1. Prepare the location
Your Harvster will need level ground to sit on. You can put it directly on grass, on a
raised bed, or a hard standing like concrete or brick. If your foundation is not flat and
level, your lid and doors won't operate smoothly, so it's worth putting the effort in
now.
The rainwater collection system also requires a flat and level base. A slope of 5% (1 in
20) is just about OK.
Sunshine
Put your Harvster somewhere that gets as much sun as possible; grow lights will help
germinate seeds and provide a bit of top-up light, but they are not a complete
substitute for the sun. The solar panel (if you’re running off grid) can be placed up to
3m away from the main unit.
Power
Mains power is not needed unless you add heaters and/or grow lights. If you do add
mains power, you will need to work with a registered electrician to install an outside
power socket, or position your Harvster within 5m of an indoor power socket. The
mains powered Harvst control units come with 5m of cable.
Water
If you have a garden hose, you can run a tee’d connection to your Harvster. It can be as
far as you like from the tap.
If you don’t have a hose, you’ll need a pump, and a water tank of some sort. You can
use the Harvster tank, or a water butt if there’s one within 2m of your Harvster. If you
live in an area that doesn’t get much rain, you might want to consider running a gutter
offshoot from another roof onto your Harvster to collect more rainwater.
Base
Harvsters can be placed directly on the ground, on an existing raised bed, or on one of
our Harvster raised beds. Consider how much soil depth you want to have for your
plants. At least 25cm (10”) is wise for many vegetables that are suitable for growing in a
Harvster.
A 40cm raised bed under the largest Harvster (1.2m * 2m / 4’ * 7’) will take about 500kg
of soil / compost. That’s about 10 wheelbarrows full - this will vary based on the type of
soil you get and how moist it is.