Sarah Beth Hopton

Hi all!

I have a 240 sq ft greenhouse (12x20) that I’d like to power off grid. I’ll have an exhaust fan, grow lights, misting/watering system, thermostat, and, ideally a small electric heater (though looking at other options) for winter. I’m trying to determine what system components I need for these energy demands. I live in Johnson City TN, where we get about 201 days of sun per year. In Johnson City, the summers are long, warm, and humid; the winters are short, very cold, and wet; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 28°F to 84°F and is rarely below 14°F or above 90°F. I will integrate other heating options (animals, thermal mass etc) so the heater is optional, though preferred.

Any help calculating/designing a system would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

R Scott wrote:For a rough estimate, the compaction from any wheeled vehicle is pretty close to the tire pressure. So my tractor is about 15 and my pickup is 60 psi. For reference, a footstep is about 8.

So I don’t drive or walk on my beds after they are established. I am going to buy wheel spacers for my tractor so they will straddle the beds easier so I can use it to haul amendments and use a subsoiler. Some day…

Okay, so are you concerned about the tire tracks (walking paths) compacting between the beds at all? And, over time, does that affect the subsoil beneath the beds too? Like, I'm imagining pancakes on a griddle. If we leave the middle pancake fluffy but press the pancakes on either side with our spatula over and over, eventually they'll bleed into and under the fluffy pancake. I'm just wondering if the soil works similarly. Sorry if that's a poor analogy. :)

Eric Hanson wrote:Hi Sara Beth,

I am going to have to agree with John on many points here.  I think that a subcompact tractor is a wonderful, vastly underrated piece of equipment.  For 13 years I had a JD 2305, the newer model to John’s JD 2210.  It was just amazing.

However, today I would be reluctant to use one for engaging the ground as I have embraced a good deal of no-till practices.  That’s not to say I didn’t use it for digging garden beds in my pre-Permies days, only that I would be reluctant to use one now.

I would say the most important attachment is the loader and bucket as you can move all sorts of goodies to your new garden.

Now one approach that might be worth considering is to till the soil ONCE, just to get a seedbed, but then practice no-till.  Again, we’re it me, I would avoid a tiller—it rips the ground too much and is expensive!  Instead, maybe consider going with something with tines.

But these are all my thoughts.  You feel perfectly free to use your own judgment.  It is, after all, your land.

Good luck!

Eric

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the reply. So, you wouldn't by worried about using the tines repeatedly? Or are you saying that after the once-over for new beds, you'd mulch the paths and just hand dig/plant/harvest everything from there out?

SBH

Gray Henon wrote:Welcome!  What do you want to grow? What is your current location?  Lots of folks here use no till methods for vegetable gardening with great results.  This usually includes heavy applications of organic mulches.  

Thanks Gray. I'll have about 2,000 square feet (more if I want it) and I'll be growing (solo) enough food for two(ish) people; mostly staples. So: corn, potatoes, cabbage, cauli/broc, kale, lettuce, beets, carrots  etc. A variety of food rotated annually in the Moravian-style mounded beds. I've only ever used no-till methods, but with a plot this large (which is currently under grass), there's no way I won't have to use equipment to get started. I'm worried that without the aid of implements, I won't be able to maintain the garden on my own, especially as it grows into a little farmlette (eventually I'll sell to my local farmers market along with my pottery).

Hope this helps.

Hi all -- I'm hoping to get some advice here. We have a TYM subcompact tractor with several farm attachments (tiller, plow, potato digger etc...). I've only ever farmed about a 400 square foot plot on raised beds and used a no-till method, in part because I farmed in the mountains of Western NC on sloped ground and so implements were not an option. Now I have about 3,000 sq feet of garden space alone (5.5 acres total minus house site) on very flat former cow pasture. The soil is amazing. Having said that, I want to protect the soil and I am trying to figure out how damaging (and therefore if I should use) the use of my sub compact tractor will be. I've read several studies on large heavy farm equipment and soil compaction, but very little on sub-compact tractors and compaction. We all know why soil compaction is bad, so I won't bother detailing here, but I'd love advice on how to use the efficiency gains of my little tractor while still abiding permaculture principles. Any help is truly appreciated.