Hi Naysen,
You wrote:
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"Maybe we need to encase the tomato plants in miniature bio-domes... that way we can control every aspect of their environment. Produce the worlds best and most artificial tomato plants. "
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Hum...... sounds suspiciously like a greenhouse to me
! Maybe I'm really a greenhouse grower at heart who just can't admit the truth
. Naw, I love being out in the garden too much for that.
Actually my garden cooler is a very simple concept. Sort of a variant of the DIY swamp coolers using a fan and a "wet wall' as shown in some youtube videos. The "wet wall" in my case is just a wall of damp agribon about 4' x 30' long and the "fan" is just our natural breeze.
I attached some agribon 15 to the chain link fence that runs parallel to and about 3' away from my tomato beds. The material goes from about 1' off the ground (room for the weed wacker at the bottom of the fenceline) to the top of the fence at 5' tall. The fence runs east-west and faces south. A light to moderate breeze generally blows from the south. My plan is to use a 1/4" drip soaker hose at the top of the fence to dribble water down the abribon wall on an intermittent basis to keep the agribon damp on excessively hot days. The breeze coming through the damp material should, in theory, act like a swamp cooler to cool down the main garden a few degrees. Some problems so far - but I think I can get them worked out eventually.... we'll see.....
Anne