LilacCottagegoats and Bren - welcome, and thanks for following the blog!
Here's a video of Jude playing with my compost barrel, and also of construction in the garden....
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
A video of the current shed progress
Here's a video that was made of the inside of the shed, although it isn't completed yet.
It should play now, enjoy!
It should play now, enjoy!
One little, two little..hmm hmm hmm...coldframes
I think I have a coldframe problem or something. I mean, all I can think about right now is what can be put in it, how good will it perform, and how many plants will it hold....It's a sickness, I tell ya! Tom knows what i'm talking about........The best part to me, is that it's so small - you can cool/heat it with small equipment. Speaking of which, i'll have to get something going on that issue.....
After a pretty hard freeze the other night, I went out to check on my little toy that has some things planted in it. Man, the glass was iced over. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing, but we'll just have to see. If any of my readers have experience with coldframes, please feel free to chime in at anytime - because I don't know anything about using one! I'll learn, though...
Photo below - here's a shot of the current contents, which includes seeds of carrots, lettuce, pansies, cabbage, and collards. I just had to try something in there...Oddly enough, it's the pansies that i'm really looking forward to growing. I've never grown a flower from seed before. They're planted in yogurt cups located in the white colored tray....
Photo below - I built another one! Ha! Hey, you know if I have 4 days off from work - something's gonna get built around here...Oh, I was careful not to aggravate my current back problem. I really enjoy making these things, but won't make another one - I promise. heh.
Here's a shot of it opened up. It's a little different from the first one constructed, but like the first one - made entirely from scrap lumber laying around. My wife can't stand looking at my pile of scrap, but it sure does come in handy sometimes. Hmmm....I wonder if there's enough left to make a third one....Nah, just kidding...Two's enough!
And for you dog lovers out there, here's a photo of ol' Jude. She's such a good dog, and can't wait for me to get home each day. We're big buddies, and had a great weekend!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
After a pretty hard freeze the other night, I went out to check on my little toy that has some things planted in it. Man, the glass was iced over. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing, but we'll just have to see. If any of my readers have experience with coldframes, please feel free to chime in at anytime - because I don't know anything about using one! I'll learn, though...
Photo below - here's a shot of the current contents, which includes seeds of carrots, lettuce, pansies, cabbage, and collards. I just had to try something in there...Oddly enough, it's the pansies that i'm really looking forward to growing. I've never grown a flower from seed before. They're planted in yogurt cups located in the white colored tray....
Photo below - I built another one! Ha! Hey, you know if I have 4 days off from work - something's gonna get built around here...Oh, I was careful not to aggravate my current back problem. I really enjoy making these things, but won't make another one - I promise. heh.
Here's a shot of it opened up. It's a little different from the first one constructed, but like the first one - made entirely from scrap lumber laying around. My wife can't stand looking at my pile of scrap, but it sure does come in handy sometimes. Hmmm....I wonder if there's enough left to make a third one....Nah, just kidding...Two's enough!
And for you dog lovers out there, here's a photo of ol' Jude. She's such a good dog, and can't wait for me to get home each day. We're big buddies, and had a great weekend!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Materials from the sawmill
Me and Jude took a little stroll around the property yesterday morning (as usual), and I wanted to show you the building materials for the compost turner, and also the deeper raised bed.
Photo below - check out these massive posts that will be used for the framework which will support the compost turner. For size reference purposes, a piece of 4x4 post was laid on top of one, and you can plainly see that they are quite massive. At a full 6", the 12ft long poplar posts weigh somewhere around 250 lbs., and will be kinda tricky to get in there respective locations (vertically of course).
Photo below - Just from the color alone, there's no mistaking these boards. Western red cedar....At a full 1" x 6" dimension, these will be added to the ones currently in use for the 4x25ft box - making it 14" deep in the end. It'll be filled with the current batches of homemade compost, as well as a 4 cu.ft. bag of coarse grade vermiculite. I just love the look and smell of this particular wood. It won't look like that for long, though...
I hope everyone's weekend was fruitful, as you surely know that I stayed quite busy. I took it easy, though. With the backbrace on, I gently eased around doing some things that normally occupy my time. It's definitely healing, and I will continue to refrain from doing any hard manual labor.
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
Photo below - check out these massive posts that will be used for the framework which will support the compost turner. For size reference purposes, a piece of 4x4 post was laid on top of one, and you can plainly see that they are quite massive. At a full 6", the 12ft long poplar posts weigh somewhere around 250 lbs., and will be kinda tricky to get in there respective locations (vertically of course).
Photo below - Just from the color alone, there's no mistaking these boards. Western red cedar....At a full 1" x 6" dimension, these will be added to the ones currently in use for the 4x25ft box - making it 14" deep in the end. It'll be filled with the current batches of homemade compost, as well as a 4 cu.ft. bag of coarse grade vermiculite. I just love the look and smell of this particular wood. It won't look like that for long, though...
I hope everyone's weekend was fruitful, as you surely know that I stayed quite busy. I took it easy, though. With the backbrace on, I gently eased around doing some things that normally occupy my time. It's definitely healing, and I will continue to refrain from doing any hard manual labor.
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
A glimpse of the shed interior
The Mom, Jordan, and vrtlaricaana - welcome, and thanks for following the blog!
Man, this shed is proving to be exactly what I needed to keep all of my things in order. These particular views are of my propagation and gardening section, which has allowed me to group everything together in one area. Previously, things were scattered everywhere in various locations on the property, and I know it drove my wife crazy. (as does most things I do) Oops!
Photo below - Here's my many fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides used for the yard, garden, and fruit trees. I've accumulated just about one of everything, as you can plainly see. That black colored bottle is my favorite "aggressive" pesticide, because it's every bit as good as sevin, but much cheaper.
Photo below - the propagation chamber in its final location. Many of you haven't seen this thing before, but it works really good, and is a completely self-contained propagation system. It has 2 T8 light fixtures inside (fully adjustable), and thermostatically controlled with 2 fans mounted in the top. As stated in an earlier post, it will be sold after this next tomato plant propagation cycle, and will hold a total of thirty six 16oz. cups, or two 1020 flats - whichever you prefer. I really like the unit, but need more capacity for selling plants to the public.
Photo below - Here's another unit I built from an aquarium stand. At 2 feet long, the lights themselves costed around 100 bucks. Yeah...that's what I said.The capacity is the same as the chamber..It'll most likely be sold as well,....Why you ask? Because i'll eventually build a system that will hold 600-800 seedlings, that's why. Hehe....The whole "think of a better idea while building something" got me again....If you only knew the torment I go through while designing or building something, it would probably shock you....
Finally, relocating the propagation chamber cleared enough space in the old playhouse to allow storage of the growing medium used in the earthtainers. This is good, because i'll use the same mix year after year....See those cat litter buckets? Those are some of the ones that were saved from our own personal use, and will be used for growing tomatoes in next spring. I only get about 1 bucket a month, so it takes me a long time to save a significant amount. BTW, the cat litter companies are gonna phase out using plastic buckets, and instead package it exclusively in the boxes made from cardboard material. What a bummer....Oh well, at least I have saved enough over the past year to make 6 swp's from, and of course use them in the garden.
