Build a Shade House on a Budget

[Kona's Gold]

A new story entry has been added:

Build a Shade House on a Budget

rchids seem intimidating to grow for most beginners. But take it from this beginner (for the second time) they are easy to grow. The thing you need to watch out for is over/under watering and over fertilizing those are the main killers of plants of any kind. Another consideration is where to grow them. Some grow in windows, some under lights, some on their porches/lanais, some in green houses (if they have the area and money) and some like me a shade house. I have the warm weather here so year round shade house growing is the ticket. Of course even in more temperate climates it will work for late spring to early fall or into winter in south Texas/Florida or where you can maintain a good humidity say 45-55%.

Shade Houses can very simple lean-to

[rcod09]

Looks great, i'm looking forward to building one in the future i hope.

[breeindy]

how do you stop the pests coming in and laying eggs and grubs hatching? this is the problem im having with no door. my phals have chewed out crowns!

[Aussie42]

Hi Breeindy.

I've had a similar pest problem growing some 200 plants under a tree in my yard. I was periodically dipping all the plants in pyrethrum but have recently found an easier way - I bought a litre of very strong pyrethrum. It was expensive ($185) but much cheaper than the 200 ml bottles from Bunnings in the long run. The litre mixes at 1ml/litre rather than 10ml/litre for the stuff from Bunnings. So I've got over 100 watering cans of pyrethrum in one shot.

I water in the afternoon and an hour or two later mix up a few watering cans of pyrethrum. I've just done the first hit and intend to follow up in about 3 weeks. That should give any eggs time to hatch but should be before any grubs are old enough to lay more eggs.

I've never had a problem with the plants using pyrethrum but can't guarantee that some species may be sensitive. In my experience pyrethum kills snails, slugs, all kinds of crawly grubs, roaches, ants, earthworms (unfortunately) and spiders which for some reason just love hiding in my pots.

I got the pyrethrum from this mob:
>> Py-Bo << Material Safety Data Sheet

They also have a 250 ml bottle which may suit.

Cheers,
Aus.

[jcaesar]

Originally Posted by Kona's Gold

A new story entry has been added:

Build a Shade House on a Budget

I like your shadehouse. A lot of hobbyist in South Florida use the 10' x 20' carport kits you find at home improvement & retail stores. I paid around $100 for mine. No measuring, no cutting of pipes, etc. Everything comes in a single box. The white canvas roof that comes with the kit worked well, allowing an adequate amount of light to come through until a hurricane tore it up. I now use shade cloth and don't worry too much about the rain. During particularily rainy times I spray the plants down with Physan. I paid $65 for a grommeted and boardered piece of shade cloth to fit the roof. I use a green pvc coated metal mesh that comes in rolls for the sides and use electrical tie wraps to attach it the carport frame. Finally, I installed a prefab gate kit and two pipes at one end of the "greenhouse" for entry/exit. I love living in a warm climate, like yourself, though we sometimes have to tack up plastic sheeting to prevent cold damage on those rare occassions when the temperatures drop into the 40's.

[orchidsamore]

The article mentions heating the ends of the shade cloth to keep it from unraveling.

There are two types woven and knitted. One shade cloth unravels badly and is heated usually with a blow torch to seal the ends but the other shade cloth is only slightly higher in price and can be cut with scissors and never unravels. This is especially good it the cloth is ever damaged with a cut, then it can be sown, the other is a total loss.

It is a much better choice for shade cloth and is the only type used commercially. Before you buy ask that you are getting the type that can be cut without unraveling. I forget which is which since my dealer only stocks the better type.

They also sell plastic clips that can be snapped on the end of the cloth and used as a tie down. They work well and are only $0.20 each. Much cheaper than tape and grommets.

[mimigirl]

I love in New Orleans, LA. You might know of the hurricane we had here almost 3 years ago. And we are very suceptable(?) to more. I truly wish that I lived in an area where I would feel confident to erect a structure that might not blow or flood away! You are lucky. I am very happy for you and all others who can do this.

[Aussie42]

Here's a shadehouse design that really impressed me - cheap, simple and can be tied to the ground:

http://www.waterright.com.au/shade%20houses.pdf

I'm seriously thinking of something along these lines myself.

Cheers,
Aus.

[mimigirl]

will you bottom water the orchids? How can you do that with pine bark potting medium & wouldn't it keep them too moist? The structure seems great though! Thanks

[Aussie42]

No, it's just the shell of the shadehouse that's good. Benches and pots all the way for the orchids ;-)