It has been a busy summer preparing for our apiary opening next spring. Add that to a record drought in Texas with over 90 days of 100+ temps and lets just say the outdoor greenhouses didn't see a lot of action.
The strawberries have rebounded nicely and are actually producing fruit again -that's right, fresh strawberries in December! The blackberries are putting on veg again slowly, blue and raspberries just didn't make it through the drought.
We are starting up the TreeHouse with three autopot systems and we are going to attempt to grow some Endovia trees from seed. They need to germinate in some cold temps so we think they will do well. We have wanted to use the autopots (thanks for the suggestion Zach) for a while now using coir as a medium and we are getting our chance. We may toss in a few other flowers to beautify the house a little. We expect the autopots this weekend so we will prove some video and updates next week.
Showing posts with label Rion Prestige. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rion Prestige. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Berry House Configuration Changes
It has been a brutal summer with over eighty days of 105+ temperatures. Normally we get a week here or there in August, but nothing like this. Couple that with a severe drought, and the rest is history.
We learned a lot about operating a greenhouse in the summer. A comment was made in one of our posts about burying the water reservoirs. I absolutely recommend this - except where you have caliche (sand/water compacted like concrete) as we do. Nothing short of a jackhammer, or some dynamite, can penetrate. Hence, burying was not an option for us - only a chiller.
The heat stress on our berries was pretty intense. We also noticed some sagging in our grow trays. This occurred over time and most likely was a combination of weight from the Hydroton and the heat. We are rethinking medium for next summer.
The raspberries and blueberries were doing ok until the intense heat of summer. We did have a heat / drought tolerant blackberry that did great - right up to the point where we took drought to an extreme by losing a system controller. Those that survived that incident are doing well again.
As you can see we removed the mixing tank and two grow systems from the house. Our thought of having that many systems in one greenhouse was misguided. We are down to one Monster Ebb n Grow, and the three stands for the strawberries. We will continue with this plan for next summer with a few other re-engineering thoughts between now and the cool weather. Once winter hits we will do some additional changes and hopefully next year have a better result in the greenhouse.
We learned a lot about operating a greenhouse in the summer. A comment was made in one of our posts about burying the water reservoirs. I absolutely recommend this - except where you have caliche (sand/water compacted like concrete) as we do. Nothing short of a jackhammer, or some dynamite, can penetrate. Hence, burying was not an option for us - only a chiller.
The heat stress on our berries was pretty intense. We also noticed some sagging in our grow trays. This occurred over time and most likely was a combination of weight from the Hydroton and the heat. We are rethinking medium for next summer.
The raspberries and blueberries were doing ok until the intense heat of summer. We did have a heat / drought tolerant blackberry that did great - right up to the point where we took drought to an extreme by losing a system controller. Those that survived that incident are doing well again.
As you can see we removed the mixing tank and two grow systems from the house. Our thought of having that many systems in one greenhouse was misguided. We are down to one Monster Ebb n Grow, and the three stands for the strawberries. We will continue with this plan for next summer with a few other re-engineering thoughts between now and the cool weather. Once winter hits we will do some additional changes and hopefully next year have a better result in the greenhouse.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Auto Pots for Second Greenhouse
We have been watching the success our friends at the Urban Hydroponic Growers Union have been having with these grow pots. Our second outdoor greenhouse was planned for dwarf fruits trees and flowers. We think this type of grow system will be perfect for the flowers.
We are still determining a layout and mix of flowers/bulbs to plant in the fall for a beautiful spring bloom. We may also move one of the other Monster Ebb n Grow systems to the second greenhouse for the dwarf fruit trees. We think our layout was a bit to aggressive in the first greenhouse to really work all of the systems/plants we wanted.