In other news, I went ahead and winter sowed more things in the coldframe - stuff like cabbage, carrots, spinach, and lettuce. When the second coldframe is finished, i'll most likely use it for attempting to root hardwood cuttings from various perennials.
I'll also extend the homemade ledge that the earthtainers sat on last summer at least 5 feet. This will be used for accomodating several swp's made from buckets. (Mine, not the ones for the workshop).
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Man, this shed is proving to be exactly what I needed to keep all of my things in order. These particular views are of my propagation and gardening section, which has allowed me to group everything together in one area. Previously, things were scattered everywhere in various locations on the property, and I know it drove my wife crazy. (as does most things I do) Oops!
Photo below - Here's my many fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides used for the yard, garden, and fruit trees. I've accumulated just about one of everything, as you can plainly see. That black colored bottle is my favorite "aggressive" pesticide, because it's every bit as good as sevin, but much cheaper.
Photo below - the propagation chamber in its final location. Many of you haven't seen this thing before, but it works really good, and is a completely self-contained propagation system. It has 2 T8 light fixtures inside (fully adjustable), and thermostatically controlled with 2 fans mounted in the top. As stated in an earlier post, it will be sold after this next tomato plant propagation cycle, and will hold a total of thirty six 16oz. cups, or two 1020 flats - whichever you prefer. I really like the unit, but need more capacity for selling plants to the public.
Photo below - Here's another unit I built from an aquarium stand. At 2 feet long, the lights themselves costed around 100 bucks. Yeah...that's what I said.The capacity is the same as the chamber..It'll most likely be sold as well,....Why you ask? Because i'll eventually build a system that will hold 600-800 seedlings, that's why. Hehe....The whole "think of a better idea while building something" got me again....If you only knew the torment I go through while designing or building something, it would probably shock you....
Finally, relocating the propagation chamber cleared enough space in the old playhouse to allow storage of the growing medium used in the earthtainers. This is good, because i'll use the same mix year after year....See those cat litter buckets? Those are some of the ones that were saved from our own personal use, and will be used for growing tomatoes in next spring. I only get about 1 bucket a month, so it takes me a long time to save a significant amount. BTW, the cat litter companies are gonna phase out using plastic buckets, and instead package it exclusively in the boxes made from cardboard material. What a bummer....Oh well, at least I have saved enough over the past year to make 6 swp's from, and of course use them in the garden.
I'll also extend the homemade ledge that the earthtainers sat on last summer at least 5 feet. This will be used for accomodating several swp's made from buckets. (Mine, not the ones for the workshop).
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
More coldframe improvements
Well, i'm off work for 4 days because of the christmas holiday - and again next weekend too. Yay! Because of the situation with my back right now, i'll have to take it easy around the house. You know that just kills me, but hey - i'm not gonna do even more damage by doing anything strenuous! Instead, i'll very gingerly carry on about my business without lifting anything - or reaching out awkwardly either. I'll still let Jude out to play each day, and do a little tinkering - but nothing that can aggravate the problem any further.
Anyway, on Sunday another improvement was made to the first coldframe constructed a few weeks ago, by applying weather stripping and backer rod to the areas of window that would allow cold air to come in at the edges. More improvements are on the way, but I wanted to show this one to ya for now. These two things were picked up at Lowes.
A closeup of the 3/4" weatherstripping at the top. You can tell that it seals very nice, but the triangular hole below it will need attention as well. A small piece of weather stripping on the bottom side of the window frame in the photo should do the trick.
Here's a closeup of the backer rod installed into the groove of the window encasement. A generous bead of caulking was applied first - then the backer rod pushed into the groove. This provides an adhesive for the foam backer rod, as well as forcing the foam rod out past the edge of the window. This was necessary to make a good seal with the side of the box, when the lid is closed. This idea was thought of while playing with Jude one evening. Come to think of it, that's when I get all of my best ideas - while playing with Jude.
I even found a good spot for it, right where the earthtainers were previously located. The area gets alot of sun even in winter (at least 6 hours), and the little coldframe fit perfectly onto the landscaping timbers. I also lined the entire area with scrap pieces of roof shingles (from the shed project), which will keep weeds from growing. That just goes to show, that almost everything that gets put into the landfill can be used for something. There might even be enough room for a second coldframe, which has yet to be constructed of course. However, over the next 2 weeks that will hopefully change. I'll at least get all the pieces cut for it, but won't do anything strenuous of course.
The gap at the bottom/front was filled up with a scrap piece of lumber after this photo was made, and all other cracks were sealed off with foil tape. Now, I can monitor the internal temps of the unit, and adjust ventilation as needed.
As a matter of fact, I went ahead and winter sowed some viola seeds in it. Oh, i'm enjoying this coldframe/winter sowing thing, because it's a piece of cake. This little dude will see alot of action over the next 4 months, as I intend on starting lots of veggies in it. I'm working on designing a homemade opener that works off of temperature, but all of the components priced so far are way too expensive. It'll come to me one day, I'm sure. Even though most people just go out and buy one of those automatic openers, I would be more satisfied with something created by these hands, and thoughts.
*Just to let you know - I haven't forgot about the 4x4 greenhouse project. It's not time for it to be used, so the project has been put on the back burner for now. The next time it will be addressed will probably be around the end of March/first of April, as I'm sure it will be needed for holding the larger transplants once they outgrow the propagation units. Man...we've just got all kinds of things going on around here, but a busy EG is a happy EG. All of the current projects need to be finished before early spring, because gardening will take up most of my spare time then. (which isn't too far away)
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
Anyway, on Sunday another improvement was made to the first coldframe constructed a few weeks ago, by applying weather stripping and backer rod to the areas of window that would allow cold air to come in at the edges. More improvements are on the way, but I wanted to show this one to ya for now. These two things were picked up at Lowes.
A closeup of the 3/4" weatherstripping at the top. You can tell that it seals very nice, but the triangular hole below it will need attention as well. A small piece of weather stripping on the bottom side of the window frame in the photo should do the trick.
Here's a closeup of the backer rod installed into the groove of the window encasement. A generous bead of caulking was applied first - then the backer rod pushed into the groove. This provides an adhesive for the foam backer rod, as well as forcing the foam rod out past the edge of the window. This was necessary to make a good seal with the side of the box, when the lid is closed. This idea was thought of while playing with Jude one evening. Come to think of it, that's when I get all of my best ideas - while playing with Jude.
I even found a good spot for it, right where the earthtainers were previously located. The area gets alot of sun even in winter (at least 6 hours), and the little coldframe fit perfectly onto the landscaping timbers. I also lined the entire area with scrap pieces of roof shingles (from the shed project), which will keep weeds from growing. That just goes to show, that almost everything that gets put into the landfill can be used for something. There might even be enough room for a second coldframe, which has yet to be constructed of course. However, over the next 2 weeks that will hopefully change. I'll at least get all the pieces cut for it, but won't do anything strenuous of course.
The gap at the bottom/front was filled up with a scrap piece of lumber after this photo was made, and all other cracks were sealed off with foil tape. Now, I can monitor the internal temps of the unit, and adjust ventilation as needed.
