Sorting out the drainage in the lower field and other gubbins. An apprentice digger driver writes.

[Smiffy]

This thread is brilliant. Far better than that other lunatic with a welder..... It has hills and everything.

The other thread had hills. He's just spent the last 5 years trying to make them flat enough to put a barn on

 

[Quattromike]

Is it not every 10m of head hight gives 1 bar so 20m gives you 2 bar

 

[pettsy]

Yeah, every meter of height gives 0.1 bar of pressure.

 

[LKSF]

I'm not bad at English, but Maths is always something I struggle with. However in this day and age there is no reason to not be able to find out most things. I say most, water filtration systems seem to be very much closed shop and black magic!
I also got a bit lucky, firstly the slope is 45 degrees, secondly I had a 30 metre rope and thirdly I somehow remembered a thing called 'Pythagoras Theorem' so I googled that and found a handy calculator. My 30m rope got me up the 45' slope so the calculation was very simple and showed a vertical height of 20m. Which as you point out is 2bar of head pressure. This compared to what comes out of a normal household tap is a bit on the low side, it meets bare minimum requirement for UK households.
It is however about twice what I did have.

 

[V8Druid]

This thread is brilliant. Far better than that other lunatic with a welder..... It has hills and everything.

well that's just earned you a place on my blocked numbers list on me phone
this enough hills for you ?

 

[V8Druid]

I'm not bad at English, but Maths is always something I struggle with. However in this day and age there is no reason to not be able to find out most things. I say most, water filtration systems seem to be very much closed shop and black magic!
I also got a bit lucky, firstly the slope is 45 degrees, secondly I had a 30 metre rope and thirdly I somehow remembered a thing called 'Pythagoras Theorem' so I googled that and found a handy calculator. My 30m rope got me up the 45' slope so the calculation was very simple and showed a vertical height of 20m. Which as you point out is 2bar of head pressure. This compared to what comes out of a normal household tap is a bit on the low side, it meets bare minimum requirement for UK households.
It is however about twice what I did have.

our pumped system runs at 1.5bar and is enough for a decent shower upstairs

 

[maz]

I'm not bad at English, but Maths is always something I struggle with. However in this day and age there is no reason to not be able to find out most things. I say most, water filtration systems seem to be very much closed shop and black magic!
I also got a bit lucky, firstly the slope is 45 degrees, secondly I had a 30 metre rope and thirdly I somehow remembered a thing called 'Pythagoras Theorem' so I googled that and found a handy calculator. My 30m rope got me up the 45' slope so the calculation was very simple and showed a vertical height of 20m. Which as you point out is 2bar of head pressure. This compared to what comes out of a normal household tap is a bit on the low side, it meets bare minimum requirement for UK households.
It is however about twice what I did have.

Must be the perspective on my phone, picture made it look like it was on top of Pen Fan!

2 bar will be plenty if you get a nice drip system overhead, wee timer on it and you can have more time to watch mighty dong as I call him on BBC.

 

[LKSF]

Must be the perspective on my phone, picture made it look like it was on top of Pen Fan!

2 bar will be plenty if you get a nice drip system overhead, wee timer on it and you can have more time to watch mighty dong as I call him on BBC.

View attachment 36272

Don't diss The Don!
I'll have to do a write up on my PT, but as a beginner I can see lots of inspiration there and your weather is probably similar to ours. I see you've got the 'Brassicas' in there which is interesting (cabbage like plants to us!), some grapes, toms of course which look quite tall and beans. Is that mesh to the left for growing something up? How are you ventilating it?
I need to do a lot more research, but am leaning towards watering via drips on the ground rather than spraying. I'm sure there are pros and cons for both methods and dripping is probably the safer option with my water pressure. The PT is quite big and has a lot more steelwork in the roof area, I specced it to resist storms and give me more options for hanging things from.
I also put doors in either end, but have to be here to open and close them. As long as it's breezy it blows through and vents it ok, but on a still hot day (if we ever get one) it may struggle. Back in March it was 50'c in there with the doors closed on some days and the digi thermometers blacked out, it gets a lot of sun as it sits broadside to the South.
This is the first test year to see what will grow outside and what won't. I read that squash plants grow outside, but they've done nothing bar look sick so I'm assuming too cold and windy, but I believe most of the UK has been similar this year, just 1.5 coats warmer than up here. I've got to gamble on the weather getting better or just dig them up and bring them in. The other outside veg are just slow, but again, if the weather gets better hopefully will pick up a bit.

