Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 22:13:11 +0800 From: Peter Cole <carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3506$foo@default> Subject: Re: Introduction
Hi Ian, welcome to the list.
"Kelley, Ian" <IKelley@littler.com> writes:
..
>My CP interests are many and not particularly specific, although I'd
>like to read more testimonials and get clever tips from other urban
>enthusiasts who must make do with tight space- my interest far outweighs
>my square footage, and I'm curious about others' novel approaches. This
..
Well here's a tip: you don't need sunlight to grow CPs - most will grow
perfectly well under regular 'cool white' fluorescent lights.
There's an article I wrote a few years back detailing how to build a
"ten minute terrarium" (though I've been getting Email ever since from
people who've done it in under 10 minutes - I believe the current record
is something under 4 minutes - presumably with a hammer and duct tape!)
you can find it at:
http://www.flytrap.demon.co.uk/cpterr.htm
I use a dozen or so of these for raising Sarracenia seedlings, Dionaea
cuttings, terrestrial Utrics - any reasonably low plants (you won't fit
an adult S.flava 'maxima' in there though!) and I find they're even better
than sunlight (though that may be due to the dismal climate here in Wales,
certainly compared to SF.)
And if you need even more space, then you can move into the wardrobe and
fill the rest of your house with industrial shelving and a couple of
kilowatts of strip lights - your house will light up like Amityville
and the neighbours will probably think you're growing dope in there,
but what the hell.
But seriously - the consensus of opinion seems to be (and certainly my
experience is) that expensive growbulbs don't offer any noticeable
advantage over regular cheap strip lights from the local hardware store.
Tall Sarracenias etc. can be tricky to light well - the crowns are usually
too shady if the lights are high up above the lids, but with a little
ingenuity you can mount the strips vertically.
I find 4x40W 4' striplights positioned 18" above the plants with a foil
reflector is perfectly adequate for full sun-loving species, although
all-red forms may not colour up as well as in sunlight. For shadier
Pinguicula and Utricularia, you can use 2x or even just 1x.
So I guess the message is - don't think square footage, think cubic footage!
Good luck and happy growing,
Peter
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