high tunnel plans

[PureHarvest]

Ok here are some numbers.

I am going with an area to be used of 1,000 square feet. (An acre is 43,560 sqft. for reference)
Also going with a fertility need from a soil that is poor or low in all nutrients, where the recommended rate of NPK is 100, 200, and 300 pounds per acre, respectively.

Now, 1,000 sqft is .02 of an acre.

So if the recommendation is to apply 100 lbs of N per acre, but you want the rate for 1,000 sqft, it is 2.3 lbs N (100 lbs/43,560 sqft=.002 lbs per sqft x 1,000 sqft =2.3 lbs)
P is 4.6 lbs
K is 6.8 lbs.

So you need to get 2.3 lbs N, 4.6 lbs P, and 6.8 lbs of K into a 1,000 sqft area.

Your Nitrogen is mostly organic, so only about half will be available this year, so one ton of your compost has:
13 pounds N
10 lbs P
24 lbs K

Converting those into pounds of NPK per pound of compost instead tons gives:

.0065 lbs N per pound of compost
.005 lbs P per pound of compost
.012 lbs K per pound of compost

So, 2.3 lbs of N needed/.0065= 353 lbs of compost
4.6 lbs of P needed/.005= 920 lbs of compost
6.88 lbs of K needed/.012= 573 lbs of compost.

BUT, you can't separate out the elements of the compost.
Applying the full amount to get P will more than double your N.
Applying only for your N needs will short your P by over half.

Of course, I am using a crop production guide from UDEL/Rutgers. they give a range of recs for p and k, I just took the amount from soil that would have been tested as "poor".

You could apply 353 lbs of compost to supply the 2.3 lbs of N you need and then put on a P and K source from another material or fertilizer.
This would leave you needing 2.84 lbs of P and 2.65 lbs of K.
Espoma bone meal would give you that P if you used about 25 lbs.
Espoma Potash would give you your K if you used 4.5 lbs

The other issue is that you have way more compost than you need inside the greenhouse. A yard is about a ton, so your 5 yds is about 10,000 lbs. You need less than 1,000 lbs assuming you are doing 1,000 sqft.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

What is the total square footage of your beds?

157.5 sq ft on each side of walkway.

[PureHarvest]

Then reduce all of the numbers above by 69%

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

Then reduce all of the numbers above by 69%

thanks for the detailed response; I can see that I have way too much compost, which is not good, considering I no longer have the skid loader at my place! Wheel barrow here I come!

I will amend the beds to 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, 1/3 pine bark or perlite.

[Worth1]

One of the best raised bad gardens I have ever seen in my life was 50% compost and 50% sandy loam.
The lady used tomato tone for fertilizer and used to be a member here and lived up the road from me.

The first time I did anything to one of my garden spots that had sandy loam on top was to go buy 2 yards of compost spread out 13-13-13 and mix it all in several times with my tiller.
Later I mixed in a good layer of cotton seed meal.
The garden exploded.

Worth

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by Worth1

One of the best raised bad gardens I have ever seen in my life was 50% compost and 50% sandy loam.
The lady used tomato tone for fertilizer and used to be a member here and lived up the road from me.

The first time I did anything to one of my garden spots that had sandy loam on top was to go buy 2 yards of compost spread out 13-13-13 and mix it all in several times with my tiller.
Later I mixed in a good layer of cotton seed meal.
The garden exploded.

Worth

Thanks Worth. I think it's pretty clear that i have to add some other inhert ingredients to the beds, pure compost doesn't sound too good. The thought of loading/unloading the back of my pickup doesn't sound good after last weekend. So, I'll revert to buying bags at a big box store and dumping them into the beds.

Now, what to buy; I'm thinking cheapest would be pine bark fines and bales of peat.

I really screwed this up, especially since the skid loader is now 2 hrs north of me; it left on the trailer this morning.

[Worth1]

I wanted to add something.
From my experience the compost will shrink.
One place it is going to go is in the ground when all those earthworms find it.
Worth

[PureHarvest]

Like worth said, adding "real" soil to it would do good.
I was just giving you a nerdy baseline for what nutrients you have on site.
Look on the bright side, you know what's in your stuff.
Many people think or don't know that compost is so widely variable in nutrient load.
I would avoid peatmoss. You'd just be adding more organic matter. You need topsoil, preferably one that is not just composted materials like most bagged topsoil.
What is the pile to the right in one of your pics? Is thAt topsoil that was scraped off to build your gh?
The key for you will be to mix whatever you get into your compost.
Have u considered shoveling some out the sides and pile it up and cover it with a tarp?
Worth has a good point with worms. Who knows, maybe you will be able to get into your native soil in a couple years because the worms transform it.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

Like worth said, adding "real" soil to it would do good.
I was just giving you a nerdy baseline for what nutrients you have on site.
Look on the bright side, you know what's in your stuff.
Many people think or don't know that compost is so widely variable in nutrient load.
I would avoid peatmoss. You'd just be adding more organic matter. You need topsoil, preferably one that is not just composted materials like most bagged topsoil.
What is the pile to the right in one of your pics? Is thAt topsoil that was scraped off to build your gh?
The key for you will be to mix whatever you get into your compost.
Have u considered shoveling some out the sides and pile it up and cover it with a tarp?
Worth has a good point with worms. Who knows, maybe you will be able to get into your native soil in a couple years because the worms transform it.

