October 2020 - 17

DUETS
able to use every bit of space up
to the side wall comfortably. Even
more important is your comment
above that natural ventilation is more
efficient in higher houses.
Keith: Shade systems are evolving
and changing. With the smaller
structures, many growers who do
plan on shading the house still like
to throw shade over the top of the
house. The range of shade is 20 to
90%, with most growers choosing
the 50 to 70% range. That said,
we do have growers asking about
internal flat retractable or slope/
flat/slope systems that they
can open or close with a timer,
switch, or controlled automation.
And while not that common, for
CEA (controlled environment
agriculture) we have requests
for houses with light deprivation
(blackout) systems.
Peter: Let's finish off by discussing
control system technology.
Keith: Bartlett instruments is
moving to touch-screen control
and is also moving more items to
its " HeadGrower " application for
smartphones, with an affordable
monthly or yearly fee schedule.
This allows seeing graphs down to
the controller level without having
to go to a computer to see data
from the night before or 30 minutes
before, helping the grower to make
on-spot decisions standing in the
greenhouse. The HeadGrower
system can make changes as well to
operate in a different mode while the
grower is at home or on vacation.
Wadsworth is introducing a new
Seed controller to fully integrate
and combine into the fertigation
and irrigation market (partnering
with HE Anderson) so that you can
choose recipes and chemigation
programs from a computer to allow
for even greater control.
Peter: Here's another tip to
share with fellow builders, one
that others have likely thought of
themselves. A second greenhouse
in the background of Figure 1 is
a 20x30-foot-high tunnel that I
put up for a project two years ago.
During construction my shoulders
paid a price after driving hundreds
of self tapping metal screws by
wrapping one arm around the
metal receiving the screw to create
leverage pulling while pushing the
cordless driver with the other arm.
The tension on one shoulder and
pressure on the other resulted in
damage that lingers today.
I knew using this technique
for the second greenhouse with
hundreds more self tapping screws
to drive wasn't a smart choice.
Portable drill presses are available
for about $300 and I almost
bought one. Then the idea hit me
to try a woodworking bar clamp as
a handheld drill press to relieve the
pull-push on my shoulders (Figure
3). Once positioned squeezing the
clamp handle with one hand and
drill trigger with the other does all
the work. It worked like a charm ...
and only cost $30. Buy the highest
rated clamp; the one pictured is
rated for 600 pounds of force, to
withstand the repetitive task.
The one to
grow with
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GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 17

http://www.growwithosmocote.com

October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2020