GROW TENT!

As I was making plans to set up a small shelving unit and some lights for the more cold sensitive Nepenthes and orchids, my husband got me this for my Christmas gift before I went out and spent money on stuff we didn't need. It's a grow tent!

It's still in the 70's and 80's F here during the day, 50's and 60's at night, but after hauling everything in and back out for the brief cold snap we had I decided to plan for this winter early. Now "winter" here is not cold, not by any stretch of the imagination for someone from New York. It's doesn't snow, but we do get an occasional frost in January and February. It's a light ground covering, never frosted on the deck, but still cold enough to do some damage to more tropical species. I never thought the husband would let me have something this large though. I guess he really was sick of seeing the bathroom and kitchen covered in plants on nights that got too cold! I should've taken pictures of the construction with a real camera, but I was trying to help in between jumping up and down and talking too fast about all the plans I was making for it. Anyway, here are some quick iPhone pics in the mean time. I'll take another round of photos when it's all set up and all the plants are in there. I'm still planning out what I want to go where.

Here's the breakdown of what it is so far:

• GrowLab GL80L Growtent (4'11" x 2'7" x 6'7")
• Quantum BadBoy T5, 8 bulb fixture [mix of 3400 (2), 6500 (4), and 10000 (2) K bulbs]
• 4 Tier polished chrome finish shelving unit (Styleselections brand, not that that really matters)

Now, what I still need is an exhaust fan. The Quantum BadBoy is a good replacement for the sun in light, and unfortunately heat.

The tent has more than enough vents and I may be able to get away with the clip on fan I already have for fresh air intake. So there's still some experimentation to be done, and some shuffing of things around. I may also get some horticultural lattice to hang my mounted orchids and bromeliads on the side(s), and possibly another smaller shelving unit. I don't know, I'll figure it out as I go, but suggestions are welcome. Updates to come, moving the last of everything in this week.

Quick photo, getting set up. House cat for scale: