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Mini Domes Extend Garden Season
Dan Koffler's plastic-covered mini domes let him add several weeks to the beginning and end of his gardening season.
"I put these together for my own use and they worked very well," says Koffler, of Salem, Oregon. "Other people were interested in them, too, so I've made more for sale. I've done some research in
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Mini Domes Extend Garden Season FARM HOME Miscellaneous 28-1-32 Dan Koffler's plastic-covered mini domes let him add several weeks to the beginning and end of his gardening season.
"I put these together for my own use and they worked very well," says Koffler, of Salem, Oregon. "Other people were interested in them, too, so I've made more for sale. I've done some research into the design and am now putting together a patent application for them."
Koffler makes both oblong and round domes, using 1/2-in. schedule 40 PVC pipe for ribs. "I bought a commercial plastic seamer so I can make the cover in two layers," he says. Using the seamer, he welds pockets for the ribs in two sheets of plastic. "I use 60 mil plastic for the outer layer, and 40 mil for the inner layer," he says.
He heats and preforms the ribs, so they are rigid without putting too much pressure on the plastic. The ribs fit into T-joints placed at intervals in a base, also made of PVC pipe.
So far, he's making only one size of round dome. It has 8 ribs and a diameter of 32 in. Like the ribs, the base for this round dome is heated and shaped.
He says the oblong dome looks like a small quonset hut. It's 4 ft. long and 32 in. wide, with 6 evenly spaced arches. He uses 6-mil plastic to seal the ends.
To keep the domes in place, Koffler uses big (32-penny) nails, inserted through a PVC pipe clip before they're pushed into the soil, with the clip over the base. "These hold the domes securely, even in high winds," he says.
"To open the round domes, you have to slide the clips off the base and pick it up. With the oblong dome, you can slip the clips off the base on one side and the clips on the other side act like a hinge, so it just swings open," he says.
Koffler is in the beginning stages of setting up for marketing, but plans to have domes available sometime soon. He's still working out the price, but expects them to be easily affordable for both home gardeners and commercial growers.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Koffler, 180 Kenwood Av. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301 (ph 503 399-1052; email: dkoffler@msn.com).
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