We are still determining a layout and mix of flowers/bulbs to plant in the fall for a beautiful spring bloom. We may also move one of the other Monster Ebb n Grow systems to the second greenhouse for the dwarf fruit trees. We think our layout was a bit to aggressive in the first greenhouse to really work all of the systems/plants we wanted.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Fried Berries
The weather has been terrible this year. Five inches of rain since January. It has been 104-109 degrees all week. No rain in sight. The strawberries are surviving just fine but the blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries are struggling. We shaded the greenhouse a few months ago which helped with overhead sun but the western sun is torching the blackberries. In just the past week all the leaves dried up from such "magnified" sun coming in the front doors of the greenhouse. Root systems are fine on the plants so we will keep watering hoping for more canes to come up. The raspberries have started a few new shoots so we are hopeful the others will too.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Chiller Activated
It is in the high 90's by noon and by five we hit 100 degrees here now. The past two days we had 103 with a "feels like" (according to my weather station here on the ranch) temp of 107.
Chiller was turned on and is now cycling the water reservoirs every 30 minutes. I am glad we invested the money in the RainBird controller, valves, and pump start relay back when we installed the greenhouse. This whole control system really makes water control a breeze - especially compared to what we go through in the indoor grow room.
We did complete water and nutrient changes in the greenhouse yesterday. We are still using the SNS mite control - seems to be the only one we have had any success with so far. Expensive, but it works better than others we have tried.
The blueberries are down to one plant. Hmmmm. The blackberries are looking really good. Best of the three "bush" berries. We have two raspberry plants we are trying to nurture back to health after a good infestation of mites. The strawberries are doing very well. Lost a few to crown rot but more than made up for those with all the runner plants we had growing off the other plants.
Chiller was turned on and is now cycling the water reservoirs every 30 minutes. I am glad we invested the money in the RainBird controller, valves, and pump start relay back when we installed the greenhouse. This whole control system really makes water control a breeze - especially compared to what we go through in the indoor grow room.
We did complete water and nutrient changes in the greenhouse yesterday. We are still using the SNS mite control - seems to be the only one we have had any success with so far. Expensive, but it works better than others we have tried.
The blueberries are down to one plant. Hmmmm. The blackberries are looking really good. Best of the three "bush" berries. We have two raspberry plants we are trying to nurture back to health after a good infestation of mites. The strawberries are doing very well. Lost a few to crown rot but more than made up for those with all the runner plants we had growing off the other plants.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Where Has The Month Gone
I apologize to all of you that have sent me messages asking what is happening with the various plants we are growing. We have several projects going on here at the ranch that have caused me to limit my time on the blog. Sorry for that.
We have had mixed results in the greenhouse ("Berry-House"). Several of our plants have done extremely well, others, well lets just say there are a lot of hungry bugs outside. We began spraying with some organic solutions several weeks ago on Mondays to slow them down. It did, but not completely. We have also noticed that some of our plants seem to be getting a fungal disease or something. Such is life in outdoor gardening I guess. We keep studying though and are not giving up.
The strawberries that we have picked so far have been fabulous. We are getting major runners on the plants now. One reason we only planted 5 strawberries per tray - leave room for the runners! Good thing we did - as you can see they are filling up the trays nicely.
We have had mixed results in the greenhouse ("Berry-House"). Several of our plants have done extremely well, others, well lets just say there are a lot of hungry bugs outside. We began spraying with some organic solutions several weeks ago on Mondays to slow them down. It did, but not completely. We have also noticed that some of our plants seem to be getting a fungal disease or something. Such is life in outdoor gardening I guess. We keep studying though and are not giving up.
The strawberries that we have picked so far have been fabulous. We are getting major runners on the plants now. One reason we only planted 5 strawberries per tray - leave room for the runners! Good thing we did - as you can see they are filling up the trays nicely.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Greenhouse 2 Construction Finished
We fought the high winds yesterday to put the roof up on our second Rion Prestige Greenhouse. The doors were hung and roofing brace cables installed. The hard part comes next - a layout of plumbing and electrical support for the plants we will be putting inside. We are weighing our options of expanding the "Berry House" into this greenhouse, flowers, dwarf fruit trees, or a little of all the above. Tough choices.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
RION Sisters in Sight
We have been slow to get our second greenhouse under construction due to high winds every day for about the last 45 days. We had a break earlier this week which allowed us to get the foundation frame, base, and first set of windows installed. Today we are putting the second row of windows and and topping it with the roof. Basic construction will be done today!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Grow 6
Well it has been a while since we did another major grow in the indoor room. We were busy helping all of our friends getting ready for outdoor spring planting by starting their plants for them in our AeroFlo36 not to mention all the Rion Prestige Greenhouse activities which we call the Berry House. Hey, what are friends for right?
