|
|
Post by terry on Jan 2, 2006 8:35:00 GMT 7
I was reading one of Michael's posts about being jealous of someone else's climate. I have done some changes this summer which have made a big difference to my plants. Firstly I have changed my roofing material from a dark green to the opal white. The green I later foung out let only 22% light thru and the white lets 60% which has made a huge difference. Secondly I purchased an evaporative cooler which now puts 7 litres of water vapour into the air every 3 hours. The humidity levels have now gone from around 40% to between 75 - 85%. As yesterday in Sydney was 43 degrees C. these changes made all the difference between losing my plants or not. My next experiment which I find exciting ( because of all the comments I have read here )is to try the fertilizating of nepenthes. Looking forward to it  Terry |
|
|
|
Post by jk on Jan 2, 2006 16:26:34 GMT 7
Terry, Are you considering the next step sometime down the line of using clear roofing material that lets in nearly all the sunlight but keeps in the humidity? Most Neps can handle full sun, which would make them grow better, but they would have to get acclimated. Your current 60% would be a transition stage. I don't know anything about greenhouses, but it's just a thought I had.
By the way, I wonder if you could add your location to your member information so we would better understand your growing conditions. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Post by terry on Jan 2, 2006 16:58:12 GMT 7
Yes , I do seriously consider replacing the roofing with the clear covering. My greenhouse is of a octaganal shape therefore having 8 sections to the roof.
At present 5 sections are the white polycarbonate sheeting and the other 3 are clear.
Yesterday in Sydney we had 43 degrees C as well as 42 last Thursday. The plants that were under the clear sheeting have badly burnt leaves and one plant completely dehydrated and not sure if it will come back to life.
I would love to do the clear sheeting but not sure how to cope with the unpredictable weather we have in Sydney during summer.
Terry
|
|
|
|
Post by matti on Jan 2, 2006 19:20:34 GMT 7
Hi terry, if i may if had huge success with thrive liquid fertilizer plants love it! and can i ask the temps in ur g'house with the evap cooler on?
|
|
|
|
Post by sydneyneps on Jan 8, 2006 15:28:57 GMT 7
Terry, I have clear greenhouse plastic on my highland greenhouse. The higher light levels are critical for Nepenthes, especially in winter. However, full sun is just too much for them in summer and you will get leaf burn, so some shading is necessary. I use shading from mid-November until March. The rest of the year it is basically full sun, as I use a plastic with high light transmission (about 97%).
Cooling is critical. I have a system similar to an evaporative cooler, which works most days. In very hot weather (35 +), I have the airconditioner on with a fogger to keep humidity. At night the air conditioner comes on, keeping temps between 12-15 C. Great for higher altitude plants. Just a bit costly on electricity though, but loosing plants isn't cheap either. I have an internal circulation fan which sucks the cool air from the bottom of the greenhouse and blows it to the top and around, which makes the air-conditioner much more efficient. Without internal air flow, the cold air sinks to the bottom, and the warm air just stays at the top (which plays havoc with my thermostat).
I've never bothered to fertilise, my plants seem to catch plenty of insects themselves. It can be done, dilute epiphytic fertilisers work well, but you need to flush the pots 24 hours after fertilising to avoid the build-up of salts and nutrients.
Hamish
|
|
|
|
Post by terry on Jan 8, 2006 16:17:17 GMT 7
Hamish, thanks for the interesting info. I have decided to make it my winter project to change the covering of my greenhouse to clear as I really noticed the lack of light the plants experienced last winter.As for the air conditioner, it sounds like a good idea, but I had a lot of opposition from my wife when I put in the evaporative cooler, as the bedroom has nothing and the plants have the cooler ( but you have to get your priorities right ). I also have the fogger going at the same time as the cooler but it all stuggles when we have the odd 43 degree day.
I've only been curious about the fertilizing since I've been reading this forum, I've put a 135 watt compact grow light in the greenhouse and that seems to attract every possible insect and the plants have a feast.
