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The evolution of a hobbiest's grow space...

its quite funny to think i tried growing my plants like this, though it was only for a short time and it did not work by any means at all LOL, so this is going to be quite interesting to see peoples reactions to this xD
so this is how it started
Back in December of 07 i believe..
CPs019.jpg

the lighting had changed at this point, but i still wanted to grow VFTs indoors...what a stubborn noob i was (note the ghetto light reflecting hood made from a cardboard box and mylar!) LOL
this was only a month atleast after the first photo...
mylarcase.jpg

STILL trying to grow VFTs and a sarra indoors, this was only a week or so later, with another lighting change and removal of the ghettohood LOL
Terrarium002.jpg

finally got the clue then moved the temperates outside and got a few more neps...yeah this is when the nep obsession started, this was probably around May of 08
not much changed here other than moving the tank next to a window to allow it to get some evening sun in addition to the lighting, this was probably in june of 08
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and then a sudden change!
the first attempt at a growrack! this was in September of 08
growrack003.jpg

neprack002.jpg

bedroom.jpg

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growrack006.jpg

the rack had really started to fill up, and organization to get as much room as possible, quickly became to no avail, it was just to crammed shortly after this, and for a short while, i had actually had to start up my terrarium again...but we know what that looked like
CPsetup2-28-09006.jpg

CPsetup2-28-09006.jpg

not much really happened with this until early of 09, and thats when things really started to blow up...this was the beginning of that crazy expansion, ok so not CRAZY but is definitely up there...
greenhouseproject017.jpg

adventually it was warm enough outside for the transition, June 2009
CPs6-10-09020.jpg

August of 09
CPs8-18-09032.jpg

another increase in the nep population
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shortly after the last photo, around October, it began to be too cold at night for my neps...and i had to come up with a quick idea on how to accommodate my larger amount of neps, my room just wouldnt do anymore, the winter home was clear
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CPs10-11-09001.jpg

Finally, in early May of this year, i was able to get things back into the greenhouse...so lets fastforward to present day
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i know this didnt even touch my temperate area, but this really wasnt about those...their space, has never changed...they stay put. lol
Hope you enjoyed, i think ive come a long way since the beginning...and man, it was a crappy beginning! LOL
 
Holy crap.. nice collection of collections!
 
Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who tried growing things like that at first. Thanks for sharing. I had my vft and sarr. purpurea in a tank the first year I had them. Needless to say they are growing much better outside this year. I would be embarrased of the one pic I have of how sad they looked, but I would have to couple it with current pics like you did, LOL!

Nice greenhouse, btw. I have another 2 years to put up with before I can move someplace permanant and buy one and maybe have a basement or garage to work with as well. Untill then its makeshift spaces that take up room where furniture would normally be :)
 
Well, everyone starts off somewhere...

I started off with a tiny plastic terrarium (one of those DuneCraft VFT things) and miraculously managed to grow D. capensis inside it for a few weeks... with the lighting being a desklamp equipped with a halogen bulb that produced immeasurable amounts of heat. :-)) It probably survived because 1. it was D. capensis, and 2. the humidty inside the little terrarium was 100%.

The plant even produced dew! :boogie:
 
Haha that was exactly what I did with my first VFT and sundew too !!! And almost exact same set up the only different is I covering the whole tank with tin foil no light leaks out.

I need a greenhouse like that too. mind give me your greenhouse model number?
 
I started out with a ventrata on my windowsill and a minibog with sars, dews and vft's :p
 
I started with a vft and capensis on a north facing window... They straggled for a few weeks and died (I thought they went dormant though, so I had dead plants on the window all winter). Then I tried again on an east window with no extra light, then added a cfl, then later expanded the windowsill and added a t8 4ft fixture. That's where I am today with some of the plants next to various windows around the house to see how they like it. I'm probably not going to have a growrack... I'm just going to have cps in every inch of the house! Very nice collection!
 
Woweeee, that is a sweet collection and set up!
I'd love to have a mini-house like that someday, but my backyard isn't big enough XD
I almost wish I went through that newb phase. While I had read the Savage Garden and ordered a hundred dollars in plants, and set them up on the table outside like I have now, everything managed to die off. Now, everything lives and my table is just crowded beyond belief.
My fishkeeping exploded like that those. A spare 15g tank turned into a 75g setup, and I had a 1500g pool setup in the process, until my monsters died. Then there was no more need for a pool, and my CP collection exploded XD
 
haha i just now remembered to reply here...ive had alot on my plate so to say lately, super busy.
Thanks for the comments, its been quite the fun experience, and today its sweltering hot out and im trying my best to keep it below 90 right now...so hot Lol.
 
  • #10
I'm glad you did reply- it's a great thread, especially for a newb like myself. Thanks for the pics.

I just started trying my hand at windowsill growing in addition to my "outside plants" VFTs, sarrs, ect. I've got a couple of neps and a ping by the south window. We'll see how it goes. Eventually I'd like to do the growrack by a window with lights or terrarium thing for the neps and pings. Unfortunately space is at a premium in my little apartment so I might have to be VERY selective as to what I get until we get a bigger place.

I do have those two spare 10 gallon aquariums in the basement though.....hmm....:jester:
 
  • #11
Awesome progression! Thanks for posting it.
 
  • #12
ill get a shot of the temperate growspace tomorrow, as well as my reassembled lowland terrarium lol....
 
  • #13
Aw, happy ending for the plants!
 
  • #14
Very nice evolution man.....with the biggest step in the end. More often than not, plants grown outside like that look the very best. ;) You should have some amazing specimens this season. :)
 
  • #15
totally awesome

---------- Post added at 06:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:24 PM ----------

awesome!!
 
  • #16
Nice!
Just wait until all those neps start to vine:)
Your greenhouse may have to be heated next year.
 
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