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A Sphagnum experiment

Recently, I decided to try an experiment: I wanted to “dress up” the bench surfaces between the pots with live Sphagnum. I’ve seen photos from other people’s greenhouses where they’ve built a living Sphagnum culture on the bench tops in this manner, and the idea appealed to me, so….

Six weeks ago I harvested quite a bit of the sphagnum that had accumulated down the sides of many hanging pots in the greenhouse, and casually plopped mats of it between the pots on the benches. The benches are a plastic grid type surface, with 1″ square holes making up the grid. The question was going to be whether or not the Sphagnum would survive on a plastic surface with large holes like that to contend with. I think I can safely say thats a yes. I still have half of this bench to finish filling with moss, and the other bench on the opposite side has yet to be started, but this is working nicely, with some pots Sphagnum blending seamlessly with the Sphagnum on the benches. The effect is very pleasing, and I bet the Nepenthes don’t mind it either.

20130409-080645.jpg


And a close up of the N. lowii X truncata seen at center in the first photo:

20130409-080634.jpg
 
looks fantastic!
 
Where did you find your plastic grid for the table top? I'm due to make a new bench and have been debating the materials...
 
Where did you find your plastic grid for the table top? I'm due to make a new bench and have been debating the materials...

I purchased these:

http://www.a-vinternational.com/greenhousebenchtops.asp

Hi Christian!

I did plenty of research to find something I deemed appropriate for my needs, and although Dura-Bench is far more popular and often cited as the one to buy, I chose these because there were design features and sizes available that were better for me: specifically, Dura-Bench does not manufacture a 3 foot wide panel, but AV Plastics does. These are purchased as individual panels that interlock and you just add as many as you need to fit whatever bench length you want to build. They are clean, sturdy and well-made. If you assemble the support bench as directed (they recommend specific support placement) these do not sag under the weight of the pots. These were ridiculously easy to install, which is always a plus. I'm not sure which is better (AV Plastic or Dura-Bench), and I think it would depend on what your requirements are, but one reason I chose these is that, after shipping and all, these were quite a bit less expensive than Dura-Bench.
 
That looks great Paul and I'm sure will aid in producing pitchers with the finicky plants. I've seen this similarly in John's from Australia greenhouse. Are you misting by hand still? What is the humidity like in your greenhouse?
 
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That looks great Paul and I'm sure will aid in producing pitchers with the finicky plants. I've seen this similarly in John from Australia's greenhouse. Are you misting by hand still? What is the humidity like in your greenhouse?

On the bench tops where the air movement isn't as aggressive as it is up where the hanging plants live, I don't have to mist at all. The humidity is always at 70% or more, thanks to the hydrofogger.
 
thanks for the info Paul! I'm thinking about a 4' deep bench with a Home Depot 16" coated wire shelf in the back of it raised up 10 inches or so; wooden supports and possibly a 2' solid area in the front to use when potting, etc.
 
On the bench tops where the air movement isn't as aggressive as it is up where the hanging plants live, I don't have to mist at all. The humidity is always at 70% or more, thanks to the hydrofogger.

It's as easy as that huh? Nice!
 
Looks great! I want to go for a similar effect in my indoor growing chambers when I get the time to work on them. Yeah, John in Australia has an impressive example of this method in his huge greenhouse (snapperhead51).
 
  • #10
Looks great! I want to go for a similar effect in my indoor growing chambers when I get the time to work on them. Yeah, John in Australia has an impressive example of this method in his huge greenhouse (snapperhead51).

Ahh yes, it was likely John's greenhouse pics that put the idea in my head! It was ridiculously easy to get it going. Give it a try!
 
  • #11
That looks GREAT! Marius, the pygmy Drosera guy, also has his Nepenthes greenhouse benches filled with live sphagnum. The moss was so thick, he grabbed a couple of handfuls enough to fill a grocery bag full so I can start my own.
 
  • #12
That looks GREAT! Marius, the pygmy Drosera guy, also has his Nepenthes greenhouse benches filled with live sphagnum. The moss was so thick, he grabbed a couple of handfuls enough to fill a grocery bag full so I can start my own.

Thank you Don. If I went out to harvest Sphagnum from my hanging pots today, I am sure I could fill several grocery bags too! The stuff just grows and GROWS!
 
  • #13
I ......................... just , CAN'T!!

BEAUTIFUL!
 
  • #14
OMG Paul! That is amazing. wow! man! that looks so nice. :)
 
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