As a matter of fact, I went ahead and winter sowed some viola seeds in it. Oh, i'm enjoying this coldframe/winter sowing thing, because it's a piece of cake. This little dude will see alot of action over the next 4 months, as I intend on starting lots of veggies in it. I'm working on designing a homemade opener that works off of temperature, but all of the components priced so far are way too expensive. It'll come to me one day, I'm sure. Even though most people just go out and buy one of those automatic openers, I would be more satisfied with something created by these hands, and thoughts.
*Just to let you know - I haven't forgot about the 4x4 greenhouse project. It's not time for it to be used, so the project has been put on the back burner for now. The next time it will be addressed will probably be around the end of March/first of April, as I'm sure it will be needed for holding the larger transplants once they outgrow the propagation units. Man...we've just got all kinds of things going on around here, but a busy EG is a happy EG. All of the current projects need to be finished before early spring, because gardening will take up most of my spare time then. (which isn't too far away)
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The composting continues
It's a neverending story for me. Amidst all of the other chores that i'm faced with on weekends - the pallet bins have to be added to, also. Most weekends I try to add between 6-8 wheelbarrows full of shredded leaves to the bins, because eventually they will all be filled up, and EG won't be completely worn out from it. However, last weekend I was going all-out, transporting at least 12-15 loads to them. Yeah...i'm a glutton for punishment.
Anyway, I decided to tackle the clumped up grass clippings that remained in the center bin, as well as add shredded leaves to all three. In the photo below, you can see how bad some of the clumps were. Oh gosh....it was a mess to deal with, let me tell ya!
Photo below - the one on the right was easy - just added shredded leaves to it, then watered the pile.
Thankfully, the pile of leaves out front has been reduced drastically, and I know my Dad is ready for them to be gone. I ran a water line in his house over the weekend - so maybe he'll be ok with the pile for a few more weeks. I'm sure it'll be just fine....
Lastly, I took advantage of those apple cores from the recent apple butter extravaganza, and added them to the barrel that I cursed repeatedly 2 years ago. This is the final time to try this stupid thing, as i'll really watch how many "greens" are added to it this time.
In other news, I am injured again. Excruciating back spasms have me down for the count right now, and i'll have to take it easy over the next 2 weeks. That sux, because I was really wanting to get started on the construction of the compost turner. Pain medication, muscle relaxers, heating pad, and a back brace are my best friends right now. As you can imagine I've worked extremely hard my entire life, and will have to reduce the workload one of these days. I just keep forgetting that I'm not 21 anymore.......
Take care, and happy composting
EG
Anyway, I decided to tackle the clumped up grass clippings that remained in the center bin, as well as add shredded leaves to all three. In the photo below, you can see how bad some of the clumps were. Oh gosh....it was a mess to deal with, let me tell ya!
Photo below - the one on the right was easy - just added shredded leaves to it, then watered the pile.
Since the center bin doesn't have a front on it, I decided to keep this particular pile pretty small.This should be enough clumped up grass clippings for now, and at least 4 loads of leaves were added to it.
Photo below - So, this is what the bins look like now. I must be crazy for making this much compost. Whew
Thankfully, the pile of leaves out front has been reduced drastically, and I know my Dad is ready for them to be gone. I ran a water line in his house over the weekend - so maybe he'll be ok with the pile for a few more weeks. I'm sure it'll be just fine....
Lastly, I took advantage of those apple cores from the recent apple butter extravaganza, and added them to the barrel that I cursed repeatedly 2 years ago. This is the final time to try this stupid thing, as i'll really watch how many "greens" are added to it this time.
In other news, I am injured again. Excruciating back spasms have me down for the count right now, and i'll have to take it easy over the next 2 weeks. That sux, because I was really wanting to get started on the construction of the compost turner. Pain medication, muscle relaxers, heating pad, and a back brace are my best friends right now. As you can imagine I've worked extremely hard my entire life, and will have to reduce the workload one of these days. I just keep forgetting that I'm not 21 anymore.......
Take care, and happy composting
EG
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
EG's compost turner, part 2 of 4
Since the combined weight of the auger, gearbox, motor, and I-beam will be around 200 lbs., we're gonna need a relatively strong support system in place to hold the weight. I always like to beef things up a bit, because you never know if extra capacity will be needed later. So, 6"x6" posts will be concreted in the ground at all four corners, at a depth of about 18". Some cross pieces will be mounted across the top of the posts, which will keep the vertical posts from twisting - as well as giving me something to connect the monorail (steel I-beam) to. Here's a drawing for reference:
***Revision - the I-beam will not be mounted underneath a 6x6 as the picture suggests, but will span the distance alone. I just had to change that....sheesh. OCPD drives me crazy sometimes.
This entire structure will be connected by pretty large fasteners, because we certainly wouldn't want it to have movement in any direction. Now, let's talk about how pulleys can create a mechanical advantage.
To lift the weight off the ground as shown in the picture below, a person would have to exert a pulling force on the end of the rope that is equal to how much the object weighs. "Work" is rated in ft. lbs, or newton meters - this one of which is depicted by the latter of the two. This setup has a mechanical advantage of "1", which can be multiplied by adding more pulleys. You can read all about Archimedes and how mechanical leverage works Here .
However, if the pulley is allowed to move upward as the rope is pulled, then the mechanical advantage is "2".
So, i'll go with a 4-pulley system, as in the picture below. It gives me an advantage of "4", which means only 1/4 of the force on the rope will be needed to move the same object. I can certainly appreciate that - because I have enough physical problems as it is.
Now, let's talk about gear reduction. Gears are used to reduce speed, change direction of motion, and multiply turning forces. My apparatus will utilize 2 of these : reduce speed and multiply force. Since a typical 4 pole electric motor turns at 1800 rpms, an auger turning that fast would probably (a) be dangerous, (b) be limited to the amount of horsepower applied to it, and (c) also make a huge mess! I'm sure Jude would enjoy compost flying everywhere, but I wouldn't! So, slower is better - and the added benefit of extra force is good, too! To get the reduced output speed of the gearbox, I simply took the motor nameplate rpms (1725) that will be driving it, then divide that number by the ratio of the gearbox (160:1)
1725 divided by 160 = 10.78 rpms will be applied to the auger
In the process, the torque of the output shaft has been multiplied as well. The formula used to find the torque value is : motor torque x gear ratio = torque
(1.5 ft.lbs.) x (160) = 246 ft.lbs.
This is the actual force that will turn the auger, which will be doubled (by increasing motor horsepower) if not strong enough to get the job done. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, but I imagine it's gonna work pretty good.
Potential problems -
I can already think of 2-3 potential problems that might be encountered when this crazy contraption is turned on - which mainly involve the auger staying stationary as it drills down into each pile.
1. Bouncing (since the power unit is not rigidly connected to the overhead frame)
2. Walking (as Tom pointed out in the comment he left for part 1)
3. Some other unforseen problem
The only one that troubles me is bouncing, because there's not much that I can do about that. However, the possible "walking" issue is easily fixed, should it become an issue. The fact that it will turn at a slow speed will help matters - I can tell ya that much.
Anyway, part 3 will have current progress photos of the project, and the last post will be a video of it in action! WooHoo! I'll try to get part 3 posted in a few weeks, as it'll take 2-3 weekends to get the framework in place.
I picked up the 6x6 poplar posts today, and they must have weighed at least 300 lbs. each. When you order 6x6 posts 12 feet long from a sawmill, they are really 6" - not 5.5" like in the stores.Getting them unloaded and moved approximately 100 feet was pretty interesting - let me tell ya! It took some real ingenuity, and my son Chance helped me with them. I really don't know how i'll get them set into place, but an idea will pop into my head, I guarantee it. This will be the strongest outdoor structure I've ever built.....
Take care, and happy composting!
EG
***Revision - the I-beam will not be mounted underneath a 6x6 as the picture suggests, but will span the distance alone. I just had to change that....sheesh. OCPD drives me crazy sometimes.
This entire structure will be connected by pretty large fasteners, because we certainly wouldn't want it to have movement in any direction. Now, let's talk about how pulleys can create a mechanical advantage.
To lift the weight off the ground as shown in the picture below, a person would have to exert a pulling force on the end of the rope that is equal to how much the object weighs. "Work" is rated in ft. lbs, or newton meters - this one of which is depicted by the latter of the two. This setup has a mechanical advantage of "1", which can be multiplied by adding more pulleys. You can read all about Archimedes and how mechanical leverage works Here .
However, if the pulley is allowed to move upward as the rope is pulled, then the mechanical advantage is "2".
Now, let's talk about gear reduction. Gears are used to reduce speed, change direction of motion, and multiply turning forces. My apparatus will utilize 2 of these : reduce speed and multiply force. Since a typical 4 pole electric motor turns at 1800 rpms, an auger turning that fast would probably (a) be dangerous, (b) be limited to the amount of horsepower applied to it, and (c) also make a huge mess! I'm sure Jude would enjoy compost flying everywhere, but I wouldn't! So, slower is better - and the added benefit of extra force is good, too! To get the reduced output speed of the gearbox, I simply took the motor nameplate rpms (1725) that will be driving it, then divide that number by the ratio of the gearbox (160:1)
1725 divided by 160 = 10.78 rpms will be applied to the auger
In the process, the torque of the output shaft has been multiplied as well. The formula used to find the torque value is : motor torque x gear ratio = torque
(1.5 ft.lbs.) x (160) = 246 ft.lbs.
This is the actual force that will turn the auger, which will be doubled (by increasing motor horsepower) if not strong enough to get the job done. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, but I imagine it's gonna work pretty good.
Potential problems -
I can already think of 2-3 potential problems that might be encountered when this crazy contraption is turned on - which mainly involve the auger staying stationary as it drills down into each pile.
1. Bouncing (since the power unit is not rigidly connected to the overhead frame)
2. Walking (as Tom pointed out in the comment he left for part 1)
3. Some other unforseen problem
The only one that troubles me is bouncing, because there's not much that I can do about that. However, the possible "walking" issue is easily fixed, should it become an issue. The fact that it will turn at a slow speed will help matters - I can tell ya that much.
Anyway, part 3 will have current progress photos of the project, and the last post will be a video of it in action! WooHoo! I'll try to get part 3 posted in a few weeks, as it'll take 2-3 weekends to get the framework in place.
I picked up the 6x6 poplar posts today, and they must have weighed at least 300 lbs. each. When you order 6x6 posts 12 feet long from a sawmill, they are really 6" - not 5.5" like in the stores.Getting them unloaded and moved approximately 100 feet was pretty interesting - let me tell ya! It took some real ingenuity, and my son Chance helped me with them. I really don't know how i'll get them set into place, but an idea will pop into my head, I guarantee it. This will be the strongest outdoor structure I've ever built.....
Take care, and happy composting!
EG
Monday, December 21, 2009
Hehe, I made Apple Butter
Thanks to a previous post about making apple butter by my gardening friend Daphne , I decided to take a few apples that were laying around, and put them to good use. This was my first time for it, and it was alot of work! Holy Moly! Especially since the softened chunks of apple had to be pushed through a seive with a spoon. OMG.........I'll have some processing equipment next time. Hehe. But, I tried some on buttered toast after it had cooled (from the jar in front), and it was good! Yay! Thanks Daphne, you rock!
In other news, the weekend was spent doing a variety of things around the property, and alot got accomplished. The extensive house-cleaning was done on Saturday morning, and the rest was spent outside. (And no - I'm not available for helping clean other people's houses). Hehe. EG has more important things to do, and is on a very tentative schedule!
Anyway, i'll have several posts this week (probably everyday), because there's lots of new stuff to show ya. It was one of the most productive weekends i've had in a long time, and if you know me - that's saying alot!
I'd like to say Hi to family in Kentucky!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Anyway, i'll have several posts this week (probably everyday), because there's lots of new stuff to show ya. It was one of the most productive weekends i've had in a long time, and if you know me - that's saying alot!
I'd like to say Hi to family in Kentucky!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Time to harvest the broccoli growing in swc's
After growing in the 4 gallon self watering planters for almost 3 months, it's finally time to harvest heads from the 2 largest plants. The harvest is not the most important part about this grow cycle - it's the fact that they grew to maturity in 4 gallon containers. Now, I have the historical data with photos to present to the Master Gardener Coordinator for the State of Alabama, and my eventual publication is one step closer to becoming a reality. This will be the last time i'll show those plants, because I'm ready to remove them for cleanup purposes. However, the small one will be left to grow, because I'm very curious as to how it might do.
Here's the largest head - which is approximately 3" in diameter. I know a very wise gardener from Louisiana that consistently grows them to around 5-6" in diameter, and I'm gonna have to ask him a few questions about fertilization of his plants. Osmocote was used on these plants, but he probably uses something different.
Here's the other one, which is probably about 2" across. It was a smaller transplant, so I reckon that's the reason for not being as large as the other one right now. If left in the garden longer, i'm sure it would do well.
A quick scan of the onions in the 4x8 ft. box revealed that an armadillo has been digging in it. I'd love to catch the thing out there, because his life would be short-lived. Hehe...
Some 4x4's that are used to keep the tarp in place that covers Jude's dog pen have become the object of one of the family's little ones' artistic expression, as they decided to write on them.
They seemed to be having a "60's - 70's moment", being free-spirited and obviously happy.....
Then came this one. Those little turds!!!! I'm planning on using these for posts, later! No wonder I couldn't find my Sharpie Pen - they used it up!
Oh well, no biggie - i'll just turn the posts away from view, and nobody will know the difference. Hehe...
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
Here's the largest head - which is approximately 3" in diameter. I know a very wise gardener from Louisiana that consistently grows them to around 5-6" in diameter, and I'm gonna have to ask him a few questions about fertilization of his plants. Osmocote was used on these plants, but he probably uses something different.
Here's the other one, which is probably about 2" across. It was a smaller transplant, so I reckon that's the reason for not being as large as the other one right now. If left in the garden longer, i'm sure it would do well.
