Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Shed Modifications

The shed is a 15 metres long , 9 metres deep and about 4 metres high and is my main storage area for machinery and general junk.
The western end already had a couple of tray of translucent polycarbonate in the roof but that would clearly not let in enough light for plant growth. So with help from my brother inlaw Jack we cut out part of the northern and western metal wall cladding and replaced it with Laserlite sheeting (another polycarbonate product). That didn't seem to let in enough light either so the steel sheeted roof area over the growbeds was also replaced with Laserlite.
Just in case this lets in too much light in mid summer I made a retractable blind from 70% shadecloth and attached it to the roof joists so that if needed I can partially shade the area in the hottest part of the day. At this time of year the blind is folded out of the light.
I am still not sure if we are getting enough light onto the plants and I have some more Laserlite to convert more of the roof if needed.
The shed has 3 large roller doors and small louvre windows in the apex of the roof at each end so I hope that we will get enough air flow to prevent overheating in the summer.
I have taken to opening at least one of the roller doors when I feed the fish first thing in the morning and closing the door after the last feeding at night. The vague theory is that this way I am getting airflow and reducing the risk of fungus due to high humidity and still air. Time will tell if this theory is valid. I am assuming that the height of the growbeds off the ground will keep rats, rabbits and those big rabbits (Kangaroos) away from the lovely lush green stuff.
I also have a plan to make big hanging curtains, with shadecloth, for the door openings if needed to keep out grasshoppers if they become a problem later in the summer.

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