Control Systems

So, my friend Faraz Ahmad of Farfon, and I started thinking about how to improve the quality of information we receive, and the basics we identified initially were weather information, in and outside the tunnel.

Initially we have decided to use the I2C boards with temperature, pressure, humidity and light sensor. These are pre-fabricated. This'll help us get to speed quickly, and also save us from doing the pcb stuff. We've also ordered components, so that they can be added on a daughterboard to Farfon itself and we can build it from there.

The idea is to get the basics down, then add EC and PH for hydroponics use later.

Hoes

No, Yawee, don't get your ears prickled. First step before the strawberry plugs are planted is to prepare the land. Now, we'd sent the soil and water to the good folks at Thokar, who charged us the massive amount of Rs11 for soil and water testing, the results are due back in 2 weeks. However, strawberries like slightly acidic (PH6-7), sandy soil, with lots of organic material and good drainage. This we seemed to have already, so Tariq (my main help at the farm) had the land prepared with a few turns of double-disc tractor, when the soil was nicely loose and pulverised, he made rows for plantation.

Unfortunately, he used the equipment available locally, which was suitable for onions and the like, but not for strawberries, and we decided eventually to redo the rows. We ran a begging to AWT for their beg maker, and rented it out for Rs 1000, who came promptly thanks to a kind word from the Colonel and in a matter of a couple of hours our beds were level, flat and wide. Ready for plantation.

Tunnels, Straw 'n Berries

Come Fall 2009, dearly beloved and I started thinking on how to best use the small parcel of land we have in Heer. We're very interested in working on hydrpoponics, but thats at a later stage. Initially, and as rightly recommended by Mian Tariq Munir of AbacusTech fame, we opted initially to start our learning with tunnel farming. Per chance, there was an insert in our regular Sunday rag, about PARCO and the Punjab Agriculture department efforts to promote tunnel farming. Mohsin, a knowledgeable and nice instructor conducted a half-day session, where I met the Guffaw Auntie, who has 15 odd acres in Raiwind and wants to do something with them as well. Eventually, turned out that PARCO were a tad bit too expensive for our tastes (Rs 250k setup per acre, Rs 50k per acre consulting).

Lo, MTM to the rescue once again. He found a nearby farm, Army Welfare Trust, across the BRB, and we paid them a visit. Lovely people, the Colonel Abbas and his main technical guy, Abdussamad. They had planted roughly 65 acres of tunnels. More interestingly, we ran into Strawberry Khan there, who had just showed up on the Colonel's doorstep with 200k paneri of strawberry straight from Swat. That got us thinking. We scrapped the idea of tunnel farms all over, and decided instead on putting a majority of the portion to strawberry, no tunnels required, good cash crop and we all love strawberries anyway.

So, it was decided there and then that Abdussamad would pay us a visit, which he did, certified the land was OK and as we were running late (gotta catch the high prices in the beginning of the season) we placed an order for 25k paneri from the Khan at Rs2 each, delivered.

They showed up on the 7th of November, which by happy coincidence happened to be the day Khala Saeeda gave my newborn butt the first of many spanks it'd receive during my life.

Charter

Welcome to the Bedian Road Nature Company!
No, we are not nudists in clothing, we are nudists in principles!
The BRNC will provide a central point of coordination for all forward thinking denizens of this thriving suburb on the outskirts of Lahore. If you're thinking of moving here, this is the best place to start!