My Growing Space #2

[Sharyn]

Arlene: Thanks for the info on the cart. There's a Costco store nearby. I'll check it out.

[turkeytaker]

I'm envious of many of these set ups! It's really interesting to see how other people grow.

I currently am currently confined to a closet. I have a 3' and 4' rack with a piece of ventilated shelving over the 3' rack where my larger catt-types sit and my mounties hang. I have a box fan at the very back of the closet to push air through the plants and out of the closet.

Since it's a slanted closet (one of those staircase ones), pictures are kinda hard to get, but you might be able to get a bit of an idea of my arrangement. I have the CFL's in shoplights and fan on a timer. I have another large CFL on a wall switch that's right up to the ventilated shelf where the larger catts are.

Stacy

[tamara]

Here are pics of mine growing space.

[fred]

Hi members what a wonderful thread.
Seeing all the growing spaces.
This showes not only me just how much dedication and passion that you all have for your orchids.
Well Done
Happy Growing

Admin

[kmarch]

Hi turkeytaker,

Thanks for posting your pics. It's a good use of space and I am impressed with the clever, creative ways you and the others who have posted here have used the space you have. It's quite educational and it's great to share all of these ideas.

Cheers

[prisana]

Stacy, that's a neat set up..if I want something like that for myself..how do I get them watered without wetting the floor ? Do you have to move them out of the room sometimes to get really soaked in the sink ?
Tamara, lucky you..you have a lot of orchids flowering at the same time..

[turkeytaker]

Prisana, the floor in the closet is concrete with an epoxy coat. With the fan going constantly, the floor dries really quickly, so I don't worry too much about water on the floor. I intend, at some point, on putting up marine board to replace the sheetrock, in case mildews or molds decide to take hold, but I haven't had any problems yet.

Also, on the bottom of the 4' rack, I've got big plastic pans (masonry troughs) with my phals to catch any extra water. I use a pump sprayer and mist the pots until they drip through every day, but not very much drips through the racks.

I've got a half bath right across the hall from the closet, so it's relatively convenient if I want to soak all of the plants. I take one of the extra masonry troughs (used for mixing concrete) and load up a few, walk a few feet across the hall, set the tub on the toilet, and fill up the sink with the plants in it. Drain, carry, and repeat for all the others.

It's definitely not the easiest, but it's the about the best I can do in this house. I do miss the days of having a decent outdoor spot for everyone where I could just hit them with the hose everyday, though.

[arleneg]

Hi Stacy,

What a creative way to use space.

I can relate to soaking the mounted ones -- putting them in a pan to water, then drain, and hang them back. All that is just a few feet... I wish I can just hose them down.

[pikevi]

The 4-shelf unit is only available in the USA(item #459800). I checked with Costco (Canada)and they say they don't sell those here.

They really look nice and practical.

Thanks for the info.

[arleneg]

pikevi -- Sorry they don't have it up there. Can't you order from a U.S. Costco and have it shipped to Canada (Ontario)?

Sharyn -- Does your nearby Costco have the 4-shelf unit?

[pikevi]

Yes, it could be ordered online too.

But I contacted our Costco, Canada to see if it could be delivered to a local store here, which is a few minutes drive from my place.

I will see if I can go across to Buffalo and get it or ask my friends to buy and bring it (them) when they come for visits.

They shelves look ideal for orchids

FYI: While searching for the item I also found some of them were recalled for some problems with the wheels. Since you are not using the wheels it probably would not matter.Just thought I'd add this little bit of info.

[arleneg]

pikevi,

That's good it can be ordered online. I hope Costco will deliver it to your local store so you can pick it up.

Thanks for the info on the wheels.

[mdomingz]

Hey turkeytaker?

Am i wrong or did i see an orchid basket made of red lego's, that is soooooo cool! And by the way awesome how you did to make use the limited space.

manuel
panama

[turkeytaker]

Hi Manuel,

You did see a pot of red legos. My mother has huge bins of legos from when my brothers and I were little and hasn't found anyone to give them to that she knows will use them, so I've taken some of them and made pots. The plants really love it, and you can 'customize' the size of the pot for the plant and change it as the plant grows. The roots don't really stick to lego plastic that well, so it's easy to scooch them off when needed.

It's also kinda fun!

Stacy

[arleneg]

Stacy, I didn't notice the lego pot until Manuel pointed that out. Cool...very creative! I would use my youngest daughter's lego set. But she still plays with it. So I'll have to wait a while.

The only creative thing, so far, I've done is use a banana hanger to hang one of my mounted minis on it.

This is a great thread. We're learning a lot from each other. Thanks for starting it Kevin!

[PhalPal]

Hi Everyone- I have enjoyed looking at all of your home lighting set-ups; thanks for sharing. My phals live in my formal dining room (lovely ) but are not faring so well. HUGE southern facing windows with lots of light and fresh air - unfortunately they are tinted and this makes them useless for growing orchids. Thanks to the book 'Orchids for Dummies' yes that is where I am at. At least now I know what is wrong with them, 50 fc won't do it! So here is my situation: I need to grow my phals under lights. and here it begins.......you have all been here...start with a few plants....they don't do well....build a greenhouse...and away we go! A fanatic! I tell my husband I could be addicted to much worse things, like shoes, jewelry, etc. My request from all of you - if you had something to do differently with your indoor lighting set-ups, what would it be? Did you start too small? Wrong lights? Watering/cleaning difficulties? All you Aussies-we have very similiar weather conditions in So California if you have any input. I grow mini-cyms outdoors all year perfectly except when it is windy. (panic ensues!) Any good websites to buy an all-inclusive set-up? ANY suggestions will be most appreciated! Or....somebody can just STOP me now!!

[sandra]

Very wonderfully odd the way things happen. These photos which I took today are the very first I've ever taken with a digital camera. My cousin sent me this camera a couple of months ago after my father passed away. I was having a grueling time with the coping of his passing and couldn't begin to concentrate on figuring out how to use it so I just kept it in the box until last evening when I was compelled to get a photo of my very first orchid and one that I nurtured back to health. I've been wanting to post my growing space on here but just didn't bother figuring out how to use the camera. Now, my very first orchid is about to bloom and on all days, tomorrow....my birthday! This feels all so special to me. Hopefully, you'll all be able to recognize where my orchids are in my array plus some small ones hidden behind others that I just received and are out of view. I'll post another photo when my orchid is in full bloom. I was just too excited with my accomplishment and the anticipation of this orchid about to grace my patio and wanted to share this with everyone. Apologies for these not being the clearest photos but I'll start getting the hang of it all shortly!!!!!

[sandra]

Just some more photos that I took today! I started snapping away around 5:15 a.m.!

[Sharyn]

Happy Birthday Sandra. Looks like you're doing pretty well with your first pics. Thanks for sharing. Your orchids seem to be quite happy.