August 24, 2020 at 2:33 p.m.
Automatic rainwater collection apparatus installed at Rhinelander Area Food Pantry
Automatic rainwater collection apparatus installed at Rhinelander Area Food Pantry
By Stephanie Kuski-
The RAFP Greenhouse functions in cooperation with the Rhinelander Area Community Garden, where volunteers and members of the Master Gardeners of the North grow produce for food pantry clients.
One such Master Gardener is Tom Jerow, who is also the garden curator at the RAFP Greenhouse and community garden.
Jerow said the greenhouse, which was initially donated by the local Kiwanis chapter, has been in operation for about seven years now. Collectively, the greenhouse and community garden provides about 5,000 pounds of fresh produce annually to locals via the RAFP, according to its website.
In addition, Jerow said they also give away approximately 300 to 500 starter plants every year so clients can grow their own food at home. The seeds for these starters often start out in the greenhouse, and many are given away to clients but some go to the community garden to be harvested later in the season.
But before this automatic rainwater collection apparatus was installed, Jerow said it was very labor-intensive to keep the greenhouse operating during the humid summer months, since the plants need to be watered frequently when the temperature is hot. This takes a lot of time and effort from both Jerow and other volunteers who are needed at the community garden, he explained.
Because of this, there simply wasn't enough manpower to keep both the greenhouse and community garden running all season long. For that reason, Jerow said the greenhouse previously operated only in April and May, when there's enough sunlight for growth but temperatures are not hot enough to require frequent watering.
"It was bothering me that we weren't utilizing it more," Jerow said. "There's good, clean water that was just being run off into the creek over here. We just thought it's more sustainable to use that rainwater."
"It's better than using city water, because it's nice soft rain water," he added.
To make that dream a reality Jerow enlisted the help of RAFP volunteers Dave Noel and Mike Haasl.
Noel, a retired electrical engineer, said the first step in the project was to fit the greenhouse with electricity. That power is needed to pump the water from the barrel collecting rainwater from the rain gutter to the greenhouse, and to power the exhaust fans that control the temperature inside. But rather than run electricity underground, they decided to use solar panels.
"The three solar panels go through a little charge controller that charges some 12-volt batteries, then those 12-volt batteries run exhaust fans when it's too hot in there, so that takes care of the heat," Noel explained. "Then we have a little 12-volt pump... that pumps water from barrels that are inside into a drip watering system, or we can pump water from this big holding tank down and water with that, or fill up the barrels."
"We just move valves," he continued. "We can pump from those barrels, or we can pump them from the big tank, or we can pump into watering cans or a drip system."
To keep the system running, Jerow fills the barrels in the greenhouse with the rainwater collected from the rain gutter every four to five days, but it's simply a matter of turning valves to divert water to the designated holding space.
In addition, the automatic system is on a timer, which takes the added labor of watering everyday out of the equation. With hotter temperatures these past few weeks, Jerow said he has had the timer set to water twice daily on a 12-hour cycle. In all, that's about 250 gallons of water every four to five days.
The system was also set up with as much flexibility as possible, Noel added, since temperatures and precipitation ebb and flow considerably, and the needs of the greenhouse change with the seasons.
By that design, Noel also installed a monitoring system which notifies Jerow when the temperature falls above or below ideal conditions. That way, Jerow can remotely program the system to water more or less frequently or turn the fans on or off as needed.
"It's really a neat system," Jerow commented. "Because of all this, it's been less work... So it really has saved a lot."
Not only does this new system allow for a more efficient growing season, but it also substantially extends the amount of time the greenhouse can operate during the year.
"Our intent is to run from roughly March 1 through up to December," Jerow said. "So it would be almost all year."
Funding for this project was provided through a Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) grant and crowdfunding sourced through SeedMoney.org.
Additionally, this year CoVantage Credit Union, Park City Credit Union and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provided funds that were used to purchase composters and other garden supplies for operations at the Rhinelander Area Community Garden.
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