A quick scan of the onions in the 4x8 ft. box revealed that an armadillo has been digging in it. I'd love to catch the thing out there, because his life would be short-lived. Hehe...
Some 4x4's that are used to keep the tarp in place that covers Jude's dog pen have become the object of one of the family's little ones' artistic expression, as they decided to write on them.
They seemed to be having a "60's - 70's moment", being free-spirited and obviously happy.....
Then came this one. Those little turds!!!! I'm planning on using these for posts, later! No wonder I couldn't find my Sharpie Pen - they used it up!
Oh well, no biggie - i'll just turn the posts away from view, and nobody will know the difference. Hehe...
Take care, and happy gardening.
EG
Friday, December 18, 2009
Some people have a 1 track mind
I just had to post about this.....Have you ever seen someone make the same gardening mistakes over and over? Would ya want to follow their lead? Not me.....I have a friend that uses the "shotgun" approach to find a solution to a problem - trying 50 different things at once. (And no, it's not one of my readers) To me, that's not smart at all - as it's a waste of time and money. I prefer to use the most efficient and cost effective approach to solving a problem, because sometimes mistakes can be very costly! The biggest problem I have with this person's approach, is that many people actually listen to this garbage, and make the same mistakes right along with them. Those poor people.....
Anything that is posted about on my blog is backed up by research with documentation to go with it. I must admit that I hate being wrong about something (the OCPD thing), but analyze the situation for what it is, and use the mistake as a tool to become more knowledgeable. Ok, i'll stop ranting......
I hope the weekend is fruitful, because there's alot that needs to be done around the property. With family coming in next week, the house will have to be immaculate of course - which means hours of cleaning for EG.....sigh. But, as soon as that's over, i'll start building the compost turning system. Yay!
The lumber is ready for me to pick up (for both the turning system and the deeper raised bed), and i'll get those items during my lunch break on Monday.
The main raised bed in my garden is made from 8" cedar boards, and i'll add 6" on top of that. We'll see how a 14" deep raised bed performs in 2010, and hopefully increase the yield from it. It'll look funny for a while - especially with the addition of fresh-cut wood, but after a years' worth of weathering will look just like the first boards to be attached.
Oh! I almost forgot....EG will make apple butter this weekend for the first time, and use Daphne's recipe for it. Hers was the only one on the internet that made sense to me. Thanks, Daphne!
I'll post pictures!
EG
Anything that is posted about on my blog is backed up by research with documentation to go with it. I must admit that I hate being wrong about something (the OCPD thing), but analyze the situation for what it is, and use the mistake as a tool to become more knowledgeable. Ok, i'll stop ranting......
I hope the weekend is fruitful, because there's alot that needs to be done around the property. With family coming in next week, the house will have to be immaculate of course - which means hours of cleaning for EG.....sigh. But, as soon as that's over, i'll start building the compost turning system. Yay!
The lumber is ready for me to pick up (for both the turning system and the deeper raised bed), and i'll get those items during my lunch break on Monday.
The main raised bed in my garden is made from 8" cedar boards, and i'll add 6" on top of that. We'll see how a 14" deep raised bed performs in 2010, and hopefully increase the yield from it. It'll look funny for a while - especially with the addition of fresh-cut wood, but after a years' worth of weathering will look just like the first boards to be attached.
Oh! I almost forgot....EG will make apple butter this weekend for the first time, and use Daphne's recipe for it. Hers was the only one on the internet that made sense to me. Thanks, Daphne!
I'll post pictures!
EG
Thursday, December 17, 2009
EG's compost turner, part 1 of 4
When a person needs to make large quantities of homemade compost, it can really be a back-breaking chore unless you have the tools to turn the piles mechanically. Keeping 3 pallet bins of ingredients turned weekly last year with a manure fork almost killed me - especially at 41 years of age. Since I would need twice that amount for the upcoming growing season (6 pallet bins total), I decided to construct an electro-mechanical device to turn the three new bins for me - with minimal input from this aging body of mine. It was time to use the various skills acquired over the last 23 years to make my life easier.
Ya know, building a system for my workplace would be a piece of cake, because industrial equipment is what I've worked on for over half of my life. The possiblities would be limitless, because we have electric motors as large as 2,000 horsepower, and have voltages as high as 13,000 volts. But at home, the various tools, equipment, and utilities just aren't available. So, I had to put my thinking cap on, and design a system that was relatively small - but had alot of torque characteristics to effectively turn the piles in place. Talk about tricky! The confinements of the bins themselves was the biggest obstacle, so I decided to design a vertical machine to lower into each bin. The idea will be that the screw will lift the contents from the bottom to the top of each pile, which will effectively cause the contents to heat up again. Using a stick of some kind, I should be able to push the outer part into the middle, which will allow the screw to grab hold of everything.
Anyway, this is my initial drawing of the system, which at least gave me something to kinda go by. It's not precise/complete, but serves the purpose of at least illustrating the general idea. I had to mark the corners of the page that was scanned so that it would upload correctly, in case you're wondering what the slashes in pen are.
Through an unbelievable gear reduction (160 to 1), a 1/2 horsepower electric motor and gearbox will turn an 8" auger at the slow speed of somewhere around 11-12 rpms/minute. So, it will be turning while being lowered down into each pile by a nylon rope and EG power. Once in the lowered position, i'll attach the end of the rope to something to hold it in place for me. This is where the 4 pulleys come in - as they will allow me to raise/lower the powered auger while only having to exert 1/4 of the force that is normally needed to lift any given weight. The entire auger assembly only weighs between 60-70 lbs., and will only require 15-18 lbs. of downward force on the rope to raise/lower it. This is called "mechanical leverage", and is a real life-saver on my aching back! A small child should be able to operate the thing, but of course I only use this terminology to explain the minimal effort needed - not that an actual child will be out there playing with it. (This is certainly not a toy!) A separation will exist between the smaller pulleys (although not depicted on the drawing), and the rope will be intertwined between all 4. This is what gives me mechanical leverage - which will be explained later. I'll probably incorporate a small winch of some kind to make it even more easy to do, but that will be on down the road......
According to my calculations, about 247 ft.lbs. of torque will be available at the screw section, which should easily drill right through each pile. The idea will be to let the screw lift compost from the bottom to the top, while maneuvering it around the internal area of each bin. I'll just have to try it out to see if it's strong enough to lift the contents, once they become compacted from the decomposition process. (That's when the ingredients get pretty heavy) If not, the motor will be increased to 1 horsepower, which should theoretically double the amount of torque. Due to limitations with electrical supply power in this location, I wanted to try the 1/2 hp first - which should require around 8 amps of current @ 115 volts ac. Increasing the horsepower to 1 will actually double the current draw (16 amps), which is right on the threshold of what most heavy duty extension cords can safely carry.
I searched high and low for something similar to this on the internet, but it seems that I'm the firstretard person to put something like this into actual thought - then action. A few bugs/quirks are expected, but they'll be dealt with in a timely manner. My theory is, that an answer exists for every problem we encounter, and it's our job to discover or find it. No biggie. I've put some thought into the possible problems that could be encountered, as well as the remedies for each. (I've already completed the project in my mind, as usual).
