The Heating System

This photo shows the heater I placed in the shelter last night. It will be set just above freezing to protect the plants from frost. Solar energy will provide most of heat required to keep the plants from freezing. However, I feel using a heater as backup system is essential; especially since this whole system is new to me.

Indoor Hydro System

This is my indoor hydroponic system that I have been testing since late October. It works using the same bin system the outdoor setup will use. In this case, the bins are Styrofoam coolers.

The cactus is not part of the system. It's just hanging out under the lights.

A Post for Kent...

That's how you haul 2x4x12's...a roof rack and two tie downs.

With the old Dodge Colt I didn't have the luxury of having a roof rack. All I could do was to send the tie downs through the windows and get in and out of the car Dukes of Hazard style.

First Snow on the Shelter!

Well...it survived it! You can really see where it's missing two hoops. Once the weather warms up I will install the missing hoops.

Next step:

- Install wood strips to hold down the plastic cover in front (now held with staples).

8:00am Sunrise.

Many things still need to be done... First of all, I don't have a way to hold the front of the cover down.

From last night:

Here is the Bioshelter being built, laying on it's side.

Here are the dimensions of the bioshelter.

In this case, the size of the bioshelter is determined by the space I have in my yard.

You can click on the image for a closer view.

Today I added Styrofoam along the bottom and sides of the bioshelter. The idea is to keep the cold winds out and heat in. The remaining space will be filled with straw for insulation.

BioShelter Rev B

Today, the first change was to design the bioshelter slightly bigger while keeping the same number of growing-units. The reason for this change is threefold. Firstly, I want to make sure some of the bigger plants have enough space and don't crowd out the smaller plants. Secondly, once you build it, you are committed to the space you have built. Lastly, the increase in space also allows for more insulation options and more surface area for solar energy capture.

Starting the Bioshelter Frame

Today I started working on the frame design for the Bioshelter. To the left, you can see the rough design floating in the air. The frame is made out of 2x4's. And the five gray boxes are plastic bins with a 18 gallon capacity. Each bin is what I call a growing-unit which means that it can operate independently of the other bins. I will go into more detail about the growing-units soon.

Starting Broccoli Seeds

Yesterday, I decided to start a few broccoli seeds in my indoor hydro system. I think the bio-shelter might be ready in February.

For the New Year 2011

The start of the new year is a good time to begin thinking about the spring growing season. And this years growing season will begin sooner than most if my plans for a covered outdoor hydroponic systems proves to work. At this time, my goal is to have the system operational by March 1st. This blog will serve as a detailed journal for the project.