Dave-in-Virginia
Well-Known Member
Hello folks. I am a beginning slipper grower in the Washington, DC area. I've had Phalaenopsis for many years and have gardened for decades but slippers are new to me. I have about 10'x17' in my basement utility room for an indoor growing area. The room has no windows. I'm on well and septic. I'm handy with tools. I'm planning on setting the 36" wide growing trays on sawhorses at waist height for access and will store stuff beneath. I'll use rubber sheet (EPDM) to line the trays. I'm thinking of bringing the liner up 12" on the sides. My well water is 55F and free, so I could put (say 4") of cold well water in the trays at night to cool the slippers. If the tray is 12" deep that would also cool 8" of the plants and roots, assuming that the trays holding plants are set 4" off the tray bottoms.
Is 12" tray depth a good depth to accomplish my cooling goals? I could make the tray deeper or more shallow. I have some bull dogs coming soon which should need night time cooling, but the maudiaes may not need it. With 36" wide trays I'll have a 3' aisle down the center of the room. I have a greenhouse attached to my house but it's too hard to cool in the summer and too hard to warm in the winter so I don't use it much. I will put a couple 275 gallon totes in it to collect rain water which will gravity feed to the basement room. One corner of the growing room needs a reservoir for the rain water, probably with a submersible aquarium water heater. In Virginia we get 40" of rain a year so I don't think I'll ever run out of rainwater.
The room slopes to a floor drain and there is a wall drain where I had intended to put a second washer/dryer. The entire concrete utility room floor is set 1/2" below the rest of the basement (I built the house). So I think I'm covered in the event of water leak disasters, which is why I lean toward water solutions. There is space for shelving above the bench but with about 115 square feet of growing area on the trays I probably have enough growing space for a while. The walls are 8' high. I'll cover the walls and ceiling with a white plastic tent. I could use a dehumidifier in the winter, or I could use an old 3" vent from a former gas water heater (now converted to elec) for ventilation controlled by humidistats fans which turn on when humidity reaches a set point. I have some Spider Farmer lights and am ordering more lights from Botanical LEDs. I don't have enought lights yet. I have some old metal halide and sodium vapor lights which I could use to help on heating if needed. I'd like to dedicate a corner for quarantine. I have plenty of electrical connections in the room with GFIs. I'll need some kind of a zipper door or maybe a glass slider door, I haven't looked for one yet. I have room for a refrigerator in the utility room outside of the tent. I think I'll just use room fans for air movement. I'll take the orchids outside for the summer and I'm guessing this growing room will be used October to April. I want to automate as much as possible because I'm a lazy person at heart. I don't like carrying water buckets back and forth and explaining to my wife how I spilled algae water on the carpet.
So what am I missing? I'm not worrying about nutrition yet, that comes later. I'm trying to work out the big things now. I have space and time to install anything that will make things easier in the long run. Should I put in room for a potting bench? A sealed and vented box for fumigation?
If I sound like I know what I'm talking about please don't be fooled. I am a beginner orchid grower and have a lot to learn! Thanks in advance for your help.
Dave
Is 12" tray depth a good depth to accomplish my cooling goals? I could make the tray deeper or more shallow. I have some bull dogs coming soon which should need night time cooling, but the maudiaes may not need it. With 36" wide trays I'll have a 3' aisle down the center of the room. I have a greenhouse attached to my house but it's too hard to cool in the summer and too hard to warm in the winter so I don't use it much. I will put a couple 275 gallon totes in it to collect rain water which will gravity feed to the basement room. One corner of the growing room needs a reservoir for the rain water, probably with a submersible aquarium water heater. In Virginia we get 40" of rain a year so I don't think I'll ever run out of rainwater.
The room slopes to a floor drain and there is a wall drain where I had intended to put a second washer/dryer. The entire concrete utility room floor is set 1/2" below the rest of the basement (I built the house). So I think I'm covered in the event of water leak disasters, which is why I lean toward water solutions. There is space for shelving above the bench but with about 115 square feet of growing area on the trays I probably have enough growing space for a while. The walls are 8' high. I'll cover the walls and ceiling with a white plastic tent. I could use a dehumidifier in the winter, or I could use an old 3" vent from a former gas water heater (now converted to elec) for ventilation controlled by humidistats fans which turn on when humidity reaches a set point. I have some Spider Farmer lights and am ordering more lights from Botanical LEDs. I don't have enought lights yet. I have some old metal halide and sodium vapor lights which I could use to help on heating if needed. I'd like to dedicate a corner for quarantine. I have plenty of electrical connections in the room with GFIs. I'll need some kind of a zipper door or maybe a glass slider door, I haven't looked for one yet. I have room for a refrigerator in the utility room outside of the tent. I think I'll just use room fans for air movement. I'll take the orchids outside for the summer and I'm guessing this growing room will be used October to April. I want to automate as much as possible because I'm a lazy person at heart. I don't like carrying water buckets back and forth and explaining to my wife how I spilled algae water on the carpet.
So what am I missing? I'm not worrying about nutrition yet, that comes later. I'm trying to work out the big things now. I have space and time to install anything that will make things easier in the long run. Should I put in room for a potting bench? A sealed and vented box for fumigation?
If I sound like I know what I'm talking about please don't be fooled. I am a beginner orchid grower and have a lot to learn! Thanks in advance for your help.
Dave
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