The next installment of this series will discuss the support structure requirements, and how to get more force by gear reduction. As noted in the post title, this will be a 4 part series, and I hope you enjoy it!
Take care, and happygardening composting!
EG
Ya know, building a system for my workplace would be a piece of cake, because industrial equipment is what I've worked on for over half of my life. The possiblities would be limitless, because we have electric motors as large as 2,000 horsepower, and have voltages as high as 13,000 volts. But at home, the various tools, equipment, and utilities just aren't available. So, I had to put my thinking cap on, and design a system that was relatively small - but had alot of torque characteristics to effectively turn the piles in place. Talk about tricky! The confinements of the bins themselves was the biggest obstacle, so I decided to design a vertical machine to lower into each bin. The idea will be that the screw will lift the contents from the bottom to the top of each pile, which will effectively cause the contents to heat up again. Using a stick of some kind, I should be able to push the outer part into the middle, which will allow the screw to grab hold of everything.
Anyway, this is my initial drawing of the system, which at least gave me something to kinda go by. It's not precise/complete, but serves the purpose of at least illustrating the general idea. I had to mark the corners of the page that was scanned so that it would upload correctly, in case you're wondering what the slashes in pen are.
Through an unbelievable gear reduction (160 to 1), a 1/2 horsepower electric motor and gearbox will turn an 8" auger at the slow speed of somewhere around 11-12 rpms/minute. So, it will be turning while being lowered down into each pile by a nylon rope and EG power. Once in the lowered position, i'll attach the end of the rope to something to hold it in place for me. This is where the 4 pulleys come in - as they will allow me to raise/lower the powered auger while only having to exert 1/4 of the force that is normally needed to lift any given weight. The entire auger assembly only weighs between 60-70 lbs., and will only require 15-18 lbs. of downward force on the rope to raise/lower it. This is called "mechanical leverage", and is a real life-saver on my aching back! A small child should be able to operate the thing, but of course I only use this terminology to explain the minimal effort needed - not that an actual child will be out there playing with it. (This is certainly not a toy!) A separation will exist between the smaller pulleys (although not depicted on the drawing), and the rope will be intertwined between all 4. This is what gives me mechanical leverage - which will be explained later. I'll probably incorporate a small winch of some kind to make it even more easy to do, but that will be on down the road......According to my calculations, about 247 ft.lbs. of torque will be available at the screw section, which should easily drill right through each pile. The idea will be to let the screw lift compost from the bottom to the top, while maneuvering it around the internal area of each bin. I'll just have to try it out to see if it's strong enough to lift the contents, once they become compacted from the decomposition process. (That's when the ingredients get pretty heavy) If not, the motor will be increased to 1 horsepower, which should theoretically double the amount of torque. Due to limitations with electrical supply power in this location, I wanted to try the 1/2 hp first - which should require around 8 amps of current @ 115 volts ac. Increasing the horsepower to 1 will actually double the current draw (16 amps), which is right on the threshold of what most heavy duty extension cords can safely carry.
I searched high and low for something similar to this on the internet, but it seems that I'm the first
The next installment of this series will discuss the support structure requirements, and how to get more force by gear reduction. As noted in the post title, this will be a 4 part series, and I hope you enjoy it!
Take care, and happy
EG
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I need an emergency brake for my brain
Dangit. It happens every stinkin' time! As I work on a project, my brain is constantly thinking about ways to improve what's currently being built. I guess it's a good thing sometimes, because the end result has more functionality, but it can also extend the timeframe for completion of the job at hand. Sigh......
The shelves on the opposite wall of the shed were completed last night at around 8:15 pm, but there's only two, because I needed alot of height between them for removing the top portion of the propagation chamber. If any of my readers haven't seen the propagation chamber that was built 2 years ago, then you're in for a treat! It's pretty weird! heh. Anyway, like I was saying....my brain almost went into overload while finishing that last shelf, and a brilliant idea came to me. The large space between the 2 shelves on that particular wall gives me all kinds of possibilities later. Although I won't tell of my plans yet - let me just say that 2010 will be the last time the propagation chamber will be used for growing seedlings....hehe. I will most likely sell it to someone, because next year i'm gonna upgrade a bit. We'll see how many plants are sold this spring, and i'll go from there.
In other news, I wanted to let everyone know that I won't have any burgundy okra seeds to trade with this year, because mine molded! :-( Crap......I blew it. However, I think there are maybe 6 seeds left in the pack, and i'll grow them this next year to get seed from them for the following years to come.
Hmmm....what else? Oh yeah! The broccoli plants had to spend the night inside my parents' house the other night when the temps were really cold, and are trying to go to seed because of the really warm environment they were exposed to. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't bolt. Eh - no biggie if they do, because the experiment is already a success, in my opinion.
Well, that's about all I know to tell you right now, but there will be lots of pictures taken during the upcoming weekend. WooHoo!
Oh! I almost forgot....Please check the box at the top of the sidebar. It's the only way I can determine how many readers visit the blog. Please only use it once. Thanks!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
The shelves on the opposite wall of the shed were completed last night at around 8:15 pm, but there's only two, because I needed alot of height between them for removing the top portion of the propagation chamber. If any of my readers haven't seen the propagation chamber that was built 2 years ago, then you're in for a treat! It's pretty weird! heh. Anyway, like I was saying....my brain almost went into overload while finishing that last shelf, and a brilliant idea came to me. The large space between the 2 shelves on that particular wall gives me all kinds of possibilities later. Although I won't tell of my plans yet - let me just say that 2010 will be the last time the propagation chamber will be used for growing seedlings....hehe. I will most likely sell it to someone, because next year i'm gonna upgrade a bit. We'll see how many plants are sold this spring, and i'll go from there.
In other news, I wanted to let everyone know that I won't have any burgundy okra seeds to trade with this year, because mine molded! :-( Crap......I blew it. However, I think there are maybe 6 seeds left in the pack, and i'll grow them this next year to get seed from them for the following years to come.
Hmmm....what else? Oh yeah! The broccoli plants had to spend the night inside my parents' house the other night when the temps were really cold, and are trying to go to seed because of the really warm environment they were exposed to. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't bolt. Eh - no biggie if they do, because the experiment is already a success, in my opinion.
Well, that's about all I know to tell you right now, but there will be lots of pictures taken during the upcoming weekend. WooHoo!
Oh! I almost forgot....Please check the box at the top of the sidebar. It's the only way I can determine how many readers visit the blog. Please only use it once. Thanks!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Sunday, December 13, 2009
It was a busy weekend
Alot was done over the weekend, but not everything that was initially planned. Most of the day Saturday was spent christmas shopping (blech), then I checked a gas heating unit for a friend later that evening. More tweaking was performed on the propagation control system later that night, but Sunday was the day that I was truly waiting for.
Sunday morning was spent helping my wife clean the house (I hate this chore!), but the sooner it was finished - the quicker I could get outside and really get something accomplished. That is - finish the shelves on one wall of the shed, and fill them with some of my many gadgets and supplies that are laying all over the place.
After completely organizing everything on that side, I realized that the benefits of this shed were going to surpass what was initially expected. Yeah...there's tons of room in there!
