My Indoor Growing Space aka Intensive Care Unit!Some people would call this a bit extreme or exessive but for me this converted built in cupboard has really helped grow a variety of plants carnivorous and non-carnivorous.
I basically partitioned off 1/4 of my built in cupboard/wardrobe. I used a sheet of thin ply-wood, shaped it into a rough 'C' shape, secured the wood so it wouldn't ping back out of shape and ruin everything....Drilled a two holes at the apex of the bent wood for the bulb holders to be fed through.
Next step was to cover the inside with a special material caller 'Mylar' which is a light reflective material which apparently reflects back 98% of light or somewhere around that. I used a glue to fix the Mylar.
I then searched the web for appropriate indoor growing light bulbs. I found that £40 was the average price for 120w blue spectrum fluro bulb. After that was fitted in I installed an automatic light timer to switch the light on and off automatically (usually at around 15 hours light perday) .
To stop the air growing stagnant in there I fitted two reletivly large PC cooling fans which I had to cut space for on the edge of the ply wood. I wired the fans to two seperate cheap 12v transformer plugs, set at 9v each. One fan sucks air in from outside the cupboard and the other fan on top is an exhaust fan dispelling air etc...
In the winter (which it now is!) the temp drops a fair bit in the ICU ;) so I installed a reptile heat mat underneath the capillary matting (absorbs spillage) to warm up the area a tiny bit, it also raises the humidity by a few % too if the capillary mat is damp.
The only plants that I don't put in the growing unit are plants that require a cold and less intense light dormancy period. I germinate seeds in there and revive floundering specimines.
As my collection grows though I am considering expanding the 1/4 designated space to 1/2....Will keep you posted on that :)
I basically partitioned off 1/4 of my built in cupboard/wardrobe. I used a sheet of thin ply-wood, shaped it into a rough 'C' shape, secured the wood so it wouldn't ping back out of shape and ruin everything....Drilled a two holes at the apex of the bent wood for the bulb holders to be fed through.
Next step was to cover the inside with a special material caller 'Mylar' which is a light reflective material which apparently reflects back 98% of light or somewhere around that. I used a glue to fix the Mylar.
I then searched the web for appropriate indoor growing light bulbs. I found that £40 was the average price for 120w blue spectrum fluro bulb. After that was fitted in I installed an automatic light timer to switch the light on and off automatically (usually at around 15 hours light perday) .
To stop the air growing stagnant in there I fitted two reletivly large PC cooling fans which I had to cut space for on the edge of the ply wood. I wired the fans to two seperate cheap 12v transformer plugs, set at 9v each. One fan sucks air in from outside the cupboard and the other fan on top is an exhaust fan dispelling air etc...
In the winter (which it now is!) the temp drops a fair bit in the ICU ;) so I installed a reptile heat mat underneath the capillary matting (absorbs spillage) to warm up the area a tiny bit, it also raises the humidity by a few % too if the capillary mat is damp.
The only plants that I don't put in the growing unit are plants that require a cold and less intense light dormancy period. I germinate seeds in there and revive floundering specimines.
As my collection grows though I am considering expanding the 1/4 designated space to 1/2....Will keep you posted on that :)
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