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Post by littleminnie on Jul 22, 2013 20:52:39 GMT -5
I need some advice on the tunnels. I have 14 foot wide film and row cover and 3 foot wide beds. The shade fabric was too expensive to get 14 feet wide so it is about 6 so the sides are open for picking. I was looking at tubing today and the really stiff 1 inch kind if $119 for 150 feet or $230 for 300 feet. I believe making 2 tunnels to use all my materials would need 300 feet of tubing or whatever. So I don't know if I want to spend the money on that. But what choice do I have?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jul 22, 2013 21:08:24 GMT -5
LittleMinnie: If you are interested in price, I really don't know how you can beat 10 foot long pre-cut sections of PVC or steel conduit that is sold in every hardware store. I know that doesn't match your row covers, or your beds, but you could put a joint in them to make them 14 feet long and still beat the prices you listed above. My PVC walk-in greenhouse survived 6 years worth of winters and winds.
Or go to a slightly more upscale hardware store and get the 20 foot long sections: No joint required, but you gotta cut them to size.
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Post by littleminnie on Jul 22, 2013 22:21:41 GMT -5
I don't know how to work with PVC. I could do the conduit with a bender. But what I have been wondering is if those benders in Johnny's would let you bend to the size you want.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jul 23, 2013 0:04:57 GMT -5
LittleMinnie: I hope that you'll spend the $4 or so to get a ten foot long piece of 3/4" PVC pipe and play around with it. I think that you'll be pleased with how easy it is to work with. If you were my neighbor I'd drop one off at your field.
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Post by steev on Jul 23, 2013 1:02:39 GMT -5
While I don't know whether 40 or 80 guage would suit you better, (I suspect 80 may be fine, certainly more rigid than black poly) PVC is so easy to work with; I think 1/2" is all you'd need; 3/4' is more expense and more than needed for your purpose, I think.
While it may not be available to you in the length you want, it often comes with a pre-jointed end, so you can mix-and-match to suit your purpose. Given that you aren't working in wet/muddy, don't fool around with the purple primer, just use straight glue; it will be fine.
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Post by rowan on Jul 23, 2013 2:19:22 GMT -5
Not sure where you are getting your polypipe from but I get mine (3/4 inch) from the local farm supplies store for $200 for 200 metres (about 650 feet)and I would expect it to be cheaper in the US as most things are more expensive in Aus. I suggest you look around if you still want to go with poly.
I have most of one of my blocks under these covers now and am very pleased with the way the polypipe and shadecloth has stood up to high winds.
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 4, 2013 19:05:07 GMT -5
OMG I think I did it!!! I was messing around with the EMT conduit and bent it to an arc by hand. But the ten foot length is too short. So I thought why not put it inside the tubing, touching the rebar and then it will be the right length!? It seems to have worked! I am going to buy more conduit. I'm so excited!
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Post by steev on Aug 4, 2013 20:15:40 GMT -5
Way to boldly go where you've not gone before!
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 5, 2013 19:52:02 GMT -5
Well I was surprised I can hold the conduit and bend it with my little foot into a pretty decent arc.
I bought more of them today to finish the tunnels. I really think I can leave them up for winter now. It should be pretty strong. I will decide in October if I want to risk it or not. For now I have them over my brassicas with the shade fabrics and they will be arcs again instead of fallen bridges. Then they will move to the late planted tomatoes and peppers with FRC and then greenhouse film. The idea is to then move them to spinach and brassica greens to preserve over winter for early spring cutting. It was too dark to take photos last night so maybe I will do it tomorrow.
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Post by steev on Aug 5, 2013 21:09:53 GMT -5
Speaking of electrical conduit, I think I'll be using it to fence the farm; since it comes 10' lengths, if I drive it 2 1/2' down (I may need pilot holes), I'll have the 7 1/2' needed to keep the deer out. I'll sister it along the sides where I have T-posts, and bolster it with occasional 8' peeler poles or heavier pipe, where there aren't T-posts, then I can run two courses of welded fencing wire to get the height I need.
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Post by Drahkk on Aug 5, 2013 22:01:10 GMT -5
Wonderfully cheap and versatile stuff. I built trellis frames around 6 4'x4' beds by cutting at the 6 foot mark and using the 4' cutoffs as crossmembers. Slid them down over electric fence posts (basically 4' pieces of plastic coated rebar with a fin at the bottom) hammered in with the top of the fin an inch above ground to keep them from rusting. Cheaper to rebuilt if I'd bent instead of cutting, but my b-i-l is an electrician and had plenty of extra boxes and connectors, so I just used those for the corner joints.
MB
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 7, 2013 8:49:35 GMT -5
Well, well big surprise, the tubing bent at the junction of the rebar and conduit. I need to just connect those two somehow better and not use the tubing over it. Arggh
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Post by steev on Aug 7, 2013 10:17:44 GMT -5
Smaller rebar that fits into the conduit?
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 7, 2013 20:20:18 GMT -5
But then I lose the desired length, i.e. too short. The EMT at 10 feet does not span 2 beds and a path in the middle.   These ones stayed up.   These fell down. |
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 7, 2013 20:51:11 GMT -5
On an unrelated topic I have some pics.  Famosa cabbage looking good.  Melon patch is out of hand. Any ideas how to not miss the ripe ones?  1 row of Norlands. Each row has been 2 seven gallon buckets worth or enough for all CSAs, market and a bit extra. 16 rows left to dig of various kinds.  Shade for peppers to prevent sunscald.  Fused carrots |
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