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Coming out of Retirement!!

Yep, it's true.. I landed my dream job. Turns out one of my local hydroponic shops has been interested in nepenthes for awhile now. And they have offered me:

~1 corner of the store for an "in-house nepenthes exhibit"
~$9/hr.
~$200-$400 budget to spend on 12 neps
~an open in-house policy for a plant setup & supplies (for the exhibit)
~and 2 (paid) unscheduled days a week to come in and care for the plants

It doesn't get any better than this! :boogie:
 
Very cool Mass. Congrats! You'll have to post some pics of the setup once it is up and running.
 
Congratulations. Are you going to grow the Nepenthes in a hydroponics system?
 
You better keep us updated from the beginning. This is going to be a really cool experiment.
 
No hydroponics I don't think.. I don't know enough about it to put the company's money on the line with setup like that. I think I'm going to go with one of the large grow tents and some T5's.. misting system, fans, the works.
 
That is awesome! Congratulations, mass!

Is the $200-400 budget for just your plants, or the whole set up?
 
I presumed that someone at the store would have enough hydroponics knowledge to help with a setup. I think that certain Nepenthes might be a good candidate for hydroponics.
 
  • #10
I presumed that someone at the store would have enough hydroponics knowledge to help with a setup. I think that certain Nepenthes might be a good candidate for hydroponics.

Yeah, I didn't want to get that deep into it though. I left the selection of plants up to my "supplier". Just told him I needed a dozen or so large highlanders for around $200-$400 shipped overnight. Something flashy and showy, and no less than 8". I trust his judgment..
And if I give the employees too much to do with this, I'm sure I'd get cut out after so long. Kind of defeats the purpose of them hiring me.

That is awesome! Congratulations, mass!

Is the $200-400 budget for just your plants, or the whole set up?

no, that's just for plants. I can use anything I want in the store for the setup.
 
  • #11
Awesome!!!!
My dream job is a greenhouse owner... mainly CPs, but orchids and other plants too.
 
  • #12
Awesome!!!!
My dream job is a greenhouse owner... mainly CPs, but orchids and other plants too.

We all gotta start somewhere.. Me, I started at home.. then got this gig. Eventually I hope to buyout some GH somewhere and have a CP GH that can be open to the public.
 
  • #13
Holy cow, that sounds super awesome!!!
Congratulations, I'm sure you'll do great! :-D
I can't wait to see pics of the setup!
 
  • #14
Wow...if only I could land a job like that! :0o:
 
  • #15
Let me know if you have any questions. I have a little knowledge of the whole setup. I have all my neps growing in a 2x4 hydro hut currently vent fans and all. I'm about to setup the 4x4 though. Why are you using T5's when you have a ton of other/better lights? Metal halide or sodium vapor are great and you'll get more lumens over a larger area then you can with the T5's. I guess it really depends on how your going to set-up the whole thing.
 
  • #16
I don't think that MH/SV lamps compete with modern high output T5s, but that's just what I've heard. I'll tell you though, dealing with the heat of old-style bulbs is a tremendous pain, especially if you're using an enclosure. One wiring or fan failure and you'll cook your whole setup in no time flat. T5s are just uncomfortably warm by comparison. I also appreciate having a wider light surface - it's easier to keep plants from shading one another.
~Joe
 
  • #17
T5's would seem better for highlanders.
 
  • #18
Just all depends on what you end up doing with the room and how big it is. Yes, heat will always be an issue with MH/SV lights, but they do have air cooled lighting systems. There is a give and take with any choice for lights. If it's a small room then T5's will work great (low heat, high output, small square footage). If you need to light a large area MH/SV is the way to go (higher heat, higher output, large square footage). When I get my 4x4 hut up and running I'll have 1 or 2 600 watt air cooled SV. In my 2x4 hut I'm growing everything in now is running nothing but fluorescent lights (mix of 125 watt CFL, T5's and T12 or T8). Where I have 5 fluorescent lights running now (equals almost 1000 watts). I'll use one 600 watt SV to do the same job. Adding the second SV light will just be more lumens if I decide to do it. I have a large 6in inline fan pulling air out of the room. He will have all these things available to him at the shop.
 
  • #19
Granted, but I'm only going to be at the shop twice a week. So if something goes wrong with the cooling, I just cost the store a few hundred dollars worth of neps. Yeah, I'm sure the employees can handle it if I'm not there.. but I want to avoid that scenario if at all possible.
My goal is setting up a rewarding show case, with low maintenance, and low worries.
 
  • #20
Ohman, I'm SO jealous.
I hope to have such amazing opportunities in the future!
I'm applying to all the nurseries in the area as we speak, because I wanna work with plants, not stock junkfood. :mad:
 
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