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My grow rack: criticism, please!

TheFury

Oh, the humanity!!
Hi all! Having been inspired by many users here, I built myself a grow rack a few weeks ago:

It has reflective mylar on all four sides and a black mesh exterior to help keep passers by from having seizures :-))

Inside, there are two Home Depot shop lights that each hold two 48" T8 bulbs - each fixture has one Zoo Med Flora Sun grow bulb and one GE cool white 4100K bulb. There's also a cooling fan that blows down the lengths of the light fixtures to keep the toasty electronic ballasts from contributing too much to ambient temperature.

Temperatures at this time of year vary between 80 degrees during the day and 60 at night. Mind you, it's autumn here in NYC and my landlord hasn't turned the heat on yet! I expect it to warm up a tad once that happens.

Humidity ranges from 55% during the day to around 80 or 90% overnight.

Please see the pictures below and tell me if I'm just CRAZY :crazy: for organizing my plants this way, and critique anything about the way I'm growing these plants given my conditions.

THANKS!!

The exterior:
DSC03553.JPG


With the front flap raised:
DSC03554.JPG


My waterless tray - I top-water these plants rather than letting them stand in water:
DSC03555.JPG

Those ziploc bags in the back are full of dampened LFS that I'm trying to make sprout. One of the bags has some green in it - I hope that's not just algae!!!

Here's my tray where I keep a very high water level - you can see it in the pic:
DSC03556.JPG


Here's my pygmy sundew tray, elevated a bit closer to the lights. Pardon the reflection of my camera, I always hated seeing that!
DSC03557.JPG


And finally, my temperate/tropical sundew tray:
DSC03558.JPG


I have 7 more VFTs, Sarrs, and temperate dews on a cool windowsill that I'm trying to lull into dormancy, too. Once they're awake again they'll fill my trays out nicely!
 
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Looks great, your setup and conditions sound ideal for many CPs and from the sound of it you probably have enough light....good job!
 
Excellent setup! You should probably take the humidity domes off. The plants you have them on definitely don't need them.

Your humidity is high enough so you don't have to worry about it. My humidity is usually 50% and everything loves it.

Great start! And if you get seed from the spathulata 'Fraiser Island', keep me in mind!
 
No domes, eh? Well, I'm trying to acclimate that VFT to my rack since I just took it out of its death cube yesterday. Might wait a few days for that. Also, my D. Capensis and D. Spatulata that have the domes on them are on the verge of death, and I felt like all I could do was up the humidity a bit. You're saying this guy doesn't need the humidity boost? If not, I'd be more than happy to rid myself of these domes - they're an eyesore!

DSC03570.JPG


Anyway, if I get seeds from this Fraser Island sundew I'll absolutely keep you in mind. I actually got seeds off of one of its flower scapes and already spread them around the base of the colony - I'll send you more when I get them (whether they end up being viable or not!)

And SDCPs, thanks again for this great trade - you REALLY filled out my collection!





Thanks to everyone for the feedback!
 
I never really bought into the a whole slow acclimation method. I always let them fry, dry up and die and then they come back.

Skipping this year's dormancy is OK if your temperate plants are newly aquaired (looks like they are) but in the spring, I'd at all possible, put them outside and give them a dormancy next winter.

I recommend you crumple the Mylar up to avoid "hotspots."

Why do you keep an extra high water level in your temperate tub? There's no real reason for that... I mean it doesn't help the plants any extra.

Clint
 
Well, I keep my temperate and tropical dews in the bug tub with a 3/4" or so water level. I keep a much higher water level for the sarr, the VFT, and the P. Primuliflora just because I've read that they like lots of water. Should I stop?? Very interested here - I don't want to piss them off more than they already are!

I wish I could put those sarrs and VFTs outside, but alas, I'm in a second-floor apartment, and none of my windows get consistent enough sunlight in the summer to make for a good windowsill growing environment. I've seen folks here who do a nice job growing VFTs and purple pitchers on their racks, and that's what I aspire to do. I don't so much care if they don't grow to their full potential, but as long as I don't kill them outright, I think my rack is a happy compromise for those plants.
 
Ooh the Nit x Pul has flowers!
I ordered from him too(can't say the name) on Sunday, plants got here yesterday. My local cp friend(we combine orders to save shipping) got the Brookton. And you know what? THe tag was broken in the same way. Coincidence?
 
Those flowers are nice! The scapes were growing when I got the plants, but the flowers started opening about a week ago. They open for such a short amount of time I hardly ever catch them - seems like they only stay open for a few hours and then they're done! So will this plant only produce seed and not gemmae?

