Building a grow chamber...

Subject: Building a grow chamber... Sat Nov 08, 2008 11:47 pm

G'day guys...

I've been mulling over the possibility of building a grow chamber for providing artificial heat, light, and humidity for grafted plants, cultivating Pereskiopsis, etc. You see, I live south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, and it's cool and shady here... not particularly optimal for growing a lot of species.

Therefore to overcome my cacti-unfriendly climate, I figure the best option is a growbox of some sort. Now, short of setting up an indoor grow room (which, let's be honest, looks just a bit dodgy to outsiders), I've come to the conclusion that my space needs are fairly modest. In fact, I reckon something the size of a large esky would be plenty big enough to allow me to germinate seeds, cultivate Pereskiopsis and graft as much as I would desire to.

So, therefore, what I plant to do is turn a large, cheap esky into a grow box, complete with fluoro lights and heating, all on a timer so that I can control day/night etc. I figure an esky is a good starting point for all this because it's 1) insulated; 2) portable; 3) easily adapted to my needs.

Has anyone else tried this? Am I onto a good idea? Am I risking burning my house down by sticking fluoro lights and a heat mat into an esky?

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:53 am

I guess anything will work if think the space will be enough. Hehe, if it is it might not be for long. Rolling Eyes

I try to focus on three factors with an artificial environment.
Temperature, humidity and light. In my opinion, if you have the right levels and variety of light with ventilation you should be fine.

Did you have any ideas for heating Lachy?
_________________
Cactus & Succulent Society of Australia

You're not the master yet Lewis, but you should run for president.

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:58 am

Whats wrong with natural light? or are you tring to keep away prying eyes? im planning on some sort of greenhouse homemade jobbie .just to keep out the chilly winds and add a bit of humidity ,some sort of dome shaped frame ,draped in plastic and shade cloth with the option to open and close parts as the weather changes. At least if i start now she should be ready for next winter as it rains alot here south of perth. I just got some pereskiopsis,does it require special treatment? i better put it under glass till i get some housing, hey that's an idea ,when i take cuttings of non cacti plants i stick them in a 20 litre bucket with a sheet of glass on top as a make shift glasshouse until they root ,in the shade of coarse. buckets and glass are cheap or you could just use gladwrap.

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:12 am

What's wrong with natural light... well, to be honest I live on the side of a hill that doesn't get much. Combine that with the fact that it always seems to be significantly colder here than the rest of Melbourne, and you'll understand why I seem to be the only person on the face of the earth who can't get Pereskiopsis to grow like a weed.

The truth is that, by and large, the weather here is simply too cold most of the year, except in summer when it's too hot and dry for Pereskiopsis to be happy. If I had the space I would simply erect (haha... he said "erect") a greenhouse. Unfortunately, I don't have the space and my employment dictates that I move around a bit. Therefore, with uncertain growing opportunities, a self-contained grow box seems like it might work. That way I can keep up the heat, light and humidity thorughout the year. I've got a spare heating panel here, so I should have no issues keeping the temperature up throughout a chilly winter.

And as for keeping out prying eyes... that's not a problem for me, as most of my long-suffering guests, neighbours and relatives have found out that I'm all too eager to show off the cacti.

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:51 am

Mate i remember my first cacti came to me when i was in unsettled circumstances, and eventually i went overseas for 2 years or so, but instead of ditching my beloved green friends i found a quiet sunny spot in a state forest under a huge tree which kept em dry . when i got back they were still alive and 10 years later i still have them. people grow well ...er stuff in forests etc.. maybe if you could find some vacant land and hide them till things settle down. well i had no choice as my family werent around to help me and once bitten by the cactus bug the lack of 4 walls cant stop the obsession. have you got a roof?

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:22 pm

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 3:13 pm

yeah i thought that as well,shame there seems to be some stigma associated there. couldnt he camoflage them amongst some geen rocks of similar size. lol , or maybe a climbing vine on some sort of frame would be the go for a disguise, would help shade em to ,but yeah he has shade issues.mmmmmmmmmm............ rendeer

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:41 pm

Heheheh... a couple of the comments here have me chuckling to myself.

Basically, the situation is this: Last year I had a number of plants flowering, the product of which were apparently viable seeds. I know this, because I had initially had excellent germination. However, I was unable to maintain adequate temperatures and lighting to ensure good growth, and as a consequence lost almost 100% of my seedlings. This included Parodias, Rebutias, Mamms and a number of Echinopsis hybrids. Those that survived went all spindly and were eventually culled.

Furthermore, I also bought a varietyr of seeds, including Myrtillocactus, Ariocarpus, Aztekium, Cereus, and a number of others... my germination rate was pretty much 0%, and those that did germinate grew very spindly and eventually were culled. Basically, as far as I can see the problem was inadequate heat and light that did my poor seedlings in, as sterilization of the soil medium was performed and no signs of the dreaded fungus gnats were present. So, I figure that if I can keep the heat and light up, I can grow from seed the year round.

Now, stop making me out to be some sort of nefarious commercial-scale Loph cultivator.... Laughing

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:06 pm

my sincerest apologies champ.

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:34 pm

Hey, no need for apologies... just tryin' to explain myself, is all.

Now, back to the topic at hand... Is what I'm contemplating a good idea, or is this just a shortcut to a housefire due to pumping too much electricity into an esky?

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:05 pm

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:12 pm

Oh god, what have I started here. *sinks face into his hands*

I'm just trying to build a propagator, dammit! Laughing

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:10 pm

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Mon Nov 10, 2008 11:27 pm

See, now I *know* you're just trying to wind me up... Laughing

My current experiment is growing the peres in pots, housed in a transparent plastic drum, partially shaded so there is an increase in temperature but without the burning intensity of direct sunlight. If that works, well it's a starting point. I'd just like to be able to grow from seed successfully. The thought of having herds of little baby cacti growing away happily is a very enticing one, I must admit.

Subject: Re: Building a grow chamber... Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:39 pm

i found the best way to grow pereskiopsis was in this er propagator:
http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9412
they grew several centimetres a week. take them out of there and guess what.. they didn't grow like weeds.. even in a greenhouse.