I'm worried it'll be too hot in there for some plants and they'll bolt or suffer, but not sure, yours look ok though.
A halfway house between outside and in is of course cold frames, but a way off having some of those right now.

Then there is the option of growing Winter veg in there. I got a book on it and it isn't really about growing veg in Winter at all, more like storing plants in soil whilst they sit there doing nothing for the coldest months. They'll grow in Autumn and Spring.

Oh and then there is the possibility of using the hot compost to heat the beds in there. Again, lots of research and testing to be done, but atm i'm leaning towards a large household radiator laid flat with plants growing on top. I've already picked up a huge 6 x 2' double for free to use for that.

 

[maz]

Don't diss The Don!
I'll have to do a write up on my PT, but as a beginner I can see lots of inspiration there and your weather is probably similar to ours. I see you've got the 'Brassicas' in there which is interesting (cabbage like plants to us!), some grapes, toms of course which look quite tall and beans. Is that mesh to the left for growing something up? How are you ventilating it?
I need to do a lot more research, but am leaning towards watering via drips on the ground rather than spraying. I'm sure there are pros and cons for both methods and dripping is probably the safer option with my water pressure. The PT is quite big and has a lot more steelwork in the roof area, I specced it to resist storms and give me more options for hanging things from.
I also put doors in either end, but have to be here to open and close them. As long as it's breezy it blows through and vents it ok, but on a still hot day (if we ever get one) it may struggle. Back in March it was 50'c in there with the doors closed on some days and the digi thermometers blacked out, it gets a lot of sun as it sits broadside to the South.
This is the first test year to see what will grow outside and what won't. I read that squash plants grow outside, but they've done nothing bar look sick so I'm assuming too cold and windy, but I believe most of the UK has been similar this year, just 1.5 coats warmer than up here. I've got to gamble on the weather getting better or just dig them up and bring them in. The other outside veg are just slow, but again, if the weather gets better hopefully will pick up a bit.

I'm worried it'll be too hot in there for some plants and they'll bolt or suffer, but not sure, yours look ok though.
A halfway house between outside and in is of course cold frames, but a way off having some of those right now.

Then there is the option of growing Winter veg in there. I got a book on it and it isn't really about growing veg in Winter at all, more like storing plants in soil whilst they sit there doing nothing for the coldest months. They'll grow in Autumn and Spring.

Oh and then there is the possibility of using the hot compost to heat the beds in there. Again, lots of research and testing to be done, but atm i'm leaning towards a large household radiator laid flat with plants growing on top. I've already picked up a huge 6 x 2' double for free to use for that.

I only dis the don because the wife loves him...have you seen the size of his paws? hes got hands like monkeys feet. I tell her that he must be half Orc. She says something about men with big hands have big something else...gloves?

Regarding the specifics of the plants inside that PT, I have no idea...I just get made to do the heavy lifting, dig the base, trench in the water and eleccy, fit the water system. I rarely go in because as you say its tropical temperatures and usually swarming with every insect that can't get back out. She ventilates it with both doors open and in very hot days uses a fan at one door.

I've got a second PT sitting here that needs erected but I need to grade the ground for it first...probably need a post on here asking how to go about that actually!

Regarding the winter growing...here's a video for you, or a can of worms to be precise...growing oranges in winter and since you have a PT and a JCB...nothing stopping you!