We love tomatoes but I have to tell you, growing them indoors with an eight foot ceiling is challenging - especially if you hang grow lights from the ceiling. We have traditionally grown only heirloom and organic seeds but I am trying a hybrid now out of necessity - height limitations.
We have three tomato plants, two indicate that they are bush tomatoes (Bush Steak Hybrid and Bush Early Girl) and we are also planting a Tumbler Hybrid but it is not a bush tomato (just trying it out).
In addition we have planted Romaine since we eat it so fast, organic cucumber (another climbing wonder), Zucchini (we have had great success with these), Jalapeno, Red and Yellow Sweet Peppers.
Another test is for the Ultimate Plant Cage (http://globalgardenfriends.com/the-ultimate-plant-cage/). We have a challenge with our peppers and tomatoes getting top heavy with the fruits and our Ebb n Gro system does not have nice insets for PVC pipe like the PowerGrower does to help support the plants. We have tried netting, but it didn't work as we thought it would to support the plants from the PowerGrower.
So with the new grow, a new product test and some new plant tests...stay tuned. We planted seeds today and will be back to you soon on the results
We love tomatoes but I have to tell you, growing them indoors with an eight foot ceiling is challenging - especially if you hang grow lights from the ceiling. We have traditionally grown only heirloom and organic seeds but I am trying a hybrid now out of necessity - height limitations.
We have three tomato plants, two indicate that they are bush tomatoes (Bush Steak Hybrid and Bush Early Girl) and we are also planting a Tumbler Hybrid but it is not a bush tomato (just trying it out).
In addition we have planted Romaine since we eat it so fast, organic cucumber (another climbing wonder), Zucchini (we have had great success with these), Jalapeno, Red and Yellow Sweet Peppers.
Another test is for the Ultimate Plant Cage (http://globalgardenfriends.com/the-ultimate-plant-cage/). We have a challenge with our peppers and tomatoes getting top heavy with the fruits and our Ebb n Gro system does not have nice insets for PVC pipe like the PowerGrower does to help support the plants. We have tried netting, but it didn't work as we thought it would to support the plants from the PowerGrower.
So with the new grow, a new product test and some new plant tests...stay tuned. We planted seeds today and will be back to you soon on the results
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Survived The Storm
We had quite a storm night before last with quarter sized hail, 65 mph horizontal winds, and an inch of rain in less than an hour. We needed the rain desperately but I would have rather had it come in a different format.
I thought the greenhouse and all of our work was toast for sure, and since it happened at 11:30pm I couldn't do a damage assessment until yesterday morning. Let me just say it could have been a lot worse.
We had one side window and 5 roof windows blow out of the greenhouse. After finding all of the parts and pieces on the ranch we began putting it back together. Three hours later we were buttoned up again as if nothing happened. All the plants survived, the control systems that got drenched with rain were all fine (thank goodness we used a waterproof control box) and even the pumps survived the multiple power outages/restorations.
I think the shade screen that we installed late last week helped keep all the roof windows from blowing out. Rion states that the greenhouse can survive 80mph winds. With 65 mph and only minimal disruption, we were pleased and continue to say this is one of the best greenhouse kits on the market
I thought the greenhouse and all of our work was toast for sure, and since it happened at 11:30pm I couldn't do a damage assessment until yesterday morning. Let me just say it could have been a lot worse.
We had one side window and 5 roof windows blow out of the greenhouse. After finding all of the parts and pieces on the ranch we began putting it back together. Three hours later we were buttoned up again as if nothing happened. All the plants survived, the control systems that got drenched with rain were all fine (thank goodness we used a waterproof control box) and even the pumps survived the multiple power outages/restorations.
