hoophouse....so...here I go...

miniaturehoophouse.jpg


the blue is the bottom and is a sheet of plywood...it will be sitting on two 2" X 4"s that are on two saw horses (not shown)...the 2" X 4"s are there to keep the plywood from sagging in the middle...

the clear structure is the border of this piece of plywood will be 1" X 6"s attached with "L" brackets (shelving brackets)....

then the red is 3/4" light schedule PVC pipe and will be attached to the side 1" X 6"s with U-Bolts....two U-bolts per hoop per end (if that makes sense to you)

the cover will be 6 mil visquene...and will be attached with clamps

gotta make a Homus Depot run and get the following...

Sixteen 3/4" U bolts (will measure for correct size at the store....won't know the length until I can see the U-bolts)...
Three 8' 1" X 6"s
Two 2" X 4"s
Ten shelf brackets
A Box of 1/2" wood screws

I already have the plywood, PVC, visquene, clamps, and saw horses...

thoughts?

pictures of construction will be coming...hopefully I can get this done shortly after noon....
 
I built something very similar to this a couple of years ago. The biggest problem that I had was the PVC hoops becoming warped from the changes in temperature and the weight of the plastic sheeting. The wind would wreak havoc on the thing causing the PVC to bend quite a bit, then it would heat up and cool down and get stuck in that shape. I added a couple of purlins to the design and it was significantly better. So I would recommend purlins.
 
I don't have the material for purlins right now...but they will be easy to add later...this is only 4' X 8' and the PVC is going to be under a pretty good "pre-load" (10' piece bent in an arc that is 4' wide at the base)...the plastic to cover it will weigh less than 5 lbs total...the only thing I think I will have to worry about is the wind loading and I am now thinking I am going to put this against the back fence (back yard faces north)...

thank you for your input and I may end up using your suggestion...
 
I don't really have anything to contribute except to say you are really inspiring me. I am amazed at the progress of your peppers. You have it dialed in AJ. Good stuff. Also, I'm learning from your GLOG which is always appreciated.
 
thanks seth...learning is what it is all about...I have a saying that I use a lot...and it came from my grandfather when I was really small...and that is "Try to learn something new each day of your life"...and I still stick to that mantra today...I passed this on to my grandson when he was a tiny tot...probably just when he was able to understand me talking to him and now he is graduating from 6th grade as valedictorian of his class with straight "A's", boy has never made a B or lower in his life...he will be attending Walter Peyton College Prep (High School) ( http://www.wpcp.org/.../AboutWPCP.aspx ) ... OK, now you got me bragging...here are some of the statistics from the school and I have to admit, they are dang impressive...

Average ACT score of 28.3​


College attendance rate of 98%​


Over 20 million dollars of scholarship funding awarded to the class of 2011​


Over 1,000 AP exams taken by the class of 2011​


89% of all students earn an AP exam score of 3 or higher​


13 National Merit and 6 National Achievement Semi-Finalists (Class of 2011) ​


You might say I am one proud grandparent...​
 
i think a 4 way cross pvc fitting in the middle of your ribs then with a section of pvc as support would increase your stability drasticaly i hope that makes sense. and would not add a whole lot of cost to the project.
 
I know exactly what you are saying...I had that setup in the 12" X 16" I put up last year...but the problem is the preload...I don't think the "4 ways" would stand up under the stress....
 
here are the materials for the mini hoop house...

02-21-12a013.jpg


and here is the finished structure...will put the cover on tomorrow...

it kinda looks like a conestoga wagon without wheels... :)

02-21-12a016.jpg


didn't get as far as I wanted to but had to make a return trip to home depot...the u bolts I got the first time were too small...
 
yes sir, blue bird sky, light wind out of the south, and 77F at the moment...I would not have believed it would get this warm today when the temp was 36F at daylight...41 degrees delta in a day is pretty huge...
 
Loving it! I have a similar smallish setup...gets hot in there quick so be on the spot opening it up when the sun hits it. Also does real well at night with a cheapo $12 space heater from wally world...Think its gonna work great for you.

Shane
 
That hoop house is looking good so far AJ.

How much tension can that PVC take before you start over tensioning it causing weakness/breakage?? and does it degrade/become brittle at all over a year or 2 (especially with the variance in temperatures and high heat during summer where you are)?? I know its usually UV stabilised but heating/cooling is a whole different ballgame again.
 
AlabamaJack said:
yes sir, blue bird sky, light wind out of the south, and 77F at the moment...I would not have believed it would get this warm today when the temp was 36F at daylight...41 degrees delta in a day is pretty huge...
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The same weather conditions as here in Italy.
Last week we had ice and snow with minumum Ts° of almost -16 C°, next friday weather forecasts speak about spring Ts° (19 C°).
And now, outside we have a bright warming sun...pretty mad weather conditions! :banghead:
Anyway, very nice hoophouse! And lot of compliments for your grandson's career :clap:
 
by the way, one thing I did not say and probably don't need to, but this hoop house will be broken down in about a month or 6 weeks and the parts stored until next year...hardware is expensive...the one most expensive thing was the U-Bolts....16 of them were $20...good thing they will last a long time...


BakersPeppers said:
it happens like that here in tampa as well...we get lows of 33 and then afternoon high of 81! LOL pretty crazy sometimes :)
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crazy it is Dale...trying to stay one step ahead of mother nature is aggravating sometimes, but then again, it keeps me on my toes...

wrightdaddy said:
looks good aj :clap:
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thanks wd..

stc3248 said:
Loving it! I have a similar smallish setup...gets hot in there quick so be on the spot opening it up when the sun hits it. Also does real well at night with a cheapo $12 space heater from wally world...Think its gonna work great for you.

Shane
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I have a couple of old Markel "strip heaters" or electric baseboard heaters that work quite well...as far as it heating up quickly, since I am attaching the cover with spring loaded clamps (they look like battery cable clamps), I can open any area and as much area as I need to keep it from gettin' too hot...bought a remote digital thermometer yesterday evening...

Trippa said:
That hoop house is looking good so far AJ.

How much tension can that PVC take before you start over tensioning it causing weakness/breakage?? and does it degrade/become brittle at all over a year or 2 (especially with the variance in temperatures and high heat during summer where you are)?? I know its usually UV stabilised but heating/cooling is a whole different ballgame again.
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I really don't know how much tension it can take...it is 3/4" light schedule PVC and pretty limber...matter of fact, these 4 pieces were salvaged from my hoop house that blew down last year...I was pretty careful bending it and tried to make sure no "point" bends were made...tried to make the whole length curve if you understand what I am trying to say...

neobepmat said:
The same weather conditions as here in Italy.
Last week we had ice and snow with minumum Ts° of almost -16 C°, next friday weather forecasts speak about spring Ts° (19 C°).
And now, outside we have a bright warming sun...pretty mad weather conditions! :banghead:
Anyway, very nice hoophouse! And lot of compliments for your grandson's career :clap:
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I am going to have to look at a map and do a little research to see what kind of weather you guys in Italy have...what city do you live in or is closest to you?

I will pass these compliments on to my grandson...he's a supersmart kid with a great personality and he has a little common sense already too...
 
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