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best way to pull light dep tarp?

FoothillFarming

Active member
I use the golden arm. Works frickin' great. Cost a fair amount, but well worth it IMO. This is for an 8'T x 12'w x 48L.

I have also just used a 2x4 and wrapped a corner of the tarp to that. Lift over the middle, then pull. However, depending on the size you are talking about, it can be close to impossible in the rain to pull with a 2x4.
 

who dat is

Cave Dweller
Veteran
I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm just about to start pulling tarp on my baby greenhouse. I think I'll just be able to do it by hand but still wanted to hear what is said in this thread. Good luck this season :yes:
 

namaste1

New member
Thanks for the replies.... slipnot thats awesome bro, no fn around huh :) norcallefty tennis balls to throw the rope over nice idea, I may end up trying that one. whodatis thanks for the reply Im doing it by hand as well my greenhouse is 13 high by 20 x 20 and had a hell of a time the other day after it rained it just didn't want to go on at all with the water on the greenhouse film, good luck to you this season bro! Foothill I would love the golden arms but dont have the $ for them but really nice i bet you love having them.
Namaste
 

Slipnot

Member
well how hard is it really to make trays or some kinds catcher run rails of some kind chain driven motor solor cell powered and with timer , just would take trial n error no different then how i made in my Green house window openers on balanced lines walk in and i can open up top section of house
Everyone tends to worry about light dep from outside of there houses why not from inside where you can make it like a drop tent us weights or what ever to make sure it does not move make it somehow breath able etc
Many Great minds can diy up a concept just like in this thread shit this is a great idea make a thread Calling all Diy people in a joint task to make a efficient Diy Light Dep :biggrin:
 

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Deezl

Member
I believe the tennis ball suggestion was that you can wrap a tennis ball in the corner or edge of the tarp and use that to anchor a price of rope the the tarp without ripping it. Then you use the rope to pull the tarp.
 

who dat is

Cave Dweller
Veteran
I just pulled tarp for the first time last night and of course again this morning. Definitely a pain in the dick when doing it with a tarp that hasn't been cut to size yet and especially with a pitched greenhouse instead of a hoophouse.

Looking forward do you guys worry about the increased humidity inside while the tarp is over the greenhouse? I had condensation all on the inside of the greenhouse after pulling the tarp off. I'm trying to think how that will affect the girls in there once they are into mid and late flowering. Being in Colorado though is nice as I'm sure humidity drops immediately after pulling the tarp off and giving it some fresh air.

Thoughts? Thanks guys.
 
People seem to like the one air exchange per minute, I've used centrifugal fans, for a total of 1500 cfm (2 8 inch blowers)on a 10 ×20, but maybe half the cfm made it after the ducting was snaked or light leak prevention. Then we stepped up to 10× 50's, same 2 8 inch blowers with snaked ducting, covering from 5:30 to 8:30. Everything started molding, so serenade spraying started and the mold stopped. Never got to see it to the Finish, everything got chopped down in mid-august right before finish. 1 air exchange per minute should definitely do it. I'm building end walls and putting breathable walls this time, going for that 1 exchange per minute.
 

who dat is

Cave Dweller
Veteran
I was hoping to keep it as cheap, easy, and low tech as possible though as this is only a 6x8 greenhouse with 6 plants in it. Still the same thing though? Get a 4" inline fan or something drawing air from inside the house out?
 
I would go 8 inch, I've scored 3 of them in the past off craigs list between 50 and 75 bucks. I just decided to throw 3 plants in a 10×20 I have, I'm going to go 1 8 inch on each side, one pushing, 1 pulling, and I'm using leftover farm tek black /white poly, double layered, that I have from last summers deps. If you can vapor block the ground with a tarp or something(I'm using an old green home depot tarp), and avoid watering before you dep, maybe you can get away with a 4 inch. Some people cover with no fans around 5:15/5:30 pm and uncover around 8:30/8:45 pm. If yiu have the time/ incination, you could cover at 7:00 pm, uncover at 8:45 pm, cover again at 4:45 am, and uncover at 7:00 to 9:000 am. That would avoid being covered at 5:30 pm with the sun beating down, but who the fuck can wake up at 4:30?
 

NWNR

Member
rope and tennis balls baby

I did this method last year. Works well. I made grommets on the end corners and middle of the plastic, tied ropes to the grommets, and tied tennis balls to the rope. Come dep time, throw the balls over the other side, go around, then pull the rope/plastic over.

This year I'm thinking of running it on a zip-line type system so it's faster. I do it by myself that much plastic can get heavy if there is any moisture.
 

CrushnYuba

Active member
I think the best is going Auto. Roll up is cheapest and most simple. Motors are 200$ a piece. You need 2. Couple pieces of emt for arms and you are in business. Leave end walls blacked out.

Or if you want to cover on the inside manually, use cables from end wall to end wall.

Or low tunnel frame about nose height is easy
 

MedResearcher

Member
Veteran
If you don't leave the tarp on overnight, can reduce the amount of time the flowers are exposed to the increased humidity.

Cut hours in the evening, then pull it off once its dark out. Letting it breathe freely through the night.


Not saying this is a better option than real ventilation or dehumidifiers, but I have had friends cover it all night and mold out, then switch to leaving it open at night after dark and actually make it to harvest.

Another cheapo hillbilly trick... if you can place the tunnel in a location that will get an afternoon shadow while the tarp is pulled, you will get a little less heat and humidity by preventing the sun from hitting the tarp directly. NE side of the mountain, nice big tree, side of a building. So you get all the morning, afternoon sun, pull tarp, get shade, sun goes down, pull tarp off.

Fully automated with climate controls.. drool.. sort of a lot of investment for such a volatile market. Would love to get one, if the market does ok for the next year or two.

Mr^^
 

CrushnYuba

Active member
I second everything med researcher says. My deps are on an east facing hill that don't get much afternoon sun because of the tree line. You can also cover in the morning when it's cool, but no one ever wakes up in time.
Cover at dinner, uncover at bedtime REDUCES need for ventilation. I do it, but last year allot of friends doing it had slow flowering. Think it had allot to do with abnormal lunar activity.

But seriously, if you are going to use a quality tarp and not just cheap 1 year panda, and it's a decent size gh, you might as well go auto. The price is almost the same because you save on how big of a tarp you buy.
Example:-To cover a 20 x60 manually, you need like a 40x100 tarp. To cover with auto depp it only takes 30x60 of tarp. It's less then 400$ of motors and less then 100$ in emt. That's about the same price as the extra 2200 sq ft of quality tarp you need to pull manually.
 

theJointedOne

Active member
Veteran
I think the best is going Auto. Roll up is cheapest and most simple. Motors are 200$ a piece. You need 2. Couple pieces of emt for arms and you are in business. Leave end walls blacked out.

Or if you want to cover on the inside manually, use cables from end wall to end wall.

Or low tunnel frame about nose height is easy

Do you have any blueprints or vids ect showing your design? I'm interested
 
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