NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS 



Innovations — 

 Hampshire Fields 



People driving along Route 

 Four in Northwood may have 

 noticed a new greenhouse/gar- 

 den center complex and that 

 the greenhouse has an unusual 

 roof design. The name of the 

 operation is Hampshire Fields 

 and the man responsible for 

 the unique roof line is the 

 owner, Andrew Walters. 



The design is based on an 

 idea Bob Butler (Butler Insur- 

 ance) brought to John Bartok 

 and Bob Aldrich of the Depart- 

 ment of Agricultural Engineer- 

 ing at the University of Con- 

 necticut in Storrs. A triangle 

 is stable: "A four-sided figure 

 can flop," Walters explained, 

 "but a three-sided figure is 

 fixed — you can pull it in any 

 direction — it won't change 

 shape." So — for the greatest 

 strength possible — the idea was 

 to design a roof that would be 

 built of only triangular compo- 

 nents. 



Bartok and Aldrich were in- 

 trigued and constructed a 

 40x36' prototype, then a more 

 sophisticated version after that. 



The greenhouse Walters 

 built (Walters, by the way, is a 

 licensed mechanical engineer) 

 is a refinement of these struc- 

 tures. It consists of five 20x36' 

 sections connected to create 

 one 100x36' space. The frame 

 is epoxy-coated steel. There is 

 a 2' skirt wall of T-lll panel- 



ing. The polycarbonate walls 

 above the skirt walls are 8' 

 high. 



The roof — built of custom- 

 fabricated 11x37x39' triangular 

 units — is at first glance a series 

 of twenty-foot wide, five-foot 

 high gables. But each peak on 

 the front is directly opposite the 

 low point of a valley on the 

 back. (And vice-versa.) This 

 configuration creates a line of 

 rising fan-shaped ridges that al- 

 ternate with descending fan- 

 shaped furrows. 



Trusses laid into the plane of 

 each unit repeat the triangular 

 motif. There are no internal 

 supports: the 3600 square-foot 

 interior is open, with no ob- 

 structions. 



There are no fans. Each 36' 

 side has three 4x12' hinged 

 units that open outward and 

 used for venting. And each 

 gable is divided into two 

 10x5x11' inwardly-opening 

 hinged triangular units. For 

 these, an entire side (10 units) 

 will be opened and shut by a 

 hand-operated chain-drive worm 

 gear. 



The house is heated by two 

 gas-fired modine heaters, one at 

 either end. Heat retention in 

 winter and 20% shade in sum- 

 mer will be provided by a mo- 

 torized curtain. 



Production is still evolving — 

 although nursery stock and spe- 

 cialty plants are bought in, most 

 crops in the greenhouse are 

 grown from seed. And Walters 



is experimenting with hydropon- 

 ics for greenhouse vegetable pro- 

 duction. 



In spite of all the innovation, 

 it's still a famfly business. 

 Walters' wife Mary, mother 

 Toni, and brother Greg all have 

 a place in the new operation. 

 (B.P.) 



(The address of Hampshire Fields 

 is Route 4, Box 21 5 A, North- 

 wood, Neui Hampshire 03261 . 

 The phone number is 603-942- 

 5300. Visitors are welcome.) 



TangleMTood Gardens — 

 September Sixteenth 



UNH Cooperative Extension is 

 organizing a Twilight Meeting 

 on Wednesday, September 16, 

 at the Komisarek family's 

 Tanglewood Gardens in Bedford 

 ("on Route 101 just down the 

 hill from The Weathervane"). 



People will have a chance to 

 look over the operation, see the 

 new greenhouse, and talk about 

 poinsettia production. Topics 

 will include whitefly control, 

 greenhouse IPM, disease prob- 

 lems, and utilizing DIF. 



For information, contact Mar- 

 garet Hagen (603-673-2510) or 

 Nancy Adams (603-679-5616). 



(This issue's Calendar also lists 

 two twilight meetings sponsored 

 by the New Hampshire Land- 

 scape Association — one in Derry 

 on August 19 and one in South 



6 THE PLANTSMAN 



