Semi Trailer plant lab/aquaponics/controlled environment.

[shonman]

I am setting up a large aluminum insulated semi trailer for use in propagation plants of various kinds.

inside dimensions: 48 ft. x 8 ft.

Some ethnobotanical, some not....but all are legal here.

We are running electricity into it, and ventilation has been arranged.

I have painted the walls, pressure washed the floor, cleaned it out etc.

At one end,

I would like to set up my M. Speciosa motherplants, under maybe 1000w light.

(about 6x10 or 6x8 ft bed)

These are conventional plants, currently grown in coir,

practically large Bonsai type trees after so many cuttings.

I want to put them in an aquaponic setup,

with water underneath, flowing through either and ebb and flow style 6x8ft bed

(sorry about the ancient measurements)

or through PVC pipes cut in half, etc.

In the front end of this semi trailer, I am considering a couple of options:

a) there will either be 5 or 7 utility shelves on each side, total of 10 to 4 racks,

which have five shelves each that can be used for plants like microgreens, and propagation of plants)

These utility racks shelves, are about 4 ft long, and each shelf is 18" wide.

Each shelf would have two florescent lights above it, with a total of four 35 watt bulbs above each shelf.

Problem: throwing out all those florescent bulbs every two months.

leaving two ft of space in the center to walk through,

perhaps I would have shelves in a 'staircase/ steps' configuration.

and a 1000w or 4000 watt light or maybe several, on a light mover(s)

to illuminate them.

The 'stepped' shelves would be lower in the middle, and higher towards the edges.

Light would move across it all.

Larger plants, and plants requiring less light, would be on lower shelves.

These 'stepped shelves', could also be aised up on a small table type structure possibly,

with florescents in limited numbers underneath those for more propagation space.

c) Making tables with three or four levels, on both sides of the front end of the semi trailer,

which have lights (florescents) above them on each level.

And a 400w or 1000w on a light mover above the top level.

Perhaps these would also be done in an 'ebb and flow' type hydro setup.

Any ideas, opinions, criticisms, or links regarding

Aquaponic DIY setup

Microgreens production

Ebb ands flow grow bed DIY setup

Electricity in humid, all metal spaces

Heating and Cooling

water, pumps, etc.

or any helpful ideas would be appreciated

[Darklight]

48ft...wow. 8ft is narrow tho, make sure you can walk down corridor while carrying large crates or you'll be cursing yourself for eternity. I'd only set up on one side. Is this a tissue culture area as well?

I'm not brave enough to set up whole plants in a space where TC is going on, I'm thinking humidity issues causing contams at the grow room end. And mites. Paper mites. But you do like a challenge...

I have set up and wrangled a few fully enclosed spaces for various research institutes. Here goes...

Rule of thumb for plant growth in fully enclosed environments is that growing plants need at least 5 volumes of air per hour. Office environments only require 0.5 volumes per hour in .au I was told by an aircon bloke. If you are running evaporative cooler ( swamp cooler ) units you will need more airflow than that just to keep the coolers operating properly to hit temperature in summer

If you're keeping the doors shut all the time that amount of airflow makes a helluva current- it needs to reach all the room too, no dead spots. Dehydration is an issue for staff or yourself if you're working in that space longer than 30 minutes. It's easy to miss if temps are around 22C, because it's not hot. First sign of dehydration is crankiness. Headaches can follow. Hydrate. Keep water handy.

If you are using filters in your aircon unit, keep them clean and keep your maintenance up. Clogged or mouldy air filters are a hazard for breathing and reduce airflow

See if you can locate a cheap network setup for temp/ humidity and lights. They're around, but cheap is a relative term. You can get independent waterproof USB humidity/ temp sensors for around $25 each if you buy in bulk, but you will have to check and log them individually. There are Arduino units which can be setup for PAR ( the spectrum of light plants use ) with temp and humidity as well, and these can be networked for logging via a Raspberry Pi or similar. It's a headfuck, but worth it to keep an eye on your lights performance. Most PAR units are around $300 last I checked, and you will want at least five of them- you may as well integrate a Pi/ Arduino system and save some dosh. If I had the dosh I would knock a system like this out and add a few extra units for upscale use in the future

If you are planning to use sprays as any kind of control for pests and pathogens, or as a fertiliser, make sure you can turn the fans off during spraying. Single switch.

Drainage for floors- will you have it? Put some 500 micron mesh under it so critters can't get in. Make the mesh easy to remove so you can clean it- they clog.