That's funny about the Brookton. I actually broke the friggin' tag myself, but it was incredibly brittle!

Also, I feel bad now. I've used "his" name on these forums before - I suppose I'd better edit that out of my posts. I figured as long as I didn't say the name of his nursery I'd be playing by the rules!
 
Well, I would say, no need to edit your posts if that has not been pointed out before(just a thought)
 
  • #10
Well, I keep my temperate and tropical dews in the bug tub with a 3/4" or so water level. I keep a much higher water level for the sarr, the VFT, and the P. Primuliflora just because I've read that they like lots of water. Should I stop?? Very interested here - I don't want to piss them off more than they already are!

I wish I could put those sarrs and VFTs outside, but alas, I'm in a second-floor apartment, and none of my windows get consistent enough sunlight in the summer to make for a good windowsill growing environment. I've seen folks here who do a nice job growing VFTs and purple pitchers on their racks, and that's what I aspire to do. I don't so much care if they don't grow to their full potential, but as long as I don't kill them outright, I think my rack is a happy compromise for those plants.

You are going to kill them. Especially the vft. If you don't just keep everything moist. (I have my main grow table in full sun in the heat of summer with no water in the tray and everything does fine.) Being on the dry side is much safer than overwatering. CPs recover from dry well--wet, not so well.

Only water your plants (goes for all of them since you're growing inside) when the soil isn't moist to the touch or looks on the dry side. Don't sit them in water.


I'm glad you enjoyed the trade, and I'm also glad I'll be getting some seed!

Happy growing!
 
  • #11
Wait, so the tray method is a no-no for indoor growing? I can't believe I haven't picked up on this before. Even for my tropical dews and pings, they should NOT be watered with the tray method?
 
  • #12
For me, trays are for catching draining water and keeps the water from going into the carpet.

I like to top-water; as the draining water (thanks Mister Gravity) pulls oxygen down into the soil.

Roots like that. :)
 
  • #13
I sit all my dews, sarrs and vfts and pings in water and haven't had a single one rot. I do keep the water level lower for the vfts though, just an inch or two of water in the tray, for the others I keep it halfway up the pot.
 
  • #14
I may not have spend the money on expensive grow light tubes, but rather have mixed cool and warm white tubes.

As far as watering goes you just have to see what works best for your conditions. What works well for someone in the Mediterranean semi-arid climate of Southern California may not work well for someone in NYC. And what works well for some species may not work as well for others. Mostly it's a matter of experience in learning on how changes in cultivation affect your plants. It may come intuitively to the rare individual but again mostly it's experience.
 
  • #15
Thanks everyone for that info. I definitely have plenty of experimentation to do, and plenty of plants to experiment with :)

and Not a Number, yes, if I were to do it all over again I'd probably just get some 2700K and 6500K lights and mix them. At $18 each, the pair of grow bulbs was the single most expensive part of my rack besides the rack itself!!
 
  • #16
InB4 - you can't grow Sarracenia inside!

Just kidding, well not really, but I've heard one season of indoor terrarium wont kill them. Other than that your plants look great for the most part!
 
  • #17
I didn't make my self clear, again :blush:. The dews are fine sitting in a little water. Its the water level you were maintaining with the vfts especially that worries me. The sarracenia could also be kept drier.

VFTs rot easily indoors. I would wait for the water to disappear for a few days, and then add more. That's what I'd do for everything actually.

All I'm trying to say is: Don't maintain a high water level.
 
  • #18
Oh!! That's a relief. Thanks for the info. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it :)
 
  • #19
InB4 - you can't grow Sarracenia inside!

Just kidding, well not really, but I've heard one season of indoor terrarium wont kill them. Other than that your plants look great for the most part!

Actually, it is not a problem growing Sarracenia inside as long as you respect dormancy. During the summer I keep my Sarrs in a terrarium under MHs, and during dormancy they sit on my windowsill. Of course, the reason why this works is because where I live it gets nasty cold outside and the windowsill provides a zone where it gets very cold but without the hard freezing.

-Hermes.
 
  • #20
Awesome. Yeah, my sarrs, VFTs, and temperate dews are all on my windowsill next to an open window for dormancy (well, except my new Purpurea and another VFT which are fresh out of a death cube as of one week ago). Temperatures get down to the mid-40s at night right now. NYC has some rough winters -- nothing like Toronto, though! -- so hopefully right next to the window will stay a solid 40 degrees once winter really sets in.

Seems to be working well so far - my S. Flava and S. "Mardi Gras" are both producing phyllodia (sp?) and the hoods on their pitchers are browning. My D. Filiformis is also forming a nice hibernaculum.
 
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