indoors greenhouse for winter

[jcaballero]

I had plans to build a greenhouse this summer, but to heat the greenhouse is going to be pretty expensive. So, I decided to make a 6'h x 5'l x 2'd shelving system with 2 shelves, 3 (175 watts) MH lights, fan and humidity trays. Since it's going to be inside the house, I won't have any problems regulating the temp.I'm thinking about keeping the orchids 2-3 ft away from the lights. The 2nd shelf will hold less light demanding orchids and I'll use fluorescent lights
I'm debating wether to use all 3 MH or just 2 MH. What do you think I should do?

[31drew31]

The question on how many MH's will depend on your ability to cool the inside. I have a 6.5' x 6.5' x 6.5' grow tent in my basement. Temperatures outside the tent are 60-65 right now, and inside the tent with no cooling it would easily reach 80-85F. I am only using about 600W of HOT5 bulbs. I cool it by blowing air into the tent through vents when it reaches a set temperature. I personally would start with less and get more if needed.

The open window there has a plastic covering so no humidity/heat is lost.

[Paul Mc]

This is really cool to see! I was thinking about doing something very similar to your design!

[billc]

I have no idea how hot MH lights get. I have a similar setup in my basement with 2- 4 light T5's and a 4 light T8 and my temps with the lights on gets to 74-78F in the winter. I would think the MH lights run hotter, so you will need to somehow cool it like 31drew said.


Bill

[jcaballero]

I'll be using this system during winter, so the lights will help to keep the temp warmer. I will also have a fan blowing across the orchids. The lights will hang 2 feet above the top of the plants, except a couple dendrobiums that are pretty tall but will still have about have about 1 foot of clearance. The lights have a glass under each light and the hood has vents at the top to allow the heat to escape it.
I used this lights for a saltwater tank with corals and they work great.

[BioWheel]

Posting a pic of my indoor greenhouse as well. There are a lot of advantages to growing inside and it's been fun over this winter.

[Wjs2nd]

MH lights are to strong to use being only 1 to 2 feet from your orchids. These lights usually need to be 4+ feet away. You'll burn your plants.

[Paul Mc]

Bio wheel, is that an orchidarium and then a greenhouse tent that's portable? The tent greenhouse is a great idea!

[orchidsarefun]

and BioWheel are you really in Bermuda ? How do you cool the set-up down if its used all year round ?

[BioWheel]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Bio wheel, is that an orchidarium and then a greenhouse tent that's portable? The tent greenhouse is a great idea!

Yes - I purchased the Orchidarium on eBay. This is my first winter season with it.

I bought the tent (see on Amazon) to keep temps and humidity up in my unheated shed. I had planned on trying to grow outdoors with it but heating would have been too much. In my shed it only gets about 50f so I can get by with a small heater in a pinch.

I was going to buy one of those black grow huts until I found this. The clear tent is better imo. It's possible I'll bring it outside this Spring.

Thanks for asking.

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

and BioWheel are you really in Bermuda ? How do you cool the set-up down if its used all year round ?

No - I don't live in Bermuda. Think I just put that in there as a kind of 'wish' when I signed up for the forum. Actually I'm located in NC US.

In regards to using it in the summer - well, that's a good question. With all the gardening I do outside it's probably not necessary. And the shed probably gets near 100f in July/Aug and even hotter with lights on. It would have to have AC.

Gardening with no bugs in a controlled environment year-round is intriguing though.

Regards, bio