Building an inexpensive and effective orchidarium.

[tmaxwell]

A new story entry has been added:

Building an inexpensive and effective orchidarium.

I've been keeping a few orchids for about five years. Recently, as my interest has shifted toward the smaller, humidity loving varieties, windowsill culture has become less suitable. In my climate (northern MN) it gets cold (it's -20 today) and extremely dry. In these growing conditions, a haven for my plants became necessary, so I built one.

[tmaxwell]

I could not figure out how to put images right in the article, so here they are!

[Bird Song Farm]

Very clever! Looks like the plants are happy and that's the whole idea. Congrats!
Al

[dounoharm]

very clever...now that someone has done all the work for me i will try to copy it and make my own!!! i knew it could be done, i just didnt know how....thanks a bunch!

[Myst]

wow! adorable. thank you for sharing...i hope to make one some day.

[Phil Pollard]

Maxwell that's a neat idea and it looks really cool!

[orchidtatter]

This is just what I have been looking for! I have wanted to build something like this but was leery of trying it because the other plans I have seen were much more complicated than your idea.

I do have one question..... How are your fans wired into the adapter? The adapters I have seen have the little plugs at the ends. Do the fans have the same type of plugs? I am thinking about using an adjustable converter so I can control the speed of the fans. Can't wait to get building!!

[tmaxwell]

Hey folks, thanks for looking! Orchidtatter, the ends of all the wires related to the fans are simply stripped, and twisted together (12v is safe). Using a variable-voltage adapter works great (mine goes from 3.5-12) Another thing I forgot originally: The plants hang from lengths of bamboo garden stake, which rest on a length of cedar at each end, which is in turn glued to the tank wall with silicone. The last picture illustrates this.

[jaded]

Very nice! Simple effective design, and it looks good from the outside.

Orchidtatter, I made one just to keep the cold air from building up in our bay window and damaging the plants sitting in it. (We also live in Minnesota.) Just get a computer "muffin" fan (they're 12 VDC) and an old power adapter from a phone charger or other discarded electronic device. They all have voltages printed on them, anything from 5VDC to 12VDC will work. The higher the voltage, the faster the fan will spin (and the louder it will be.) It doesn't take too much air movement to keep the plants healthy.

I had been considering building something like this but my wife came into a small lump of money so she bought the Grand Cayman and saved me the trouble. Can't say that I blame her.

[Jensine449]

Bookmarking! Thanks everyone for your comments!