Notes from Windward: #68

 

Getting Vermadise Ready for Summer

an early hot spell speeds up our timetable


Opalyn:

     With the temperature threatening to top the 100 °F mark we decided it was time to remove the plastic cover from Vermadise and install the shade cloth.

Vermadise uncovered with the crew folding the plastic sheeting in the background
  


     With care the shade cloth was draped over one end of Vermadise then pulled down its length.

  


[Walt: Under the heading of "things that work," in the bottom right-hand of the pic you can see a small photovoltaic panel that's mounted on the roof of the brooding shed. Durring the day the panel charges its internal battery, and when it gets dark, it uses that energy to power a 4 watt flourescent light inside the brood shed. That's not a lot of light, but it appears to be enough to convince the hens to keep laying eggs. We purchased the set up from Harbor Freight.]

     With the shade cloth in place, we reinstalled the wiggle wire. This was especially challenging because the shade cloth had shrunk over the winter.

  


With the shade cloth instead of the plastic sheeting Vermadise is a much cooler place.

  



Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 68