Forum Replies Created

Page 13 of 13
  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 5, 2022 at 4:34 am in reply to: Permaculture seed planting question

    Go for it. Why not? Or even in a bed set aside for surprises!

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 5, 2022 at 4:30 am in reply to: Using compost as a radian heat source

    My kneejerk thought is “why do you need to heat the entire greenhouse, air and all?” depending on what you are trying to do, there may be another way to approach this.

    If trying to keep things alive to have winter harvests, and depending on where you are, It may be more efficent to have those crops, which I’m going to assume will be leafy greens) already grown when winter hits. Many of the plants don’t really “grow” during winter, but more or less hold on where they are, this being more a factor of sun hours (and possibly intensity) than temp. For this, Elliot Coleman technique of one or more floating row covers might do the trick.

    However if wishing to heat the greenhouse for starting seeds etc earlier, the main concern is potting mix / root temp. For this just use the compost pile as a hotbed, on which you place the seed starting trays, possibly with an extra floating row cover if needed. Thus you’re only heating their feet (just like radiant in-floor heating) rather than focusing on heating the entire air mass of the space. Of course, it may knock a degree or two off the cold, but won’t need to generate near the BTU’s to do that and get the same result.

    Of course, if you have raised beds and enough material, and don’t mind emptying them, then refilling, you could put the N rich stuff at the bottom or middle of the entirety of the entire bed, and let it bottom heat everything.

    that’s just immediate musings. Oh, and get Elliot Colemans 4 season garden book, lots of good info on this stuff in there.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 5, 2022 at 4:03 am in reply to: Propagation of woody perennials.

    I’ve not done muscadines, but like Darren said, should be same as grapes.

    When training grapes on to wire, I can’t remember the source, but seem to remember some types grow essentially “up” and some grow “down”, as in from the branch as it were, the suckers go more up or hang down from the start.

    When trellising, if you notice a significant predisposition, this can determine where to pur your wires, as if they grow “down”, put the wires higher so as they droop, you can harvest, prune, manage etc. Whereas if they grow “up”, have the wires lower to keep everything in reach. (but who knows, that may have been a strange dream). Just something that came to mind.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 16, 2022 at 5:47 am in reply to: Off-grid, mobile, whole property solar system – Goals

    One of the concepts in Permaculture is “appropriate technology”, meaning not only appropriate to the need but a technology that can readily be operated, maintained, and repaired by the resources at hand or nearby: meaning people, knowledge, tools, and parts. If you are having this much trouble getting a system even spec’d and quoted, and this being when those selling and installing the system will get paid, how much trouble will there be after it’s paid for, when you need service? Sometimes, the appropriate answer is a smaller, less sophisticated system, or a different system altogether, but one that in a pinch, you have some level of understanding of, and can at least do general maintenance and repairs.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 16, 2022 at 5:38 am in reply to: Off-grid, mobile, whole property solar system – Goals

    Here’s the really simple concept as to whether a given system will “go down” with the grid.
    Solar panels generate electricity. You can use it as it’s generated (during the day of course) or store it for later use.

    An “off grid” system uses batteries to store it. Thus, it is available even at night, at least until the batteries are discharged.

    A “grid-tied” system, typically has no batteries and uses the “grid” as the storage system more or less. You use what you need while power is being generated, any excess going to the grid. Then whenever your needs exceed current generation output (at night, or just under heavy load) you pull power from the grid, just as if it were a battery. In this case, if the grid goes down at night, you’re out of power. If the grid goes down on a sunny day, you have the power you are generating to use, until the sun goes down.

    Third option: “grid-tie with batteries”, which is simply a combination of the above two. It operates like a “grid-tied” system, with usually, a smaller battery set to use as backup, just as one typically uses a generator for backup power. In which case, grid goes down in daylight, no prob. grid goes down at night, you have what’s in your batteries to tide you over until either the sun, or grid comes back up. More batteries, more backup.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 16, 2022 at 5:28 am in reply to: Off-grid, mobile, whole property solar system – Goals

    The grid tie, payback is very very location dependant, starting with the state. There may be grants by the state or federal, but those I’m not up on. As for getting paid for the electricity you generate, that can be either at the wholesale or retail rate, depending on state law.

    When last I checked on that for Arkansas (maybe a decade ago?) the payback per kWh was at the retail rate (sounds good!), however when I looked carefully at the details, there was no rollover year to year, so if on the date the fiscal year the power company used, I had a credit, of any amount, it was zeroed out and we started from scratch for the next year (of course if I owed them, that wouldn’t get zeroed out, no surprise).

    Also the fiscal year they used for this electricity payback, was situated such that it was pretty much garenteed I’d be paying. At the time of year when I’d most likely be generating more than I use, consistently and getting paid… the fiscal year ended, my credits wiped out, and I’d be back to paying.

    Now, this may have changed, for the better or worse here. It may be different where you are, but the devil is in the details, and it pays to check. It may be great for you, it may not.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 16, 2022 at 5:19 am in reply to: Off-grid, mobile, whole property solar system – Goals

    I haven’t gotten any consulting. It will be complete DIY, other than possibly on the AC side a couple of neighbors are electricians, so they can give advice on that portion. I’ll be off grid, so no grid-tie.

    I’ve been doing DC stuff pretty much all my life, as a DIY’er. Grew up on a farm, working on vehicles, tractors etc, building my own car stereo systems when younger, and worked in I.T. for 15 years, so building computers, servers etc. Been playing with solar for a few years on small-scale stuff, lately did an all-Victron system just to power a Starlink and get to know their small products to get ready for a large build. Even assembled a small Lithium Ion Phosphate battery from parts to gain an understanding on that part. I’m also a Ham Radio Operator for over 20 years.. so all that together, and constant research, I’m pretty sure I can put this together from a well-designed kit, and extra bits and bobs. If not.. well, it’ll probably be on Youtube.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 10, 2022 at 5:07 am in reply to: Off-grid, mobile, whole property solar system – Goals

    Small?

    This system (along with the chargers which are not in the “kit”

    20kVA 120/240v Modular Industrial Off-Grid Power System – Current Connected

    and 1 or two of these:

    Fully Loaded 25kWh SOK 48v Server Rack Battery Kit – Bundle & Save – Current Connected

    That’s like over $30k of equipment, plus all the bits and bobs.

  • Hippocrates_Garden

    Member
    September 5, 2022 at 4:32 am in reply to: Using compost as a radian heat source

    You may be talking about “Climate Batteries” kind of Geothermal for greenhouses, based on air rather than liquid as the thermal transfer medium.

Page 13 of 13