Lost space? - Orchid Board

terrestrial_man · #1 02-22-2007, 04:48 PM

Just wondering if there are any great suggestions on what to do with the space under the plant benches.

At the moment most of this space is just used for storage of my jugs of r/o water and some unused aquariums and pots and one aquarium with aquatic plants in it including an aquatic moss, Java Moss.

Just like about every surface in my greenhouse, the area gets a good soaking when I spray down the greenhouse to push up the humidity. So my own use of this "dead" space seems pretty well restricted.

justatypn · #2 02-22-2007, 05:59 PM

Buy more orchids

Ross · #3 02-22-2007, 06:12 PM

Yeah, I agree. Get more that will adapt to those envirens

Tindomul · #4 02-22-2007, 06:15 PM

Ferms accentuate orchids nicely. They will do great in the darker humid spots you described. Plus it will make you GH look more lush.

Ross · #5 02-22-2007, 07:32 PM

I'm thinking lichens!?

Kris · #6 02-22-2007, 07:40 PM

i second ferns... and there are some neet torpicals that will do well there.

HDCochran · #7 02-22-2007, 09:40 PM

If you have lots of space, you could fill plastic trash cans with water and place them under the benches. This would help maintain humidity and would moderate temperature extremes. These effects will both help orchids. And it will give you a use for some of your RO reject water.

terrestrial_man · #8 02-23-2007, 05:56 AM

Thanks for the comments!
HD I think I am getting an idea from your comments. Need to work it out in my head.

Faerygirl · #9 02-27-2007, 06:20 PM

I have a friend who has a large greenhouse with benches that line the periphery. Hers is a dirt floor greenhouse (like mine), this wouldn't work if you had a cement floor, but she dug 12 inch deep trenches the same width as the benches above, lined them with pond liner, edges with landscape timbers, and put stuff like water lilies and aquatic plants down there. The greenhouse is situated so that each trench gets sun, one morning, one afternoon. It works well. She also has fish in there (to eat mosquito larvae) and uses the water sometimes as a natural rooting place for stuff that can water root. It adds a lot of humidity for her too, and it very nice to look at.

Oscarman · #10 02-27-2007, 07:36 PM

I would opt for a fern free zone - potential bug haven and it would be hard to erradicate them.