 

[Gecko]

I rarely go in because as you say its tropical temperatures

I know that feeling - it's like that every time I go outside

On the plus side, I cut some really nice bananas today.

 

[LKSF]

I only dis the don because the wife loves him...have you seen the size of his paws? hes got hands like monkeys feet. I tell her that he must be half Orc. She says something about men with big hands have big something else...gloves?

View attachment 36288

Regarding the specifics of the plants inside that PT, I have no idea...I just get made to do the heavy lifting, dig the base, trench in the water and eleccy, fit the water system. I rarely go in because as you say its tropical temperatures and usually swarming with every insect that can't get back out. She ventilates it with both doors open and in very hot days uses a fan at one door.

I've got a second PT sitting here that needs erected but I need to grade the ground for it first...probably need a post on here asking how to go about that actually!

Regarding the winter growing...here's a video for you, or a can of worms to be precise...growing oranges in winter and since you have a PT and a JCB...nothing stopping you!

I'll watch it tomorrow, right now it's Countryfile and TopGear I've seen pics of Pineapples grown on hot compost heaps though.
Sadly the PT came before the 803 and it won't fit in....

If you saw the size of my hands you'd be off down the road sharpish

 

[LKSF]

Going back a bit to last year here, we were just moving in and had loads of stuff to shift. Previous to this move K had moved in with me and put her whole house and worldly goods in a 40ft container we bought. The plan was to fill it some more and bring it with us when we moved. Instant storage and for future use too.
Problem was when we found this place there was no way a truck with a 40ft container was going to get down the track so we sold that container (at profit as prices had gone silly), another container too and shifted the contents of both over here.
Plus a yard full of stuff and the contents of a large workshop too, machines, stock, cars, everything.
What we had here was a double garage and a small barn and it soon became apparent it was not all going to fit in.
I knew the weather out here would be a bit rough so we could make use of a PT in the future, they have multiple uses from growing, firewood prep, drying and storage, workshop etc and for now, just storage and a few plants.

NorthernPolytunnels had a good rep, a very useful website and weren't far away so I contacted them with a decent spec, did a deal and went to pick up.
I have to say they were very good to deal with. They have a great post anchoring system whereby you screw the bases into the ground like a corkscrew.
It wasn't going to work here, it's more stone than soil. How many people dig the garden with a road drill powered by an old Magirus, not many yet there I was.

Disiski mixes up the compo:

All done and ready for the hoops:

Basic framework going up:

I knew i'd hung onto those Festoon site lights for a good reason. Just didn't know what that reason was until now:

All metalwork completed, polythene tensioned up and locked in place:

 

[maz]

Looks very sturdy...I like the crop bars, might need to fit them in our new one. Don't envy your soil though...ours can be stony enough to jam the petrol auger occasionally but not bad enough to warrant that sort of equipment! How do you plan on organising it, raised beds or just planting straight into ground?

 

[LKSF]

Looks very sturdy...I like the crop bars, might need to fit them in our new one. Don't envy your soil though...ours can be stony enough to jam the petrol auger occasionally but not bad enough to warrant that sort of equipment! How do you plan on organising it, raised beds or just planting straight into ground?

It is every bit as bad too, i'm not exaggerating, you've got to forget a spade and reach for a pick-axe instead
If I'd had the digger before I would have maybe dug it out and then put the PT there, even now I could hire a mini-digger, but would have to be very careful not to hit the PT with it.
I think for now it will be raised beds with soil brought in from elsewhere, mainly because it's quick, simple and easy. Maybe in the future I could start digging down, pulling it out and sieving it bit by bit as I do prefer planting straight into the ground. It has the advantage of being naturally moist and you can get in with a rotovator once a year too.
Bringing soil in is expensive. Very expensive if you buy good quality screened stuff. I went cheap so am having to work around the clay and the hundreds of weeds which are springing up from it now. You overcome it, it just takes time and effort.
One thing which improves clay soil is Gypsum. The house has been wrongly plastered out with this stuff so it's all to take out. I intend to mix it with the clay soil, both in the garden/PT and on the fields too as they are mostly clay.

