Kiwi Phil
Commander
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 2,182
As you know, I built a test tunnel house with 8,500 growing holes to see how it would go with my crop in the winter.
Each table is 900mm wide (.9m)
I am growing 4 tables high.
It has been a sucess and i have been able to produce basil all winter, BUT, I am having a small problem with the lower tables, (only in the centre of the tables), with "lack of light".
The plants in the middle grow at half the rate as those on the outside, and the leaves are curled.
We pick the outside plants, then move those in the centre out into the light....they come away very quickly......so all is reasonably 'good'.
I am now building a bigger tunnel house to hold 50,000 growing holes. I might put up some pictures of it later.
To overcome the light problem, I want some suggestions as to what you guys do.
I have seen photos of your houses with white floors....are they plastic, and are they used to reflect light, or are they to keep the floor clean?
I am putting down a concrete floor.
I use picking ladders (on wheels) and wonder if moving the ladders about will grab and stretch the plastic?
I wondered if I would not be better to paint the floors white, if this would increase my light at lower levels.
My texan friend (here in Aussie) said he built a large car park, and when they put down the painted lines, he sprinkled ground up glass over the paint.....at night the glass in the paint reflected the cars headlights, illuminating the lines.
Do you know if this would help in my situation?
I have seen on TV programs when the cops bust an indoor drug (maryjowana crops) operation, and the growers have silver paper lining all walls and ceiling, which I can only guess is to reflect light....is this the case....or is it heat they are trying to keep in.
If it is light, then when I grew roses, I bought from a Dutch outfit (Zwapak) large rolls of silver wrapping material and used this instead of sleeves for selling my roses in.
I am wondering if this was hung vertically, down the centre of each row, if it would increase the light levels for me.
I can buy the alloy horticultural screen sold, but they are woven (with spacing), suspended horrizontally above the crop, to deflect heat upward and reduce the temp around the crop, in the summer.
What would you advise.
What is your industry doing about light.....you have a lot less of it than us.
I do not want to go to electric lights.
Cheers
Phillip
Each table is 900mm wide (.9m)
I am growing 4 tables high.
It has been a sucess and i have been able to produce basil all winter, BUT, I am having a small problem with the lower tables, (only in the centre of the tables), with "lack of light".
The plants in the middle grow at half the rate as those on the outside, and the leaves are curled.
We pick the outside plants, then move those in the centre out into the light....they come away very quickly......so all is reasonably 'good'.
I am now building a bigger tunnel house to hold 50,000 growing holes. I might put up some pictures of it later.
To overcome the light problem, I want some suggestions as to what you guys do.
I have seen photos of your houses with white floors....are they plastic, and are they used to reflect light, or are they to keep the floor clean?
I am putting down a concrete floor.
I use picking ladders (on wheels) and wonder if moving the ladders about will grab and stretch the plastic?
I wondered if I would not be better to paint the floors white, if this would increase my light at lower levels.
My texan friend (here in Aussie) said he built a large car park, and when they put down the painted lines, he sprinkled ground up glass over the paint.....at night the glass in the paint reflected the cars headlights, illuminating the lines.
Do you know if this would help in my situation?
I have seen on TV programs when the cops bust an indoor drug (maryjowana crops) operation, and the growers have silver paper lining all walls and ceiling, which I can only guess is to reflect light....is this the case....or is it heat they are trying to keep in.
If it is light, then when I grew roses, I bought from a Dutch outfit (Zwapak) large rolls of silver wrapping material and used this instead of sleeves for selling my roses in.
I am wondering if this was hung vertically, down the centre of each row, if it would increase the light levels for me.
I can buy the alloy horticultural screen sold, but they are woven (with spacing), suspended horrizontally above the crop, to deflect heat upward and reduce the temp around the crop, in the summer.
What would you advise.
What is your industry doing about light.....you have a lot less of it than us.
I do not want to go to electric lights.
Cheers
Phillip
