Changing the lighting, Part two

The harness was partically completed with three walls and ceiling surrounding the grow area on the platform. The final wall needed to move away and back to allow me to move the platform and harvest.  I realized it needed to move back and forth. Ideally guide it in place, like a curtain going backward or forward, instead of up or down.

This curtain didn't need to weigh anything.  It was Mylar curtain, connected via staples to a scrap piece of plywood 3 inches wide and 55 inches long that ran along the top of the curtain and the length of the platform.  It took me a few weeks to work out a design that would allow me to move the curtain.  I also had to move the platform away while working on the area to put in the curtain.

Inside view of wire mounted plywood strip

Long support beams where available far beyond the edge of the platform and harness. I drilled 3 wide holes located in the wood, and wide notches for the angle bar.  I then stapled the Mylar to the plywood, while the plywood was on the floor.  Holes for 5 eye sockets were drilled into the support beams, and I twisted electrical wires to one side of sockets, fed the wire through the holes in the wood, and connected the wires to the other set of sockets.  As shown in the attached photo, I put a wire between the cross-beams and fastened it another wire.  When done, I could move the curtain by simply sliding the plywood top over the guide wires.  It was work to make a simple job in the long run.  Below is a video that shows the wood for the curtain working.

The last job for October was to install a fan.  I found a wall mounted fan in a hydroponics store close to my work.  It was small, high quality and more expensive, but would address an important problem with the farm overall:  The lack of air flow stifled the growth of the plants compared to my planting last winter.  The problem with the new design was the lack of location to place a normal, inexpensive fan.

Fan on wall-mount sub-wall

I realized a long time ago I needed to install a fan, but have been unable to find a wall-mounted unit. I planned to install something off the house's load bearing support, running down the center of the house and right next to the planting area.  The fan that was purchased needed a hanging wall to be built from the support beam for installation.  This required me to move the platform again, and pull aside the mylar curtain hanging from the support.  I built plywood assembly to support a new wall less than two feet wide, more than wide enough to hold the fan, and provide stronger support for weigh and vibration.  The fan mount was placed to provide adequate clearance of fan height. One that was completed, I bolted the wall to the support, After the wall was in place, I dropped the curtain and made a slice to connect the fan to the mount, and tested the fan,  the airflow was fine, and the plywood seem to reduce movement of the mylar behind the fan.  I connected the fan to the same timer of the lamp, understanding that will impact the cost of electricity. Below is a short video showing the fan working in the grow area.

It was October 31st when the installation of the fan completed the construction for the area, going forward would  focus on the planting and harvest.

Changing the lighting, Part one

Front of house with Grow light on at night

During the month of September, it became apparent that I needed to move the growing system.  After going through a full round of planting, I realized that a lot of energy from of the grow light was going outside through the adjacent windows, this was very noticeable at night.  The bush just outside the window shifted its leaves to point towards the grow light instead of south to the Sun. The original goal was to use the grow light to supplement outdoor light through the windows, as days got shorter in the fall, the grow light spread out the windows, creating an orange glow through the night.  The more I worked in enclosing the grow area from the rest of the basement, the brighter the lighting that went out the window, almost like a blub in the cone of a flashlight.  Also, during last winter's planting, the container that was closest to the window grew the least, the cold or winter was definitely slowing its growth, and unless the system is moved, the same issue would happen again.

New insulation sheets added over 2x4 outdoor wall struts

Moving the platform wasn't a small effort, but it wasn’t hard. The wooden framework moved easily on wheels, and had been moved regularly during harvesting and repair.  The issue was the lighting and mylar curtains.  The entire growing system was actually two pieces, one is the platform and the hardness.  The platform was the dirt and water on a wooden assembly with wheels, the harness is lighting, curtains and fans mounted to the celings and walls.  There was one alternate location for the platform in the basement that made sense, to complete the work required the area to be prepared as a harness, and some construction supplies were required.  I purchased a roll of reflective mylar and some sheets of insulation, two inches thick.  The insulation was installed on the wall behind where the mylar would be mounted a few weeks before the move.  The work only took a few minutes and a dozen nails.

At this time, I also had mites in many of the containers. Reviewing the watering from prior years, it was also apparent I was over watering.  Watering needed only a half-hour a day, and the setting for watering had it running for hours. Over watering caused mold and moss growing in the containers. I was looking at replanting over half the containers in the near future, but it was more important to complete the move first and replant as a follow-on step.

New location for Framework with
Mylar on two walls & ceiling

The move was completed on October 10, the same weekend I harvested tomatoes and peppers from the outdoor garden for a final time.  The preparation work required moving a table and boxes stored in the basement in the garage during the transition.  Once the work area was cleared, i nailed a 1x3 piece of wood to the top of the new sheet of insulation shown in the picture.  This would be used to fasten Mylar instead of insulation. The Mylar was slowly rolled out and stapled across the back wall and the load-bearing support beam of the house, creating a solid reflective curtain over two sides for the planting framework. 

I did a different approach for the ceiling, I stapled the more mylar to old cardboard presentation chart I had for the first harness, using a step ladder and used roof tacks to nail the mylar and cardboard to underlying support beams.  Timing and order of work was important, Installing the mylar took less than a half hour. With the prior harness the mylar was installed around the light mounting and assembly, which was problematic and frustrating. By installing the mylar first, it as a simple installation over a flat surface.

The next step was to move the mounting used for the grow light from its current location.  The light had been connected to the ceiling three different ways over the past year.  First was using 4 eyebolts connected to two floor joists.  This was effective, but did not allow adjustments to the angle and location. The next step was to use angle iron to cross multiple joists, providing flexibility in a 90 degree angle compared to the eye bolts.  The angle iron provided a variable range in one direction.  When I expanded the garden to a second tray last year, I purchased two 6 foot lengths, allowing a greater length in same direction.

The grow light is extremely delicate.  A replacement light bulb is $50 and that is handled separately.  The rest is a hunk of sheet metal shaped like a 3D extended trapezoid with 30 pound weight and cord on one end.  I've moved it alone but prefer help.

After the light is placed far away, I took down the extended rails and mounted them over the reflective mylar.  I had to make estimates to find the cross-beams, and nails are used to punch through the mylar and find the location of the beams.  I drilled holes for 4 inch bolts used to hold the beam to the ceiling, the same ones used in the original installation last year.

I reused another presentation board to finish the ceiling above where the platform would stand, and used the other half for starting the top of a curtain parallel to the load bearing support.  The curtain bottom was well under the planter height.  This created a 3 wall reflective curtain around the planter. Finally the light is installed with a small 5 inch fan blowing down on the light's transformer to distribute the heat and provide limited circulation.  I ran the cables over the cardboard to a local power strip.  At the time the light was running 12 hours a day.  My little power meter cold me I was paying $5.16 per month running the light.  I updated it to 18 hours a day.

I moved the platform in place and activated the light. One side of the assembly was still completely exposed, and that would need to wait for another day.

Growing platform in new location with grow light and mylar in place for 3 walls.