Huachuca Experiment

[natehale1971]

Also remember that depending upon your roof, that is area that can be used for growing some smaller veggies or more commonly used for solar pannels. I read somewhere that a family had installed solar pannels on their roof, and in the area between the pannels they set up some root veggies since they didn't need to be watered every day, or could be watered with a hose creating a 'rainfall' like effect.

Also layering and stacking some of the plants is a good way to go, it can double or tripple your growing space. Also if you're growing a more vine like veggie (tomatoes and green beans) you can create a lattice work that will draw the plant upward... this has the benefit of keeping the veggies grown from touching the ground. and allows them to grow even bigger with all the space to grow and expand without something getting in the way.

if you have pictures of your back yard, we could give more informed suggestions for how to set up the growing area. when i go to mom's for Saturday Night dinner & game night, i'll take a few pics of the garden areas we have on the homestead.

[Webstral]

I'd be happy to have suggestions. I can't promise they will get put into effect anytime soon. Money is VERY tight, so new containers and that sort of thing are unlikely to appear this year.

Yesterday, my son and I redistributed the pumpkins that had sprouted and a few corn seedlings. Then we planted beans next to the corn sprouts. It should be interesting! I remain disappointed with the clover. There must be a technique of some sort to get clover to sprout. I notice that clumps of it are coming up, though I distributed the seeds as evenly as possible.

Next on the hit parade are potatoes and carrots. I cut some older potatoes and let the exposed surfaces develop a skin. I bought carrot seeds and some little planters. I'll plant marigolds in the planters, too, since none of them came up when I planted them in the ground. The potatoes will go in next to the driveway. I don't expect a bumper crop, but I'd like to have enough for mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Maybe in the future I can acquire some containers and develop a nice soil for container potatoes.

[Webstral]

My first potatoes have sprouted. I planted these in a patch of bare soil between my rosemary plant and some shrubs next to the driveway. This is all very exciting. My beans have sprouted, too, and are growing more quickly than the corn. I'm wondering how the beans are supposed to climb the corn. I still haven't been able to get the clover to grow in the sunflower patch with anything like a uniform coverage. I'd say about 5% of the soil is covered the way I'd like it to be, and another 5% has some coverage, at least. The new farmers of SAMAD doubtless had a first season like this.

[Webstral]

I'm now up to 6 potato plants. I also found a resource online about using my Compost Tumblr, which is supposed to provide compost in two weeks instead of 3-6 months. This is all very exciting! I still haven't cracked the code on growing clover, but I now have a local resource for answering my gardening questions. It's all very exciting!

For the future (I don't know how distant), I want to run an experiment on carbon dioxide in the greenhouse. Some time ago, I read about a greenhouse experiment in which the carbon dioxide levels in a greenhouse were artificially elevated to more than 200% their natural levels. Plant growth accelerated dramatically. I have been wondering if one could not bump carbon levels to 1000% of their natural levels in a hydroponic hothouse (or cold house, for that matter) to double or triple the growth rate of vegetables that resist "traditional" mechanized agriculture. The drawback to this method is that any workers would need to have a respiration system. Worker safety issues would have to be sorted out in procedure and even in the design of the greenhouse. But it you could get tomatoes every 30 days as a result, the effort might be worthwhile. I must find out how I can get a government grant.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Webstral

For the future (I don't know how distant), I want to run an experiment on carbon dioxide in the greenhouse. Some time ago, I read about a greenhouse experiment in which the carbon dioxide levels in a greenhouse were artificially elevated to more than 200% their natural levels. Plant growth accelerated dramatically. I have been wondering if one could not bump carbon levels to 1000% of their natural levels in a hydroponic hothouse (or cold house, for that matter) to double or triple the growth rate of vegetables that resist "traditional" mechanized agriculture. The drawback to this method is that any workers would need to have a respiration system. Worker safety issues would have to be sorted out in procedure and even in the design of the greenhouse. But it you could get tomatoes every 30 days as a result, the effort might be worthwhile. I must find out how I can get a government grant.

Carbon Dioxide makes up 0.039% of our Atmosphere. Some of the supporting data in this study suggests that humans can tolerate up to 3 or 4% with little to no issues

Storm and Giannetta [14] had 6 participants breathe 4% CO2, for 14 days and found no effects on complex tracking, eye–hand coordination, and problem solving.

http://www.ciop.pl/21104

Four percent is a 10000% increase over atmospheric levels. I'm sure lawyers would be all over you if some type of workplace accident happened, but the science shows that a 1000% increase should be completely safe.


Edit

It looks like OSHA is more strict than i would have expected. (The study that I cited feels these levels should be re-evaluated)

normal outdoor level: 350 - 450 ppm
ASHRAE and OSHA standards: 1000 ppm
maximum allowed concentration within a 8 hour working period: 5000 ppm

build your greenhouse in another country

[Webstral]

My first experiment in growing the Three Sisters is at its conclusion. See attached photo for the yield from my 6'x3' plot with about 20 plants.

[General Pain]

Yo Webstral - haveyou tried Jerusalem Artichoke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke

It's real easy to make ..comes from north Americas...and you can combine it with fish and meat dinners....

I (or shouldI say my GF) make a realnice puré from this and other root-vegies..

Anyway good luck with your gardening....