This post shows a pile of dirt in front of the trailer:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....0&postcount=67

That is my old raised garden bed. We completely discarded that dirt and took it far from the new GH because it got 2 heavy doses of herbicide drift last year thanks to our lawn company. I replanted twice after the spray damage and the plants would just curl. I'm convinced that the soil contained spray. Onion didn't seem affected by the herb. drift; I'm assuming because they are not broad leaf plants.

I was afraid of using any of that dirt for fear of left-over herbicide. Hence my idea to get a $hit ton of new fresh compost from the city.

Sure, I will shovel some out no problem. I can always get bags of top or garden soil from the big box stores and till it together with the compost. I would be really SOL if I had already planted in the compost !

[PureHarvest]

Also look at page 4 of your report.

Your compost has a Conductivity level of 6.5
The lab says you would need a level of .3 to .6 to use it as a greenhouse media.
At 6.5 it says it is high nutrient content intended for Ag applications. Meaning you would spread it over top of a field to provide nutrients, not grow in it directly.
The more I thought and then looked, I saw that it came from "Lincoln Solid Waste operations". I thought it might be composted sewage waste. Not just municipal leaf and yard waste. But I checked the web for their facility and it mentions only yard waste.
This is why I belabor that all compost isn't the same.

Here is the info page on the material:
https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/pwor...ste/lingro.htm

"Flower and vegetable gardens
LinGRO may be used to enrich the soil in flower and vegetable gardens. Apply a one-inch layer of LinGRO over the entire garden area and till into six inches of soil. LinGRO may also be used to amend the soil and increase infiltration rates in rain gardens. Application rates depend on infiltration rate and the soil's characteristics. An infiltration test can help determine what amendments are needed."

And:

"When making blended topsoil, the recommended mixture is one part compost mixed with four parts soil. To establish a new lawn, apply one inch of LinGRO to the topsoil, and mix thoroughly within the subsoil. It is recommended that clay soils be rototilled prior to adding LinGRO. One cubic yard of compost will cover a 325 square foot area at a depth of one inch."

So as Worth and I mentioned, you really need to add this to soil for a growing media.

I had previously posted here and edited my concerns about the metals content on page 6 of the report. It seemed there were things over the limit for EPA reporting. But reading their site, it would not be allowed for distribution if it was.
But the way the report reads, it looks like 4 things are over the limit. Would love to know that is supposed to be interpreted.

[BakedIn]

I like the looks of your new house.

You're original plan you mentioned is pretty close to what I build, except I don't add a top beam. I do raise the panels up off the ground with a 2x6 or something to give more clearance. And or course you have to skin them with UV plastic. I also stuff old plastic wal-mart bags in any crevices during this time of year to keep any seeps out. Whole thing 300 bucks tops.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by BakedIn

I like the looks of your new house.

You're original plan you mentioned is pretty close to what I build, except I don't add a top beam. I do raise the panels up off the ground with a 2x6 or something to give more clearance. And or course you have to skin them with UV plastic. I also stuff old plastic wal-mart bags in any crevices during this time of year to keep any seeps out. Whole thing 300 bucks tops.

Yes, look close to my orig. plan, but was unable to go this route due to neighborhood covenants and the folks at city hall

[Worth1]

I just wish glass wasn't so expensive.

Worth

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I just wish glass wasn't so expensive.

Worth

my ends are going to be clear poly-carbonate panels; should be similar to glass?
Manuf. is suntuf, I watched a video on their website where guy threw a baseball at it with no damage; seems like tough stuff.

Prob. easier to work with then glass also?

Rain has my progress stopped for the moment. Still 1 endwall left, then time to sheet with plastic and paneling then PLANT OUT! My seedlings are dying for real sun.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by pecker88

my ends are going to be clear poly-carbonate panels; should be similar to glass?
Manuf. is suntuf, I watched a video on their website where guy threw a baseball at it with no damage; seems like tough stuff.

Prob. easier to work with then glass also?

Rain has my progress stopped for the moment. Still 1 endwall left, then time to sheet with plastic and paneling then PLANT OUT! My seedlings are dying for real sun.

You cant do anything to tempered glass you have to have it custom made or work around what they have.

Poly carbonate is easy to work with and if you know what you are doing you can heat and bend it into curves.
Plus is is a darn site better than the clear PVC.
Plexiglass is another option it is what they used in the old WWII and later airplanes.
Lexan is more expensive than glass and is what they use today on motorcycle air plane and race car wind shields.
Very shatter resistant and also can be formed if you know how.
I think Lexan is just a brand name for poly carbonate.
So there are the options over plastic sheets.
If you are interested in getting the bends in them to fit the radius of the curves know how.
Worth