In two years I've only lost the one plant out of 54 so I'm relatively happy so far
Cheers
Terry
|
|
|
|
Post by matti on Jan 8, 2006 17:57:43 GMT 7
Im shure you could get it lower.....isnt there a thermostat inside you can get greg to take alook at......dont really know that much about them seeing i dont own one.
|
|
|
|
Post by sydneyneps on Jan 11, 2006 7:19:28 GMT 7
Terry, good idea to do it in winter, then plants can then gradually accustom themselve to the higher light levels as spring approaches.
The amount of equipment you put in the greenhouse is all a matter of cost, and about compromise. I did well for a long time with nothing but a low wattage extraction fan, which sucked the hot air out as it accumulated in the top of the greenhouse. It work well at preventing overheating, basically keeping the greenhouse at the same temperature as outside. Accordingly, it cost next to nothing to run.
However, with the extraction fan taking out the heat, it also took out the moisture. This meant watering well every afternoon when I got home from work. It is not such a problem for mature plants in big pots, but given I grow quite a few rare highland species from seed, plus have some good cuttings going, the drying was a problem for them. So I bought a fogger and put it in an enormous plastic bin to keep the humidity up, it also works as a de facto evaporative cooler, as the fog evaporates it takes the sting out of the air, and it also keeps the greenhouse floor cool and damp.
But with all my highland seedlings, I really wanted the nights much cooler during summer when the greenhouse can stay above 22 degrees, so I got an air conditioner. As it sucks moisture out of the air, I keep the fogger going at night now as well to keep humidity up, and it makes the aircon more efficient. I also use the aircon when the forecast during the day will be above 35 degrees. However, the aircon is very expensive to run. I have a thermostat a foot from the roof of the greenhouse which regulates the various electrical appliances. I'm still playing around with it at night, to see how long it takes to get to particular temps before the aircon switches off. I'm looking for the sweet-spot of cooler temps but minimal aircon use. I could have it go down to 10 degrees, but the aircon would run non-stop and my electricity bills would be huge. I'm currently toying with something between 15-17 degrees. The other factor is external temps. On hot nights, I set the thermostat higher so the aircon isn't working so hard. If we have a relatively cool night of say 18-19 degrees, I'd set it lower.
I can understand about your wife's reticence about allowing you to have more equipment, my partner jokes that I have more electricity running into my greenhouse than there is into the house, and nervousness about the combination of all the moisture and all that electricity. And if your plants are growing pretty well, the need isn't there. If I didn't grow so much rare seed, I wouldn't have gone to the lengths I've gone to.
|
|
|
|
Post by matti on Jan 11, 2006 8:37:15 GMT 7
well i can help you with your problem.  |
|
|
|
Post by terry on Jan 11, 2006 15:25:57 GMT 7
Matti,
I think the idea of the fridge is a good one if you had only half a dozen plants.
I want my greenhouse to be a part of the garden and big enough to house 50 odd plants. Mind you I wish I had built bigger but I didn't know I was going to enjoying these plants as much as I have.
|
|
|
|
Post by matti on Jan 11, 2006 16:36:49 GMT 7
nah i was talking to hamish about his seedling delema.....i recon you get one of thoes large ice cream chest fridges
|
|
mindy
Full Member
Posts: 159
|
Post by mindy on Jan 13, 2006 6:37:44 GMT 7
but I had a lot of opposition from my wife when I put in the evaporative cooler, as the bedroom has nothing and the plants have the cooler ( but you have to get your priorities right ). I agree, the plants have to come first . You could always suggest she sleeps in the greenhouse with the plants if she wants the benefits of the cooler. You might want to practice ducking and running first though. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by sydneyneps on Jan 13, 2006 10:11:17 GMT 7
I wasn't aware that I had a dilemma.
|
|
|
|
Post by matti on Jan 13, 2006 10:23:16 GMT 7
problem......saves alot of money on airconditioning.
|
|
|
|
Post by sydneyneps on Jan 13, 2006 11:28:49 GMT 7
But doesn't fit the thousands of plants and seedlings I have, nor can it be kept outdoors without being under cover, nor is it an effecient use of space in terms of useable space versus consumed space. It is a very good solution for small collections where one is growing a limited number of smaller plants. But for the large hobbyist or commercial grower, a fridge with 50m3 or more of space would be a very expensive proposition indeed.
|
|
