Space efficiency

[caleb316]

Hello all, I have two small wood frame greenhouses. I of course am running out of room. I have flat benches in both. Is that the most efficient way to place orchids. I mean space is space whether flat or in steps, is it not? Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Good growing to all.

[Ray]

I have had both, and actually prefer flat benches. In a flat bench, the edges of what would be where the shelves meet, providing a stable place for the pot.



Some things to consider:



Rolling benches. That way you only have one aisle, but by moving the benches, they can be accessed from all sides.



Shelves. Or actually a bench above a bench. High light plants on top, low light plants on bottom. Be sure the upper bench has a way to direct water away from the lower one.



Go vertical. There used to be a grower in a Pittsburgh suburb that had zig-zag rows of 4x4's in the floor, with fencing attached. All pots had little hooks in the edge, and were hung on both sides of the fence. I did the same thing, but made the thing free-standing using sections of galvanized pipe and "kee-klamps" to hold them together.



Space-Saving Plant Rack - First Rays LLC

[Jenascrich]

I have to do vertical to save space. There are many vertical stands, check Amazon and wayfair. Sometimes you have to think outside the box with the stands. I look for the stands that have wrought iron because you can find little spaces to hang plants.


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[Jenascrich]

I should mention though, I only have about 40 orchids, but you can get multiple stands.


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[Jenascrich]

Right now it's a little crowded because I am putting together my second stand.... Lol.








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[Fairorchids]

I was running out of space in a commercial size greenhouse. We had some extra bench sections with wooden frame and metal mesh top, so I erected a couple of those as vertical walls (abt 6' wide and 5' tall).

I hang both pots, net pots and of course mounted plants on these walls, and place shade lovers on the north side of the walls.

To mount pots/net pots:
Take a 6" length of galvanized wire.
Bend one end into a tight hook with needle nose pliers.
Thread straight end through the bottom and up along one side wall.
Bend the top end over the edge, and hang on wire mesh.