As a matter of fact, i'm even putting the propagation chamber AND the two level propagation system that I frequently refer to as the "shelf" system in there too. Every inch of wall space will be utilized from floor to ceiling, and even things with a long profile (like shovels and rakes) will be supported from the rafters . Hehe... I love it! Also, it looks like the compost turning system will be started on a little sooner than anticipated. As you might imagine, a trip to the local landfill will be necessary in the very near future, because some items laying around are nothing more than garbage or waste material. It's a good thing I have a really big truck!
Sorry for the absence of pictures, but it wouldn't be smart to show any. I'm sure you understand. With 6-8 more pieces of lumber from Lowes, the second set of shelves will be finished-and the 2 propagation systems will be put into their new home. Sometime in the spring of next year, the little 7x5 playhouse will be fixed up pretty much the same way. Doing so will allow me to store all of the earthtainer stuff in there, as well as the buckets full of growing medium that goes in them.
The only thing that didn't go as planned was addressing the compost bins. There just wasn't enough time left, and the shed was more important. I'll get to them soon....
Anyway, that's pretty much what EG got done over the weekend, and I hope yours was fruitful, too.
Take care, and happy gardening
EG
Sunday morning was spent helping my wife clean the house (I hate this chore!), but the sooner it was finished - the quicker I could get outside and really get something accomplished. That is - finish the shelves on one wall of the shed, and fill them with some of my many gadgets and supplies that are laying all over the place.
After completely organizing everything on that side, I realized that the benefits of this shed were going to surpass what was initially expected. Yeah...there's tons of room in there!
As a matter of fact, i'm even putting the propagation chamber AND the two level propagation system that I frequently refer to as the "shelf" system in there too. Every inch of wall space will be utilized from floor to ceiling, and even things with a long profile (like shovels and rakes) will be supported from the rafters . Hehe... I love it! Also, it looks like the compost turning system will be started on a little sooner than anticipated. As you might imagine, a trip to the local landfill will be necessary in the very near future, because some items laying around are nothing more than garbage or waste material. It's a good thing I have a really big truck!
Sorry for the absence of pictures, but it wouldn't be smart to show any. I'm sure you understand. With 6-8 more pieces of lumber from Lowes, the second set of shelves will be finished-and the 2 propagation systems will be put into their new home. Sometime in the spring of next year, the little 7x5 playhouse will be fixed up pretty much the same way. Doing so will allow me to store all of the earthtainer stuff in there, as well as the buckets full of growing medium that goes in them.
The only thing that didn't go as planned was addressing the compost bins. There just wasn't enough time left, and the shed was more important. I'll get to them soon....
Anyway, that's pretty much what EG got done over the weekend, and I hope yours was fruitful, too.
Take care, and happy gardening
EG
Putting the propagation controls together
On most weekends, I stay up pretty late at night - mostly loading videos or pictures to the blog, and even writing a very detailed post about something. (Most people know that because of the OCPD thing, writing something is always a lengthy process for me). Anyway, on Friday night I was working on the 2 different programs (one for the plc, the other for the operator interface panel) for the new propagation control system to be implemented in a few weeks, and they were both giving me fits. When you're having to deal with most of the various numbering systems (decimal, octal, hexadecimal, binary coded decimal) to scale analog signals, perform all kinds of weird math on the data, and get the information to show up on an operator interface panel in the correct format - it gets kinda tricky at times!
At 2:15 AM on Saturday morning, I finally had it working well enough that I decided to go to bed. The trending chart would need some more work, but it would be addressed another day. Besides, I needed to get up early on Saturday to work on shelves for the shed.
Anyway, here are some pics of the actual components being used, as well as screenshots of the software used to create the various buttons, numerical displays, and different screens for the operator interface panel (touchscreen).
Photo below - Here's the main screen of the OIP itself. It will display the temperature value of 4 different places (inside the propagation chamber, the 2-shelf propagation system when enclosed with 6 mil plastic, the interior of the 4x4 greenhouse, and of course the outside temperature.)
Since I only have one channel wired for now (chamber), it's the only one displaying a value (66.5 degrees fahrenheit). The accuracy and sensitivity of it is absolutely mind-blowing, and just to let you know - this was the actual temperature in the upstairs portion of our house. Yeah.....the digital thermostat for the hvac showed 69 - but I promise you that this 66.5 reading is what it actually was at the time. With 12 bit resolution and the entire span of the signal being displayed as only one of 4,095 increments measured at any given time - this system is dead-on. As you might guess, I bumped the upstairs thermostat up by a couple of degrees. That just goes to show that most digital thermostats available to homeowners read pretty close, but not perfect.
Touching the "To Manual Control Screen" area in the picture above with your finger will open up a brand new screen, as shown below. The memory capacity of this particular panel will allow a person to program up to 999 different screens to use, but who in their right mind could navigate thru that many different screens? Not me! This project only has four, but I may add more functionality later.
Photo below - here's the trending chart that i'm still working on. It will allow me to look at the 24 hour history for the 4 different temperature values, (which will really come in handy later). I'll go out each morning before work and see if the temperature in any particular zone fluctuated throughout the night, which will allow me to plan for enhancing heating or ventilation control patterns. Yeah, I know......I'm weird! Heh.
Photos below - actual hard-wired components in a Nema 12 (dustproof) enclosure.
I'll clean up the wiring once the various appendages are added to the system, but probably won't spend too much time on it. I've got other constructive things to get done around here.....
In the last photo above, those 2 (red, white) wires twisted together are type "J" thermocouple wires that read temperature at the point at which they meet. You can tell from the black dis-coloration that I used a cigarette lighter to raise the temperature for testing purposes. Worked like a charm......The lighter raised the temperature reading all the way up to 960 degrees.
Today will be spent on finishing the shelves on one wall of the new shed, which should only take about 2 hours to complete. Some of the many items that are tucked away in various outbuildings will be organized when placed on them (also today) - as I know that my family is getting tired of looking at my big mess always laying around. It's pretty ridiculous, I have to admit...Ha!
Later in the day, my time will be spent on stirring up all 5 of the compost piles a little bit. Notice I said "stirring", not "turning". I don't mind a little hard work, but i'm not that crazy!
Take care, and happy gardening!
At 2:15 AM on Saturday morning, I finally had it working well enough that I decided to go to bed. The trending chart would need some more work, but it would be addressed another day. Besides, I needed to get up early on Saturday to work on shelves for the shed.
Anyway, here are some pics of the actual components being used, as well as screenshots of the software used to create the various buttons, numerical displays, and different screens for the operator interface panel (touchscreen).
Photo below - Here's the main screen of the OIP itself. It will display the temperature value of 4 different places (inside the propagation chamber, the 2-shelf propagation system when enclosed with 6 mil plastic, the interior of the 4x4 greenhouse, and of course the outside temperature.)
