AZ ranch
- Thread starter BoFuller
- Start date
- Views: 470811
Ken
Veteran Member
Mr.Fuller the solar heated greenhouse looks great. and in this area, there is a problem of white flies that develop with high humidity. There was a retired Dr. who built a large portion of South south-facing house with a glassed-in room to grow plants. the flies infested the soil until was a problem.
and so far the winter has been mostly above freezing.
Helped a Dairyman install what is called cool cells to keep the barn at a usable temp in the summertime.
8' X 20' a water pump to recycle fluid onto the top tray then flows down keeping the cells damp. It cooled a 200-cow barn to around 70 deg when used.
the problem was cattle kept trying to eat the paper cells or breaking them by pushing against them.
I had considered building a similar type to cool the house but old age came first.
It did increase the humidity
The last picture looks good of your project and noticed soon will have 1500 posts of the overall building.
Has there been any settling from drying of the logs on the house?
Now wonder what will be the next project.
se'ya ken
and so far the winter has been mostly above freezing.
Helped a Dairyman install what is called cool cells to keep the barn at a usable temp in the summertime.
8' X 20' a water pump to recycle fluid onto the top tray then flows down keeping the cells damp. It cooled a 200-cow barn to around 70 deg when used.
the problem was cattle kept trying to eat the paper cells or breaking them by pushing against them.
I had considered building a similar type to cool the house but old age came first.
It did increase the humidity
The last picture looks good of your project and noticed soon will have 1500 posts of the overall building.
Has there been any settling from drying of the logs on the house?
Now wonder what will be the next project.
se'ya ken
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
Thanks Ken. So far the humidity in there has been around 15% and I haven’t noticed any insects yet.
No settling that I can notice, and it’s been 8 years.
When Spring arrives, I’ll be starting my next project - back deck with mud room.
No settling that I can notice, and it’s been 8 years.
When Spring arrives, I’ll be starting my next project - back deck with mud room.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Thanks for the update. My wife has been on me to build a green house for a few years now. I want to build it too, but I have so many other projects that have to get done first.
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
Update on Walipini;
The last couple days it has gotten down to 11 degrees at night, and only 25 during the day. And we had some snow, so I took the precaution of putting a small propane heater in the green house (a Mr. Buddy), and set it on low, just to make sure it didn’t freeze anything. It’s staying about 52 inside.
The last couple days it has gotten down to 11 degrees at night, and only 25 during the day. And we had some snow, so I took the precaution of putting a small propane heater in the green house (a Mr. Buddy), and set it on low, just to make sure it didn’t freeze anything. It’s staying about 52 inside.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Would a heat lamp work too? We use them for our baby chicks out in the barn and they do fine regardless of how cold it gets outside.
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
A heat lamp would most likely work well, but since I’m off-grid I try to avoid any heat produced by electricity. With the short days I use up a lot of my batteries just maintaining the house.
Short days mean less charging time, on top of long nights which use more lights and such.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I forgot that you where off the grid. Did you use a small propane bottle or is the heater tapped into a bigger tank?
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
I have a couple extra bottles from a travel trailer I sold. I hook the heater up to one of those and it should last awhile.
Thank you for sharing your build with the world. I binge read your 12 yr history today. Captivating!
I am retiring to a ranch in New Mexico, with a straw bale home to build there. Currently rebuilding a Massey Ferguson 135 D.
How is Steve's? your assistant in erection of the logs leg?
Where were you assisting with a log home back in '11 or '12 while waiting on permitting? Williams area?
Seeing the wire mesh around your plantings, have you considered solar electric fence 2 or 3 strand would keep larger animals at bay.
Blessings
CB
I am retiring to a ranch in New Mexico, with a straw bale home to build there. Currently rebuilding a Massey Ferguson 135 D.
How is Steve's? your assistant in erection of the logs leg?
Where were you assisting with a log home back in '11 or '12 while waiting on permitting? Williams area?
Seeing the wire mesh around your plantings, have you considered solar electric fence 2 or 3 strand would keep larger animals at bay.
Blessings
CB
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
His leg is fine. He gets a little arthritis when it rains.
i was helping a friend build just outside of Winslow.
i have been meaning to look into solar electrical fence.
Ken
Veteran Member
is your new plant-growing building able to stay warm enough to grow plants?
A family here built a room in their home to do this but the white flies and mold were a problem.
Good to see you're still doing well.
ken
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
I’m building “cages” around my fruit trees. I started with a 4 ft fence to keep out javelina. Then a deer ate one of my apple trees, so I put a 6 ft fence just inside the 4 ft fence. Those two fences kept the deer, cows, and javelina out, but then the birds ate the fruit before we could pick it, so now I have cages with fencing and netting all around. And besides eating the fruit, the yellow-bellied sap-suckers killed my peach tree by removing too much bark. They did considerable damage to the cherry trees also, so now the trees appear to be safe. We’ll see. 
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I have my fruit trees inside my dog yard. The dog yard is about an acre. I also have my raised veggie beds inside the dog yard. Hogs, deer, coons, rabbits, and armadillos are all kept out by my six Akita's. So far, birds haven't been an issue.
Did you get a perc test? Picture looks like there's a lot of clay.
OP
BoFuller
Veteran Member
I planted some asparagus crowns 10 days ago and they are going like gangbusters. I’m backfilling the trench about 2-3 inches a day the past few days and some shoots are 3-4 inches taller the next day.