Our family loves Brussels Sprouts (don't hate us, please). I have grown them in the garden with mixed success. They are difficult for a couple of reasons. They are a member of the cabbage family, and hence they are like magnets for cabbage bugs. I have tried organic solutions like garlic oil, but the only thing that I have found to be effective is resorting to serious chemical warfare. Second, they are very dependent on the season. Normally they are set out around July 1 in my region. They need the shortening days in order to set the sprouts. In addition, they develop the best taste when they mature in mildly freezing weather (a few degrees below freezing).
I started trying to figure out how to do Brussels Sprouts in a space bucket the first time I visited this sub. One of the challenges is that they can get tall, typically a bit over a meter or a yard high at full growth. Here is a picture of them growing outside. This video shows how you trim them.
From the start I had assumed I would need something tall, probably a garbage can. Then I realized that in my garage I have an old refrigerator that works, but it waiting to go to recycling. The garage itself is under the house, so it doesn't get too hot, even in the summer. I tested the refrigerator and at its lowest setting it freezes water in the main compartment. So here is what I am thinking. I would appreciate any ideas or feedback.
I think I could grow two or three stalks at a time in the refrigerator. I think the big dark green leaves could be trimmed (you have to trim as you grow anyway), and I don't think the overcrowding at the crowns would be a huge problem if I have enough light.
Mechanically, I would probably put holes in the door in order to avoid refrigeration pipes and electrical lines. I would control lighting with a Raspberry Pi. At the most basic setup I would program in day lengths starting July 1 and let the Pi control lighting through a relay. My relay supports 4 circuits so I could actually simulate the day. At sunrise I would turn on the "east" bank of lights and then add a bank every hour or so. The process would be reversed in the evening. Phasing the lights might be overkill, but it would be fairly easy to do. Some time in my simulated October I would cut off the fans and partially cover the openings. I would plug in the refrigerator. I might even run the refrigerator on a simple timer to simulate cold nights and warm days. The lights would go off at night which would reduce the load on the refrigerator. If I want to get sophisticated I could probably use the Pi to turn the fans off at night and close shutters over the openings. The Pi could do other duties such as monitoring temperatures to operate the fans or activate automatic watering. I could even use the Pi to run a webcam from the fridge interior. (Most boring webcam ever!)
I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas.
Submitted December 17, 2014 at 06:32AM by dudleydidwrong http://ift.tt/1sC6HKt SpaceBuckets
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