Since I only have one channel wired for now (chamber), it's the only one displaying a value (66.5 degrees fahrenheit). The accuracy and sensitivity of it is absolutely mind-blowing, and just to let you know - this was the actual temperature in the upstairs portion of our house. Yeah.....the digital thermostat for the hvac showed 69 - but I promise you that this 66.5 reading is what it actually was at the time. With 12 bit resolution and the entire span of the signal being displayed as only one of 4,095 increments measured at any given time - this system is dead-on. As you might guess, I bumped the upstairs thermostat up by a couple of degrees. That just goes to show that most digital thermostats available to homeowners read pretty close, but not perfect.
And here's a screenshot of the same thing as created with the software. This is the same way touchscreens are created for various restaurants, kiosks at the airports, etc. It's really not that difficult to do, but takes alot of concentration and time. Each "part" is placed in the area of choice on the grid, and addressed with reference to the plc variable memory locations. All kinds of internal parameters must be set to the desired values, too - but that's as easy as adjusting fonts, text to be written on the part, and stuff like that. Communication protocol between the OIP and plc can be tricky at times, but the RS-232 link I use is not too difficult. The main thing is to make the baud rates match between the two.
Touching the "To Manual Control Screen" area in the picture above with your finger will open up a brand new screen, as shown below. The memory capacity of this particular panel will allow a person to program up to 999 different screens to use, but who in their right mind could navigate thru that many different screens? Not me! This project only has four, but I may add more functionality later.
Photo below - here's the trending chart that i'm still working on. It will allow me to look at the 24 hour history for the 4 different temperature values, (which will really come in handy later). I'll go out each morning before work and see if the temperature in any particular zone fluctuated throughout the night, which will allow me to plan for enhancing heating or ventilation control patterns. Yeah, I know......I'm weird! Heh.
Photos below - actual hard-wired components in a Nema 12 (dustproof) enclosure.
I'll clean up the wiring once the various appendages are added to the system, but probably won't spend too much time on it. I've got other constructive things to get done around here.....
In the last photo above, those 2 (red, white) wires twisted together are type "J" thermocouple wires that read temperature at the point at which they meet. You can tell from the black dis-coloration that I used a cigarette lighter to raise the temperature for testing purposes. Worked like a charm......The lighter raised the temperature reading all the way up to 960 degrees.Anyway, there's still lots of wiring to do for connecting the controller to the various propagation systems, but i'd say this entire project is probably around 90% complete.
Today will be spent on finishing the shelves on one wall of the new shed, which should only take about 2 hours to complete. Some of the many items that are tucked away in various outbuildings will be organized when placed on them (also today) - as I know that my family is getting tired of looking at my big mess always laying around. It's pretty ridiculous, I have to admit...Ha!
Later in the day, my time will be spent on stirring up all 5 of the compost piles a little bit. Notice I said "stirring", not "turning". I don't mind a little hard work, but i'm not that crazy!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
Friday, December 11, 2009
More progress on composting
First of all, I'd like to welcome Sunny to my blog, and hope you will continue to visit!
Now for a composting update.....Since some of the grass clippings got rained on inside the bags (from the plastic busting open), I've got a few nasty clumps to deal with. No biggie - they're being put into one bin by itself, so that it will be the only one with that problem. Even if it takes until the end of summer to get that particular bin finished, i'll still have 5 more to use in the spring. Below is a photo of the nasty looking clumps that will be gradually broken up by hand as I let Jude out to play each day. I would let her help, but she'll just eat 'em. Little stinker...
Photo below - here's one of the original bins that is pretty full, now. It'll be turned by hand in a week or two, and will have alot of kitchen scraps added to it, too. Gosh, I sure do dread turning these two piles by hand. It's gonna have to be done though, because the turning system will be built for the new pallet bins, not the old ones. These old ones will have to be done manually. :-(
Photo below - here's the same bin as above, with dry dog food sprinkled all over the top of the grass clippings. At this point, water is sprinkled onto the top very good - then covered with about 4-6" of shredded leaves. This process has been duplicated in layers for all bins that are currently filled - kinda like making lasagna. Doing it this way gives the pile a head start on the decomposition process. At least that's my belief.....
Photo below - here's 5 out of 6 pretty much filled, with only one more to go. Whew, i'll be glad when this is finished! When you're a 1-man crew, it will wear you out!
Photo below - I curse this pile of leaves that continues to occupy space in my parent's front yard. Well, not really.....but I'm so tired of looking at it! UGH!
In reality, I think the load of leaves that was dumped was exactly the right amount. Afterall - the contents in the bins shrink pretty quick, and I'll just continue to add the leaves from the pile to the old bins that were used last year. In a complete shocker to some readers that have been following my composting trials over the last 2 years, I'm even gonna utilize the compost tumbler that caused so many problems in the beginning. Yeah....I'm gonna try it one more time - and take it easy on the addition of "greens" this time around. Boy, was that a learning experience!
Now for a composting update.....Since some of the grass clippings got rained on inside the bags (from the plastic busting open), I've got a few nasty clumps to deal with. No biggie - they're being put into one bin by itself, so that it will be the only one with that problem. Even if it takes until the end of summer to get that particular bin finished, i'll still have 5 more to use in the spring. Below is a photo of the nasty looking clumps that will be gradually broken up by hand as I let Jude out to play each day. I would let her help, but she'll just eat 'em. Little stinker...
Photo below - here's one of the original bins that is pretty full, now. It'll be turned by hand in a week or two, and will have alot of kitchen scraps added to it, too. Gosh, I sure do dread turning these two piles by hand. It's gonna have to be done though, because the turning system will be built for the new pallet bins, not the old ones. These old ones will have to be done manually. :-(
Photo below - here's the same bin as above, with dry dog food sprinkled all over the top of the grass clippings. At this point, water is sprinkled onto the top very good - then covered with about 4-6" of shredded leaves. This process has been duplicated in layers for all bins that are currently filled - kinda like making lasagna. Doing it this way gives the pile a head start on the decomposition process. At least that's my belief.....
Photo below - here's 5 out of 6 pretty much filled, with only one more to go. Whew, i'll be glad when this is finished! When you're a 1-man crew, it will wear you out!
Photo below - I curse this pile of leaves that continues to occupy space in my parent's front yard. Well, not really.....but I'm so tired of looking at it! UGH!
In reality, I think the load of leaves that was dumped was exactly the right amount. Afterall - the contents in the bins shrink pretty quick, and I'll just continue to add the leaves from the pile to the old bins that were used last year. In a complete shocker to some readers that have been following my composting trials over the last 2 years, I'm even gonna utilize the compost tumbler that caused so many problems in the beginning. Yeah....I'm gonna try it one more time - and take it easy on the addition of "greens" this time around. Boy, was that a learning experience!I'd also like to tell you that all of the components needed for the electro-mechanical compost turning system that will be built later have been located. The construction of it will most likely start over the upcoming holidays, as the shelves in the shed will definitely be finished by then. Yay! It'll be a monster of a project, especially while working alone on it (as usual). My friend that has his own sawmill has already started cutting lumber for me, and I should have it at the end of next week. Yeah...EG doesn't mess around! (He's cutting my cedar boards for the deeper garden, too).
Lastly, if you'll remember - the internal temperature of the piles last week was on average about 143 degrees....Well, not now. I checked them again yesterday, and only one was barely over 100. :-( Oh well, that'll be addressed real soon!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
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