I think the shade screen that we installed late last week helped keep all the roof windows from blowing out. Rion states that the greenhouse can survive 80mph winds. With 65 mph and only minimal disruption, we were pleased and continue to say this is one of the best greenhouse kits on the market
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Berries Growing Well in Rion Greenhouse
Our "Berry House" is doing very well. We have been in production for several weeks now and we are very happy with the results.
We installed the Rion Greenhouse shade this week to help cut down on the heat we were getting inside the house. The plants are getting plenty of water but needed a little shade. We also added a circulating fan to move the air a bit more across the plants now that they are flowering.
As you can see in the video, water heater insulation blankets were placed around the Monster Ebb n Gro nutrient barrels to cut down on heat absorption. We added a four inch air stone disk to each of the strawberry nutrient tanks as well.
We installed the Rion Greenhouse shade this week to help cut down on the heat we were getting inside the house. The plants are getting plenty of water but needed a little shade. We also added a circulating fan to move the air a bit more across the plants now that they are flowering.
As you can see in the video, water heater insulation blankets were placed around the Monster Ebb n Gro nutrient barrels to cut down on heat absorption. We added a four inch air stone disk to each of the strawberry nutrient tanks as well.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Greenhouse Growth
All of our strawberry plants continue veg production it seems almost daily. We noticed a huge spike in activity every day since planting and now is leveling off a little. Leaves are mainly getting larger on the plants while production of new leaves has slowed down.
The Blackberries took off like a rocket too. We have great veg production on every plant. WOW.
The Blueberries and Raspberries are a little slower out of the gate. We have one Blueberry plant with a few small leaves and tiny buds on a few others. The Raspberries are the slowest with just hints of buds on one plant.
The Blueberry reservoir is keeping us hopping. Trying to keep the pH at about 4.6 is taking a lot of acid additions. The ppm level of the water is going up with all of the acid additions.
We have wrapped the Monster Ebb n Gro nutrient tanks with water heater insulation blankets to help keep the temp down. The black barrels absorb that sunlight and on average were 5 degrees higher than the strawberry tanks. We anticipated this but in our excitement to get into production didn't get it done. It is now done. Temps are much better now.
We have not activated the chiller full time yet as temps have been reasonable. I anticipate another month or so before it is "on" 100% of the time.
The Blackberries took off like a rocket too. We have great veg production on every plant. WOW.
The Blueberries and Raspberries are a little slower out of the gate. We have one Blueberry plant with a few small leaves and tiny buds on a few others. The Raspberries are the slowest with just hints of buds on one plant.
The Blueberry reservoir is keeping us hopping. Trying to keep the pH at about 4.6 is taking a lot of acid additions. The ppm level of the water is going up with all of the acid additions.
We have wrapped the Monster Ebb n Gro nutrient tanks with water heater insulation blankets to help keep the temp down. The black barrels absorb that sunlight and on average were 5 degrees higher than the strawberry tanks. We anticipated this but in our excitement to get into production didn't get it done. It is now done. Temps are much better now.
We have not activated the chiller full time yet as temps have been reasonable. I anticipate another month or so before it is "on" 100% of the time.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, and Blackberries
The Rion Prestige "Berry House" is in production. We have 26 strawberry plants, 6 blueberry plants (3 varieties for better pollination), 5 raspberry and 5 blackberry plants.
When we planted the strawberries on Tuesday there were no leaves on any of the plants, just roots and sticks (old runners). We now have leaves (yes, plural) on every plant. We are very happy to see this. We are using a different nutrient manufacturer (General Hydroponics) than we used in the indoor grow room (Canna) to give something new a try. We still remain pleased with Canna too, a little expensive, but great results.
We know that the rasp, blue, and blackberries may outgrow the space we have them in now but with a second greenhouse under construction, we will have plenty of room to expand. There is very little to no information on growing these plants hydroponically so we are wandering in the dark. We are following basic berry growing principles of each of these types of berries so we will see how we do.
