# Anyone have a growing, farming, or garden hobby? **URL:** \ **Category:** random\ **Created:** [January 28, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728 "2020-01-28T20:54:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/1 "2020-01-28T20:54:17Z")
One of the many hobbies I use to spread myself too thin in life is gardening, and some tree propagation. Anyone else on kirupa doing anything similar? I wanted to share this hoop house I built in my yard a few months ago to experiment in. My next step, hopefully before spring, is to nerd it up with a raspberry pi and automation…which I currently have no experience with. I plan to automatically roll up the sides based on temp using two DC motors. Then of course auto watering, fans and monitoring…i may then build a robot to eat the food, as I do not like lettuce. ![IMG_20191203_084102002](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/0/0ae7efe4889e215977b30abeb2e9bb7164b402e2.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![kvapster](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/kvapster/32/9132_2.png) [@kvapster](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/kvapster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/2 "2020-01-29T04:05:41Z")
I grow various types of herbs. Basil, mint,oregano, etc. Things to put in food! I also like planting mostly evergreen for landscaping, since they stay pretty and green all winter, like holly and rue. Rue is phototoxic but is very pretty. The berries on the holly really stand out in the snow. ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/3 "2020-01-29T04:43:55Z")
Same here with the food, my wife takes care of the salad herbs, but I grow the standard home garden foods. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, potatoes, corn and watermelons sometimes. Apple trees roselle hibiscus has been an interesting one. It produces a sour bud for tea or alcohol mixes. My favorite is also evergreens. I’ve been planting quite a bit of thuja around my property. Super fast growth rate its oddly exciting. Also hinoki cypress. I plan to get some Holly this year, rue however, I had not heard of but I think I’ll skip that one based on the blister rash arms that came up on Google 😁 ---
**Author:** ![kirupa](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/kirupa/32/11616_2.png) [@kirupa](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/kirupa)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:41am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/4 "2020-01-29T05:41:16Z")
I feel like both @senocular and @TheCanadian may have some things to share here 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TheCanadian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheCanadian](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/TheCanadian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 7:03am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/5 "2020-01-29T07:03:04Z")
I used to work on a ranch with up to 2000 cattle in the feedlot in the winter. And we grew about a thousand acres of oats and barley. Probably the same amount in hay. Your greenhouse automation sounds fun! I love projects like that. Let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![senocular](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/senocular/32/7217_2.png) [@senocular](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/senocular)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 1:31pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/6 "2020-01-29T13:31:17Z")
I have a couple of plastic plants in my kitchen and livingroom that also stay pretty and green all winter. ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/7 "2020-01-29T13:56:22Z")
That sounds like a serious farm. I thought my 1 dog and 20x40ft garden was a lot. The automation should be a fun project. I know I at least have to get the side roll up motors going or it will bake out at crazy high temperature in the spring. It already hits 90 on a sunny winter day. There isn’t a whole lot of info on the roll up motors. I think they are mostly used in China, but I know I have to then supply my own relay, power supply, controls, timers. That’s where the raspberry pi starts to look good as a central controller for everything, plus expansion. ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/10 "2020-03-10T12:48:25Z")
You guys can just delete this entire thread if its going to be a continuous spam magnet. Its been solved anyway by use of plastic foliage ---
**Author:** ![senocular](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/senocular/32/7217_2.png) [@senocular](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/senocular)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/11 "2020-03-10T14:42:46Z")
We’ll let it roll for a little while longer. There may be more discussion on romaine in the near future here 😉 . If it gets to spam-busy, we can lock it. ---
**Author:** ![kirupa](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/kirupa/32/11616_2.png) [@kirupa](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/kirupa)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/12 "2020-03-10T21:54:05Z")
Yes! If the spam is entertaining, we can just remove the links and keep the spam as-is! ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/16 "2021-04-11T20:30:38Z")
I’ll have to post an update to this at some point, but i did end up automating the roll up sides last year with motors, and it worked shocking well actually. I thought it would be a trial and error mess of plastic in the wind but it pretty much worked first shot. Im sitting in here now thinking it needs some multi color disco led strips to make it weirder at night. Pretty sure my suburb neighbors already assume its a cannabis tent, which it is not. This has been my first time with any greenhouse/hoop house and it’s definitely fun. In the day if you don’t open the sides its a crazy sauna in here ![PXL_20210411_202308785](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/9/91bf56ff649c08d3fcf1f1efb387a9d3fbd09b55.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![kirupa](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/kirupa/32/11616_2.png) [@kirupa](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/kirupa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/17 "2021-04-11T22:09:12Z")
Wow! That looks really nice 🪴 ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/18 "2021-04-11T23:42:46Z")
I recall an old conversation about which is nerdier. Solder or coding. This project can fulfill both! ---
**Author:** ![TheCanadian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheCanadian](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/TheCanadian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/19 "2021-04-12T05:07:54Z")
@tbo Got a video of the sides rolling up? All this education and I’m still watching cows in the middle of the night. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/b/b15cccdce093d48e9ffc6949b3b9238facfd8aec.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:38am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/20 "2021-04-12T10:38:34Z")
Ill take a video when things get going soon. Its still turned off for the winter. I was just looking through photos for a video and stumbled on a darth vader appearance. The small motor shown travels up and down the pole, spinning the horizontal pole. ![IMG_20200416_164948](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/d/d86a2b111591a0d0c1d1805e4d978ff727418e13.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:39am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/21 "2021-04-12T10:39:54Z")
![IMG_20200416_165338](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/9/9da18378549276aeacf9eb5e889550f8dd158e20.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![TheCanadian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheCanadian](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/TheCanadian)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/22 "2021-04-13T02:24:21Z")
Oh that’s pretty slick. Did you make that bearing assembly yourself? ---
**Author:** ![tbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@tbo](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/tbo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:17am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/anyone-have-a-growing-farming-or-garden-hobby/641728/23 "2021-04-13T10:17:45Z")
No, i did modify it with some scrap material which is why you see the long non matching bolts, but i bought two of them used for cheap. Otherwise i was planning to make that part a pipe sliding over the main pipe. I don’t think it needs bearings or wheels at all, though it may be quieter ![41dbEw6Z3vL.AC](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/2X/c/c33037d142e3339874293f86ec5c8100cc7bf6b5.jpeg)