* A grower with a 30-foot-wide greenhouse bought a 30-foot-wide irrigation boom. He didn't realize this logic was flawed until he began the installation.

* To maximize the efficiency of a new radiant heating system, engineers placed the heaters in the ridge of a greenhouse range. But the grower had installed retractable heat-retention curtains at gutter height, making the heaters useless when the curtains were closed.

* A grower wanted to maximize bench space in a 90-by-30-foot greenhouse, so he purchased 2,700 square feet of bench material. Someone forgot to leave room for aisles.

These comical mistakes aren't so funny when you think of the money they cost the greenhouse operators. They happen all too often when growers fail to plan or communicate effectively with suppliers or builders.

Modern greenhouses have a wide range of equipment available to run environmental and irrigation systems. Throw in labor-saving devices such as conveyors, monorails and booms and a greenhouse can get crowded.

6 integration tips

Here are six tips to ensure all your equipment is integrated appropriately during the building or retrofitting process.

1. Get suppliers' help.

Greenhouse and supplier manufacturers are often the first place to go for information. This is their area of expertise and they can help you make sure all the parts fit and work together.

Wilson Farms Inc. in Lexington, Mass., is building a 40,000-square-foot glass Rough Brothers range, said senior manager Keith Hutchins.

"When doing research for the project, we talked to many different companies. Some wanted to limit what equipment we could use in the range and we dropped them from consideration early on," Hutchins said. "We didn't want to limit what we had available. Larger companies seemed to be more receptive to our ideas."

Any respectable vendor should be able to walk growers through the process, said Pat Coleman, sales manager of Agra Tech Inc. in Pittsburg, Calif. If problems arise, they should be detected during the planning phase.

"We haven't seen any big mistakes in the last 15 or 16 months other than a grower not letting us know he needed to work from both sides of his benches, which threw off the designs," Coleman said.

2. Visit other growers.

Another good source of information is other growers. Most are willing to show their facilities to colleagues and explain the pros and cons of their equipment and structures.

"Go out and visit facilities to see what's out there. See what other people are doing. That's your best bet," said Brett Sanders, general manager of Seminis Vegetable Seeds in Woodland, Calif.

Reading trade publications and visiting trade shows can also help you learn what equipment is available.

"But you've got to be careful about that, too," Sanders said. "The equipment in the ads and articles may not fit your needs. They may not work for what you're trying to do the way they do in the pictures."

3. Get the environment right first.

The first step in planning a greenhouse should be making sure you can provide the environment your crops need. After that is completed, then you can add more features such as automated irrigation systems.

"Make sure you get the environmental controls right first. That has such a direct effect on everything else you do from timing to crop quality," said Louis Albright, Cornell University professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

Rather than designing heating and cooling systems yourself, it's often best to give your specifications to suppliers and let them come up with the plans, said Werner Rader, facilities manager of Ball Horticultural Co. in West Chicago, Ill. Rader has been involved in five greenhouse construction projects in the last five years. He receives the environmental needs from greenhouse managers and passes this information to vendors.

If a manufacturer advises certain specifications, it's best to stick with them rather than trying to cut expenses, said Jim Nelson, marketing manager for Jaderloon Co. in Irmo, S.C.

"They know what's needed, such as what size fans are necessary for the evaporative coolers to be effective," Nelson said. "If growers try to save a couple hundred dollars, they may not be doing themselves a favor because their cooling system will never be effective."

After environmental controls, then you can get into details such as bench sizes, which can be a big decision, Coleman said.

"If you know little details such as what tray sizes you're going to be growing in, you can make better decisions," Coleman said. "If you buy 6 1/2-foot-wide benches and you're going to be using 11-by-22-inch trays, you may be buying bench space you don't need."

4. Make sure it all fits.

When purchasing equipment from different suppliers, make sure it will work inside your model greenhouse. Most equipment can be integrated, but still some growers find problems, Albright said.

The National Greenhouse Manufacturers Association has helped suppliers work together, said Ed Goldsmith, engineering manager of Stuppy Greenhouse Manufacturing Inc. in North Kansas City, Mo.

"Environmental controls, shade systems, irrigation booms -- all these manufacturers are working to make sure they match different greenhouse designs," Goldsmith said. "They're designing different mounting features so they work with different truss features. Through the years they've created a lot of brackets that make their equipment very adaptable."

When choosing a manufacturer, consider what services they provide, Sanders said.

"The structure is one thing, but service is also important. If they promise to deliver something to you one day and it's not there, guess what? You're off schedule," Sanders said. "Price is one thing, but only a part of what you're looking for."

Also check to see if multiple vendors handle a certain manufacturer's product. If one vendor offers better service, that may influence your buying decision.

5. Know who's responsible for installation.

Equipment installation can be handled by the equipment manufacturers, the greenhouse manufacturers or the growers' employees. Establish who is responsible for what jobs before the project begins.

If your crews are constructing the greenhouse themselves, make sure they are qualified and have detailed assembly instructions from the manufacturer, Coleman said.

"If you're putting in automated environmental controls, make sure you have an electrician who's experienced with dealing with computer controls. You need someone who knows what he's doing," Coleman said.

Poor instructions can lead to delays. Agra Tech has a technical support line growers can call with questions, Coleman said.

"I heard one story about a grower putting up a greenhouse and all the manufacturer sent him was eight Polaroid photos. Those obviously aren't the detailed instructions you need," Coleman said.

6. Watch your costs.

Without knowing all the factors involved, a greenhouse construction project can run thousands of dollars over budget.

Louis Stacy, owner of Stacy's Greenhouse in York, S.C., said you can almost count on construction costing more than you expect. He recently completed construction of a 145,000-square-foot Jaderloon retractable-roof greenhouse. It included 29 21-by-240-foot bays, 4,000 feet of conveyors, 145 horizontal airflow fans, 29 gas unit heaters, 15 exhaust fans, 29 irrigation booms and 58 220-foot automated hanging basket systems from Cherry Creek Systems.

"It was an enormous job," Stacy said. "It took $150,000-$200,000 just to wire it. We had four to six people working at once putting up conduit and pulling wires. That process itself took 11 weeks."

For more:
Wilson Farms Inc., 10 Pleasant St., Lexington, MA 02173; (617) 862-3900; fax (617) 863-0469.
Agra Tech Inc., 2131 Piedmont Way, Pittsburg, CA 94565; (925) 432-3399; fax (925) 432-3521.
Louis Albright, Cornell University, Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; (607) 255-2483; fax (607) 255-4080.
Ball Horticultural Co., P.O. Box 335, West Chicago, IL 60185-2698; (630) 231-3600; fax (630) 231-3507.
Jaderloon Co. Inc., Box 685, Irmo, SC 29063; (803) 798-4000; fax (803) 798-6584.
Stuppy Greenhouse Manufacturing Inc., P.O. Box 12456; North Kansas City, MO 64116; (816) 842-3071; fax (800) 423-1512.
Stacy Greenhouse, 2121 Quarry Road, York, SC 29745; (803) 628-5100; fax (803) 684-0472.

. © 1999 Branch-Smith Publishing