I have been wanting to try to grow some hoyas and when I received this little baby for Xmas yesterday I thought maybe it was in the succulent family, well that goes to show how much I can spot a plant and to my surprise I had my first Hoya.
And after posting in the wrong forum to see what it was, I could not have been happier thanks to people who knew it was a Hoya compacta..
Now I have to have more and another addiction that my hubby is just gonna love me for..He has gotten so tired of all my plants in the house over winter that I am getting my birthday and Xmas gift in the form of a new greenhouse that we should be able to get finished this weekend if the weather permits..
Vickie
I have my first
Welcome to this forum, Vicki! I'm a newbie at hoyas, but have gotten crazy addicted to them!!! You'll find lots of really nice (and knowledgeable) people here! Congrats on your first hoya! And, please post pictures of the progress on your greenhouse! Karen
Thanks so much, I could not be happier with my gift and the girls I work with know how nuts I am so when we exchanged gifts this year so we all wrote down things we were looking for and mine stated..unique plants, potting soil, miracle grow so that was what she bought me. It was so exciting but they sure think I am totally nuts, but it is what I needed..(:
Here is is group picture of the steps in the process of my little greenhouse ..today may be the day....I just wish I had more room here for a bigger one but this will have to do..I thought it was just the best gift of all..
Wow, that looks fantastic! What a great gift! You've come to the right place if you want to fill up that greenhouse.
Heather
Thanks Heather, I sure am hoping to fill the rafters with hanging Hoyas. I may need rehab before it's all over, between my brug's and tropical and now Hoyas, yes I have to have more..
Vickie
What a nice greenhouse!!! Shouldn't take to long to feel it up. Congratulations on your first hoya.
Tami
Looks great, Vickie! You will have to make a road trip up to Knoxville and we will fill that puppy up!
Great greenhouse! I love the sink that your hubby built for you, too. How are you going to heat your GH? Will you have running water?
By the way, the size of your GH will give you alot of room to grow MANY MANY plants. Use 'layers' with shelving and then hang from sides, back, and top, to increase the number of plants you can grow.
Thank Tami, I love it. We finally tacked the poly on the back wall and now is just about sealed. So we are working on the inside now and today was able to get about half the floor bricked.
I have just a regular floor heater in there now and it was showing holding about 55 inside with outside temp. 38 and feels like 32.. Earlier it had gotten up to 70 inside which was nice to take your coat off and work.
Lynn we have a water faucet outside of the greenhouse now so it is only a couple inches away which will be convenient for watering. We also have several selves that he is getting ready to put up and will put up several more later and hooks already in the rafters for hanging plants. We still have to put in the fan, but one question I have is do you run your fan allot in the winter during the day or not..
I did find this great little digital temp./humidity control which will tell me what I need to know, I hope!
And Mel I will definitely love to have that road trip come spring and remember I was just telling you a few weeks ago I wanted to start growing Hoyas and ended up with one as a gift..
Thanks you all, will take pictures of the inside when it is finished.
Vickie
Air circulation is really critical....all the time... I love your set up....GREAT!
Carol
Vickie, keep your fan on 24 hours a day.....Like Carol said: air circulation is very important for all plants. It keeps the contained air more buoyant and healthy.
My greenhouse is fully-automated with stats that run everything. Having it all set for automation frees me up so that the greenhouse runs itself. It took a few days to fine-tune the greenhouse and get my settings, but the plants that you grow will help you determine the range of temp and humidity that you need.
I have the temperature pre-set for 'intermediate' conditions (daytime temp about 72-75) and when it gets too warm, the exhaust fan kicks on. Nighttime temp is set for 62 degrees. That keeps the inside temperature within a range that is most healthy for the plants I grow. We heat with propane using a Modine heater (I really don't like the heater it is WAY too 'sensitive'!) and an electric 4000Watt heater for back-up.
Most greenhouses have 'pockets' of cooler and warmer areas, and I take advantage of those small areas to grow cooler loving plants or warmer loving plants. You will notice those 'pockets' as you get your greenhouse up and running. And if you have a small hand-held temp. gauge, you'll be able to get accurate readings for your own greenhouse.
To boost humidity in my greenhouse, an automatic fogger is set up for about 55% humidity. When the temperature rises during the day, the fogger is used more than the lower night-time temps. The fogger is set up on the water that is piped into the greenhouse from our home. And the water in the greenhouse gives me the ability to water and/or mist freely with a hose.
It sounds complicated, but it isn't -- it's actually quite logical and pretty much like a functional house! But the greenhouse is set up and conditioned for plants! :-)
Thanks for the help. I hope one day in the future to have mine automated but until then I will have to turn everything on myself. What is this fogger that you are talking about that sounds like something I will need to get.
Vickie
A fogger is an automatic misting system that fan-forces very very fine water into the greenhouse. It's one way to distribute humidity into your GH. Without a fogger or misting system, you can manually raise your humidity with your water-hose (water the floor and even your GH sides and roof periodically). Other ways to raise your internal humidity is to keep contained water vessels in your GH. The greater the vessel surface-area for water, the more you can add to your GH humidity. Of course, you can also grow your plants on trays that contain water, making sure that your plant containers are not in the water but on top. Most people doing humidity trays will add pea-size stones so that plant containers sit on the stone surface.
Unless you have water in your GH, you can't have an automatic fogger because it requires water on-demand for the system to release the water. In your zone, your water pipe would need to be placed below your freeze-line (about 18 to 24 inches deep) to avoid a frozen pipe.