When we planted the strawberries on Tuesday there were no leaves on any of the plants, just roots and sticks (old runners). We now have leaves (yes, plural) on every plant. We are very happy to see this. We are using a different nutrient manufacturer (General Hydroponics) than we used in the indoor grow room (Canna) to give something new a try. We still remain pleased with Canna too, a little expensive, but great results.
We know that the rasp, blue, and blackberries may outgrow the space we have them in now but with a second greenhouse under construction, we will have plenty of room to expand. There is very little to no information on growing these plants hydroponically so we are wandering in the dark. We are following basic berry growing principles of each of these types of berries so we will see how we do.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Rion Greenhouse Officially In Production
It has been a little over a month (not every day), a lot of sweat equity and learning experiences. We are live in the house !
We got the cracked manifold replaced and continued our water test. We had a minor setback on two of manual control wires. Rain Bird wires controlling the same valves were fine, manual switch wires had an open circuit. Had to replace the wires, and we were back in business.
The Merlin Pro R.O. system has been working hard and produced all the R.O. water we needed to fill the production tanks today. We added nutrients, tested pH, EC, and Temp. We were ready to plant.
We got 26 strawberry plants in the ebb and flow (flood and drain) trays, and 6 blueberry plants (3 varieties) planted in one Monster Ebb and Gro system.
Tomorrow, Raspberry and Blackberry plants go in. We will then video the production house for you to see.
We got the cracked manifold replaced and continued our water test. We had a minor setback on two of manual control wires. Rain Bird wires controlling the same valves were fine, manual switch wires had an open circuit. Had to replace the wires, and we were back in business.
The Merlin Pro R.O. system has been working hard and produced all the R.O. water we needed to fill the production tanks today. We added nutrients, tested pH, EC, and Temp. We were ready to plant.
We got 26 strawberry plants in the ebb and flow (flood and drain) trays, and 6 blueberry plants (3 varieties) planted in one Monster Ebb and Gro system.
Tomorrow, Raspberry and Blackberry plants go in. We will then video the production house for you to see.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Testing Setback
We had to delay our water test yesterday due to a problem with shipping of parts we expected to arrive. One of our plumbing manifold (connects solenoid valves to plumbing lines) connections cracked due to a heavy hand during tightening a fitting (my bad). Replacing the manifold is about a 5 minute job, getting one here, about a 3 day job apparently when a particular overnight shipper falls asleep at the switch.
Well the parts are now here but we have to delay testing until Monday due to ranch activities that will pull us away from the effort for a few days. Our initial start of the testing was positive but the "fix" we attempted on the cracked manifold fitting didn't work and the leak was getting to severe to continue. We assume that all will go well with the tests.
The gutters were installed and the all hydroton is now washed. Plants arrived and are in the walk-in-cooler awaiting planting next week. We will bring you final videos of us up in operation next week.
Well the parts are now here but we have to delay testing until Monday due to ranch activities that will pull us away from the effort for a few days. Our initial start of the testing was positive but the "fix" we attempted on the cracked manifold fitting didn't work and the leak was getting to severe to continue. We assume that all will go well with the tests.
The gutters were installed and the all hydroton is now washed. Plants arrived and are in the walk-in-cooler awaiting planting next week. We will bring you final videos of us up in operation next week.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Inches away from the finish line
We made it through the day washing hydroton, finishing the Monster Ebb and Gro system connections, plumbed in the nutrient mixing tank, moved the stacked ebb and flow tables in place and connected the pumps/drain/overflow, and we even ran a little test on the system pump. What a great day.
What is left?
1. Install the greenhouse gutters
2. Complete water test through all grow systems
3. Chiller test
4. Plant !
What is left?
1. Install the greenhouse gutters
2. Complete water test through all grow systems
3. Chiller test
4. Plant !
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Rion greenhouse just about completed
We have our first greenhouse almost ready for production. We have our chiller installed, water tanks and grow systems plumbed and ready to go. The misting system is installed and tested. We still need to connect the grow pots to the Monster Ebb n Gro systems.
