WIP: Fridge terrarium for cool growers

[Roberta]

Just grasping at straws with regard to insulating the door... same problem with windows and sliding glass doors on the house. For the house, double-paned windows with an airspace between the panes is the solution. Is there any way to add a second layer of glazing?

Also.... how big of a problem is it? The volume where you're controlling the temperature is fairly small, so a bit of inefficiency may not make that much difference. I have to suspect that if the cooling machinery was designed to maintain actual refrigerator temperature, you have a lot of reserve capacity.

[theorchidapartment]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Also.... how big of a problem is it? The volume where you're controlling the temperature is fairly small, so a bit of inefficiency may not make that much difference. I have to suspect that if the cooling machinery was designed to maintain actual refrigerator temperature, you have a lot of reserve capacity.

I think you're right that it won't make a significant difference. I'm realizing in retrospect that I want to minimize the frequency of the compressor kicking on because it startled me and my cats when I was testing it.

But yes, I should keep in mind that the goal is to achieve a cooler-than-ambient environment and try not to get too caught up on the nitty gritty! A challenge for me, as you may have guessed.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by theorchidapartment

I think you're right that it won't make a significant difference. I'm realizing in retrospect that I want to minimize the frequency of the compressor kicking on because it startled me and my cats when I was testing it.

I suspect that once you have it set up, it'll be just one of those background sounds that we all get used to and ignore... the refrigerator, the furnace, etc.

[Draikan]

This is looking so great!

If you really want to insulate the front, you could try 6mm double wall polycarbonate panels like they use for greenhouses. Cut some to the same size as your existing glass doors.

It won't look as good as the glass though. For the front side only, looks might be more important than insulation.

[Tindomul]

I'm impressed with this! I used to keep my terrarium infront of an AC unit. It ran cold in the summer and as a fan in the winter. I found that I only needed to keep the light from heating the terrarium in the room where I kept it. That was in my lab at work, so the Pandemic killed the setup.
What temperatures are you getting from it? High's. lows? Humidity???
I love this topic, thanks for sharing!!

I live in Elmhurst Queens, just getting a simple package from Amazon this December was hard, let alone other stuff.

[theorchidapartment]

The lab setup sounds great, sorry the pandemic has deprived you of it. I have considered other ways to cool, like venting in air from outside or from the AC, but our seasons and temperatures are so unpredictable that a fridge seemed like the safest bet. I also didn't want to tie the orchids' survival to running the AC for the sake of my electric bill!

I'm yet to run this for more than a short test, but my plan is to start off with night and day temperatures at 55—65° and 65-75° respectively and see how it goes.

I noticed the humidity going up when the fridge was running, but my hope is to get 80-90% RH using humidity trays and a fan. Gonna have to play with it a bit once the plants are in there and I get the watering down as well.

I accidentally learned how much of a difference the height of a fan above the surface of the humidity trays can make when I rearranged my warm-growing terrarium, so I think that will be the main way I modulate the humidity. In the warm-growing terrarium, I just open and close the doors, but I'd prefer to not leave the fridge open if I can help it!

[theorchidapartment]

Orchids arrived from Andy's and the fridgarium is live!



From left to right:

• Dracula saulii
• Restrepia brachypus
• Dendrobium lichenastrum
• Dendrobium cuthbertsonii
• Masdevallia veitchiana
• Epidendrum neoporpax
• Sophronitis coccinea

Still messing with the temperature settings, but I'm starting with a 16 hour 70° day and 8 hour 60° night. Going to message Andy about what he thinks acceptable maximums are, in the interest of saving energy. Would love to hear from people with cool-growing experience as well.

Another thing I want advice about is repotting! I sometimes receive things from Andy's that seem far beyond needing a repot or mount, occasionally to the point of old growths actively decomposing, but I wanted to get a second opinion before I started messing with things.

The one that seems like it's in the most obvious trouble is the Den. cuthbertsonii. This one makes me wonder whether it merits replacement...? It was completely overrun with moss, the mount is decomposing, and I'm not really sure how much of this is still a living plant, besides what the leaves are growing from. Thoughts? I've revived set-back plants from Andy's before but I would rather start with something robust and healthy:




The Dracula is super mossy on top and the media looks like it could be breaking down. Thoughts?:




Not sure what this is growing on the surface of the Masdevallia, but I'm a little worried by what's happening at the base of the leaves look and am tempted to investigate:




The moss on the Epidendrum mount seems to be in fairly good shape, but I'm a little worried by what I'm seeing at the perimeter: does this look like mold or just algae?




I'm happy with what I've received; just want to make sure I'm giving them their best chance to thrive. Thanks for your opinions!

[Tindomul]

I don't think its worth keeping them in their pots, as conditions are different where they came from. My main concern with potted plants is to make sure your environment is no wetter or drier than the vendor's. Otherwise you have to change how you grow it.

[Roberta]

I remount most of the Andy plants that I get, especially the ones on the shingles, even if not rotted... and that one with the the Den. cuthbertsonii is definitely past its "sell by" date. I have seen very few things that establish well on those shingles. So if they look like they need attention, they do.

[theorchidapartment]

Thanks Roberta. Can you recommend a source for wooden mounts? I got some cedar pieces to mount things on because they were easy to come by, but I (and probably the orchids) would prefer to use a more naturalistic mount.