I've been pondering how to screen the stones out of the soil, one method is to buy an old concrete mixer (the type which the drum spins right over) and blast holes in it with the plasma. Pick the soil up with the digger, drop it into the mixer with a few bricks or similar in there and set it off going.
That or cut large holes out of the drum and weld mesh in them.

 

[doobin]

It is every bit as bad too, i'm not exaggerating, you've got to forget a spade and reach for a pick-axe instead
If I'd had the digger before I would have maybe dug it out and then put the PT there, even now I could hire a mini-digger, but would have to be very careful not to hit the PT with it.
I think for now it will be raised beds with soil brought in from elsewhere, mainly because it's quick, simple and easy. Maybe in the future I could start digging down, pulling it out and sieving it bit by bit as I do prefer planting straight into the ground. It has the advantage of being naturally moist and you can get in with a rotovator once a year too.
Bringing soil in is expensive. Very expensive if you buy good quality screened stuff. I went cheap so am having to work around the clay and the hundreds of weeds which are springing up from it now. You overcome it, it just takes time and effort.
One thing which improves clay soil is Gypsum. The house has been wrongly plastered out with this stuff so it's all to take out. I intend to mix it with the clay soil, both in the garden/PT and on the fields too as they are mostly clay.

I've been pondering how to screen the stones out of the soil, one method is to buy an old concrete mixer (the type which the drum spins right over) and blast holes in it with the plasma. Pick the soil up with the digger, drop it into the mixer with a few bricks or similar in there and set it off going.
That or cut large holes out of the drum and weld mesh in them.

You used to be able to buy a screening drum to fit the Belle mixers- a good idea I thought.

 

[V8Druid]

It is every bit as bad too, i'm not exaggerating, you've got to forget a spade and reach for a pick-axe instead
If I'd had the digger before I would have maybe dug it out and then put the PT there, even now I could hire a mini-digger, but would have to be very careful not to hit the PT with it.
I think for now it will be raised beds with soil brought in from elsewhere, mainly because it's quick, simple and easy. Maybe in the future I could start digging down, pulling it out and sieving it bit by bit as I do prefer planting straight into the ground. It has the advantage of being naturally moist and you can get in with a rotovator once a year too.
Bringing soil in is expensive. Very expensive if you buy good quality screened stuff. I went cheap so am having to work around the clay and the hundreds of weeds which are springing up from it now. You overcome it, it just takes time and effort.
One thing which improves clay soil is Gypsum. The house has been wrongly plastered out with this stuff so it's all to take out. I intend to mix it with the clay soil, both in the garden/PT and on the fields too as they are mostly clay.

I've been pondering how to screen the stones out of the soil, one method is to buy an old concrete mixer (the type which the drum spins right over) and blast holes in it with the plasma. Pick the soil up with the digger, drop it into the mixer with a few bricks or similar in there and set it off going.
That or cut large holes out of the drum and weld mesh in them.

Red Rhino were making screeners out of mixer drums

 

[V8Druid]

You used to be able to buy a screening drum to fit the Belle mixers- a good idea I thought.

didn't know that

 

[maz]

This will do the job, been up 11 weeks, might be able to get a hefty discount on it I just got a 2nd hand Scheppach (much smaller) for the missus and her PT.

Cut some blue barrels in half length ways or old oil drums and make a chute to feed it with the JCB bucket and away you go!

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[V8Druid]

hard pushed to make it for that ... expamet is not cheap ... perforated sheet is worse

 

[V8Druid]

This will do the job, been up 11 weeks, might be able to get a hefty discount on it I just got a 2nd hand Scheppach (much smaller) for the missus and her PT.

Cut some blue barrels in half length ways or old oil drums and make a chute to feed it with the JCB bucket and away you go!

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View attachment 36321

any good?? ... see them about quite often and wondered