I hope this is the proper forum for this post. Here goes...
My hubby and I mounted our flat screen TV on the wall just recently, making our solid oak entertainment center an obsolete piece of furniture. It's pretty large - about 72" long x 30" deep x 60" tall - and I was pondering the idea of converting it to a growing chamber/area.
The ent. center is currently in the garage, where it will stay (no room in the house), and the lights inside the growing compartment (where the TV used to be) will be the only light source. I'm thinking a 6- or 8-bulb T5 fixture. (Will that be enough for oncidium intergenerics?) The plants will sit atop a stair-stepped plant stand so that higher light orchids can be placed closer to the lights and the lower light orchids can be on the lower steps. I plan to have a few fans blowing cross winds into the growing area to provide airflow and heat dispersment from the lights.
I haven't tested the maximum temperature or humidity in the garage since it's gotten warmer, but know it at least reaches 80 degrees F, if not hotter. Nights in the summer would probably only get to 75 degrees F.
I would love to try to grow some of the cooler-growing orchids, and I thought maybe I could somehow incorporate the idea of an evaporative cooler into this project. The growing chamber could be closed off with the 2 sliding doors, but it wouldn't be air tight...don't know much about swamp coolers, so I don't know if that presents a problem. If it does, does anyone have any other ideas on how to cool off this area during the summer short of installing a small a/c unit in my garage?
If all else fails, I'll have lots of room for more warm-growing orchids!!
Turn an entertainment center into an "orchid center"?
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