The Rain Bird sprinkler controller has been programmed and passed all system checks on valves and wiring. All wiring in the main control panel has been tested. We still have a lot of hydroton to wash and need to move in our ebb and flow (flood and drain) tables.
The only "test" left is.....water. We will be doing the complete water test in the systems Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully it will be a good day.
The Rain Bird sprinkler controller has been programmed and passed all system checks on valves and wiring. All wiring in the main control panel has been tested. We still have a lot of hydroton to wash and need to move in our ebb and flow (flood and drain) tables.
The only "test" left is.....water. We will be doing the complete water test in the systems Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully it will be a good day.
Monster Ebb n Gro
We installed the plumbing lines to the Monster Ebb n Gro system as well as the construction on the flood and drain (Ebb and Flow) tables yesterday. Two more things from the punch list are done!
Today, program the Rain Bird system, connect the R.O. system to the main water storage tank, and install the gutters on the greenhouse.
Today, program the Rain Bird system, connect the R.O. system to the main water storage tank, and install the gutters on the greenhouse.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Chiller and Main Water Storage Installed
We installed the 1 1/2 HP chiller and 300 gallon main water storage tank today. All electrical connections are now finished. We have finished plumbing on the chiller, Main tank, and three ebb and flow tables.
We reduced the size of the tables from 3x6 ft to 2x4 ft, and decided to double stack the ebb and flow tables. We get more growing space in a smaller footprint. We have plenty of height to ensure ample sunlight to the grow tables and the plants are low height (strawberries). The 75 gallon water tank serving each 2 stack table will still be more than sufficient. A few "field engineering" changes to the tables which we had not built yet, and an order for a few more trays and fitting, and done.
We still have a punch list of items to complete:
1. Plumb 3 Monster Ebb n Gro systems into the system
2. Install greenhouse gutter system
3. Build Ebb and Flow Tables for growing trays
4. Program Rain Bird and grow system timers
5. System Test
6. Wash Hydroton
7. Plant !
We reduced the size of the tables from 3x6 ft to 2x4 ft, and decided to double stack the ebb and flow tables. We get more growing space in a smaller footprint. We have plenty of height to ensure ample sunlight to the grow tables and the plants are low height (strawberries). The 75 gallon water tank serving each 2 stack table will still be more than sufficient. A few "field engineering" changes to the tables which we had not built yet, and an order for a few more trays and fitting, and done.
We still have a punch list of items to complete:
1. Plumb 3 Monster Ebb n Gro systems into the system
2. Install greenhouse gutter system
3. Build Ebb and Flow Tables for growing trays
4. Program Rain Bird and grow system timers
5. System Test
6. Wash Hydroton
7. Plant !
Thursday, March 3, 2011
We Have Power and Plumbing
We turned on the electricity in the greenhouse today. First switch I flipped was for the exhaust fans. It has been getting pretty warm working inside there these past few days. We still have to do complete systems tests on all of the circuitry, solenoid valves, Rain Bird, System Pump, etc.
We started our grow system plumbing today as we finished all of the electrical distribution within the house (sans Chiller which arrived late today). We have three Ebb and Flow tanks plumbed for the strawberry grow tables, and tomorrow we will finish the three Monster Ebb n Gro systems for the berry bushes (rasp, black, blue).
We are in the final days on the critical path as I got an Email from Burpee today indicating that our plants will be here on Tuesday next week...still so much to do between now and then. I think we will make it though.
We started our grow system plumbing today as we finished all of the electrical distribution within the house (sans Chiller which arrived late today). We have three Ebb and Flow tanks plumbed for the strawberry grow tables, and tomorrow we will finish the three Monster Ebb n Gro systems for the berry bushes (rasp, black, blue).
We are in the final days on the critical path as I got an Email from Burpee today indicating that our plants will be here on Tuesday next week...still so much to do between now and then. I think we will make it though.
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