A misting system can help your greenhouse stay cooler in warmer weather, too. It probably wouldn't be sufficient to cool your GH in the summertime in your zone, but through the month of May and into June, it would help reduce your internal heat (that and opened vents, door, etc).
Here's a link to some misting equipment from a business I use (no affiliation, just a customer of theirs): http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/mist.shtml They do have an assortment of misting equipment to give you an idea of the type of equipment that can be purchased.
OK I am wanting to add a misting system by next season but I had not heard them called a fogger..Thanks for that information, I have been to their website before and their prices on their misting systems are good, not sure which one would work better for me, how often do you mist in the winter and is.
He is trying to finish the brick on the floor today and I was hoping wetting the brick will help with humidity and not sure if brick is a source of heat but I like the way it is turning out.
I know I would love to be a plant in your greenhouse.
Vickie
Vickie....an old strip of carpet on the floor will help a lot with the humidity....smells a bit rough. Don't know about brick? reckon it can't hurt. As for heat? Wouldn't that make brick houses awfully hot....? Different kinds of brick? Gee...why did I even post here?????
Good point..I just had to laugh, I don't know what I was thinking...Well I can always put a piece of carpet on the brick then I can even sit on the floor if need be...(:
I'm glad you did post..thanks
Vickie
Hmmmm....I know wet carpet is used by some people but it creates mold and mildew. Both mold and mildew are toxic inhalants to humans and, in fact, it is SO toxic that both the Red Cross and FEMA offer information on how to eliminate these toxins from the home environment. I really wouldn't advise anyone to be around wet carpeting for any length of time.
You can wet (hose down) your brick floor a few times a day. It will slowly evaporate but until it does evaporate, the wet brick will indeed increase your humidity. Some days, I will turn off my fogger and just hose my stone square flooring. It works nicely. You ask how long or how often you mist....well, it depends upon your plants' needs. Your humidity can be in the 50-60% target range for many plants. Humidity is a measurement that is derived as a percentage of water in the atmosphere and it is relative to the temperature. That's where 'relative humidity' terminology comes in. The higher your temperature, the more water required in your air to reach 50%...the lower your temperature, the less 'wet' your air will be. Hope that makes sense. :-)
It definitely does make sense and I had already thought I could hose the brick in hopes that will help and I am going to order one of those misting systems.
I think by Christmas my plants will be in since there is not much left to do except put up a couple more selves. My GH put up two along one side and hooks in the rafters for hanging plants and even put me in a little radio and it was nice today working out there so I can just imagine when I have my plants in and I have a bunch that need to be put in pots and I know my Brugs and other tropicals will be happier than in the house.
I have about 8 Brug cuttings still in water now and some have gotten such a root system I think they are ready to pot up but was waiting till I could get them in there with more light.
Thanks for all your great advice and help.
I agree with LCG about mold and mildew....but both are a fact of life here in 160" of rain per year....and only leather suffers with the green gooky st uff. There is enough ventillation in my GH that I cannot smell the carpet...which I keep damp even with 60-70% humidity, minimum. With good ventilation it can't be deadly.
Carol
Vicki, your brick floor is going to make your GH even lovelier! Once you get your plants inside there, you aren't going to want to leave it -- it becomes your wintertime oasis!
Carol, Mold (actually mycotoxins) aren't always picked up with our sense of smell (and it's not always seen, either), but that doesn't mean that molds are not present. Even with 'good ventilation', it CAN be deadly. Molds produce allergens that can trigger allergic reactions, and asthma attacks in people who are allergic to mold. Mold has been known to trigger autoimmune disease in many people. Mold is a well-defined toxin. Here's a website that gives a good overview of just how serious mold can be: http://www.mold-help.org/
Too right, Lynn... I fight it 24/7.!
I can already feel it..we have completed and finally it is ready to put my plants in, so we are checking out the heat and testing the humidity and I should have time this weekend to get it all in..I'm so excited and I couldn't ask for a better gift and with Xmas break coming up this is our last week of school and two weeks off... (:
My DG said he was going to put a cot in there since it was so cozy and warm..I thought it so funny how much work he has done out there.
He also found a bunch of old windows and going to build a little extension on later this spring..
Thanks so much Lynn for all your help, I really appreciate it..
Vickie, you and your hubby have done an outstanding job and produced one heck of a fine greenhouse. You will spend many relaxed hours in there. Don't forget to keep us posted as you add or change things. We all learn from each other.
Barb
Thanks Barb,
Today he brought in sand to fill in the brick cracks and one area has rock, so I think this weekend I am going to start putting plants in..
The temp. today hit 90 in there my DG told me when I called him from work. I have learned so much from all of you and will take some pics of the inside when I get some of the plants in and hope I can do it right..
Vickie
How exciting, I can't wait to see the pictures!! Looking forward to this weekend for you!
Heather
I was wondering when in a greenhouse is better for watering, morning or evening. Tomorrow is the day I start taking them out and I know my hubby will be glad to get these all out of the house for sure.
He has worked so hard to get it all done and the work he did on the inside was just so wonderful..
Thanks all for your help
I water mine in the morning...before 10:00a.m. They are still 'working' and the soil gets nice and warmed up for the evening coolness.
Carol
I was hoping it was later in the day that was best but I can do it for sure on the weekends, but go to work to early to water in the a.m..I guess I will have to play with that..
thanks