I'd use CFL bulbs in a fully enclosed environment, rather than HPS, but you prolly know lighting better than I do. I like CFL because you can be confident they won't get too hot. I'm unfamiliar with the new LED teks but the Home Tissue Culture Newsletter 9 you just pointed me at has some really good writeups on LED technology developments

And finally, my favourite.... plastics. Brassicas hate plastic. If it's the wrong type of plastic- specifically phthalates- and it's outgassing as part of it's normal lifespan, your Brassicaceae species will not thank you. They sicken. This includes plastics used in internal wiring. So either avoid Brassicaceae, which includes lovely plants like Wasabia, or accept that they might not respond well to a fully controlled environment- or make sure that none of the plastics you have around include phthalates in them.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Darklight

[Darklight]

Oh, and invest in a temp alarm which will contact you in an emergency, or if it loses power. Work out what your normal temp fluctuations are by testing them, and then set alarms at +/- 7C so you don't get too many alerts

A research institute a FOAF was working at lost all their research plantlets a few years ago when a sparky forgot to turn a switch back on after an upgrade over Xmas. Hot summers here, the temps got up to 42C outside, and the roof was tin, poorly insulated. They had loggers, but no alarm system. Get one for any fridge/ freezers in there as well. I believe they're cheap to set up if you have an existing network. Cold storage outages suck donkey dicks if you aren't there to move important stuff fast

Edited December 28, 2014 by Darklight

[shonman]

Thanks, Darklight!

VERY helpful, as always.

Micropropagation lab will be elsewhere.

Maybe in an old Airstream type trailer I could convert, or just indoors most likely.

(edited off color joke about date with Cold Storage Outages)

Edited December 28, 2014 by shonman

[Alice]

Pics please!

Sounds awesome

[Darklight]

Ah- drainage. If you aren't going to install drainage, use a wet/dry vacuum cleaner with large capacity. Get one which easily switches to wet/dry functions. And read the manual on upkeep for it. A large unit can suck up a lot of water and keeping the area less damp can help with pests and contam

Fully enclosed growth systems mean a lot of pests IME. In the past I've used sulphur burners nightly on timers to minimise spraying. This prolly won't suit you as sulphur gas can have a deleterious effect on some metals over time. Plus you don't want your sulphur burners on- ever- while you're in there, as the gas is toxic. In the past I've set timers for 3am, made sure the fans are switched off 15 min before and after so the gas has time to penetrate all areas, and made very sure that when the gas gets blown out when the fans go back on that there is no-one around who might breathe it.

Still, like I said, that prolly won't be practical for you. Yellow sticky traps should give you an idea of your pest load tho, and you can determine your response from there

[shonman]

Thanks, Darklight!

How can I entirely eliminate scale insects?

I don't have any biting flies in culture to try out my idea of them eating scale and mites right now..

any suggestions?!!!

Alice- Yes, pix are a good idea.

We have painted and cleaned the inside, now , I will photograph construction.

I like pictures better than words, too.

Edited December 29, 2014 by shonman

[Darklight]

The best way to keep out all bugs is not to crowd your plants, to keep the inside of the unit clean. Keep the floors clean too, bugs will track across messy floors. There's not a way to keep bugs out that's 100% but reducing the number of hideouts for them is a basic a lot of ppl forget

You could keep scale-farming ants out with pots elevated in larger buckets of water, and make sure no plant part touches the walls or floors, but indoors and in a closed environment that potentially raises other problems

I wish I had a better answer, if I did I'd be rich and famous

[shonman]

maybe the black lady bugs would eat the scale as advertised??

(If only I could sell the scale insects to coffee shops for red coloring....this is often used as a food dye)

Edited December 30, 2014 by shonman

[shonman]

Pictures have begun Will re size and load them later

[shonman]

I am not going to set up like this, but it is Informative.

 

[shonman]

Here are some (sized) pictures of progress on the semi trailer plant lab...in progress.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Lucky boy! Man I'd have enough fun just doing the plans for that thing! You could do some magical stuff there, benches up both sides, running into a centre table etc it could be a real feng shui maze if you've got the knack ;)

[Alice]

Fucking awesome Shonman! Can't wait to see it full of plants!

[Bigred]

I would recomend using s perlite auto pot system or a aeroponics system to reduce weight . Also

in regards to lighting get a light rail as it moves your lamp back and forth . will update been super busy