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Tropical Plants

Setting up grow room for Mango/Lychee in basement

14 years ago

I currently have 3 mango saplings, one 3 gallon Mango and one 3 gallon Lychee from Pine Island and a Guava tree in my basement, which is next to some large windows in my basement which are also south facing. I did this last year (i didnt have the plants from pine island yet), and my plants were able to survive well enough for the summer to be put outside I live in ohio and we get some crappy winters. Anyway this year I wanted better supplemental light so I bought a 600W HPS/MH Grow light. I also purchased some mylar online and will be walling off the plants, but my question is:

Should I try to utilize the natural sunlight and also use the grow light as well? I would just wall off 3 sides and have one side open to the windows, or should I just forget about the natural light (i mean i did buy a 300$ ballast system). I was thinking by utilizing the sunlight as well, it would be cheaper on the electric bill, since i would run the light for shorter periods of time.

As for the humidity, i am not going to worry about that right now, since I do not want to cause a mold issue in my basement.

Any ideas? Maybe if I drew a picture of what I had in mind, it might better frame my question for you guys.

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Comments (4)

alphapenguin
Original Author
14 years ago
Here is a pic of my idea. no dimensions, but I am planning on a 6'by 6' area.
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
14 years ago
Lamp will likely throw off a lot of heat. Warm temps will encourage mites, so be warned. Yes, I would utilize existing windows for natural light. You might also be able to crack the windows to allow fresh air on milder days, as long as you are going to 'wall it off'. It might keep temps cooler too. You may want to eventually set up a small humidifier and a fan to circulate air.
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Thanks Guys! ( : Toai - The sale doesn't end until the end of this month. You should definitely get yourself a few tropical fruit trees! And, yes, this will definitely be a fantastically exciting journey for me! ( : ohiojay - I will research Puglvr's mango pruning. This will definitely help (as I know nothing about pruning!). Your greenhouse is fantastic! I am still envious! mango kush - They'll be wintered indoors. I still haven't figured out how I'll be doing that part. I'm lucky spring/summer is upon us! Harry - It's a good thing you suggested I repot both. (I was gonna wait). Right now, it's kind of yucky outside but the weatherman does call for sunshine in the next few days. I hope so! I will definitely keep you posted on their progress and post pics. Both the mango and lychee are from pine island. I've heard a lot of you talk about their place. So I am glad they're from a reputable nursery in Florida. It must've been destiny for me to find out about the sale! I will be doing a lot of research and asking a lot of questions! I hope you all don't mind if I ask questions that's probably been recycled a million times before. Summer cannot get her fast enough! Bo
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Sorry puglvr about your frozen mango pannicles/blooms. We down here on the SW coast, just south of Venice, had no damaging temps. Came close a few times in Feb, but my concern was with my 4 youngest babies, the Pickering, the Tebow, the Carrie and the youngest, just 9 weeks in the groeund, the Maha Chanook. On all four I strung the old fashioned C-9 Christmass tree lights, - all look like they survived in great shape ! The older tough guys, the Kent, Vallencia Pride and the Glenn, are all over 14 ft tall and easily survived the wemps we got here. I do know how you feel tho, my 1st winter here, the '09/'10 one, I lost 3 of the 4 six ft tall mango trees I planted in March 2009 !! This winter, however cold Feb was, was not as bad for us as the '09/'10 one was. Hope some of your's respond to your TLC.
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puglvr1
14 years ago
Alpha, check out this link from the tropical fruits forum...might help you out a little? Good luck!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1114542120895.html?19

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread from the Tropical Fruits forum
tylerross10_hotmail_com
12 years ago
I know this is a fairly old post, but I'd like to add a bit of my knowledge.

I would suggest buying a Mylar enclosed grow room. IT helps trap heat, and keep bugs out.

It also allows you to monitor the exact temperature and humidity within your own container.

I also live in the snow and grow tropical plants that need approx 70Ã¯Â¿Â½ with 60-70% humidity. Without ruining the wood or walls in my house, or making my room smell like a butterfly house.

Also I went one step further and I use 2x quad band 90watt UFO lights, and 1 tri-band UFO in a tri-force configuration all piled into a 5'x5'x5' grow space. I got a pretty substantial harvest, and my power bill increased approx $30 a month.

You can pay the extra for the HID bulbs and my buddies swear by the increased watts that your harvest also increases. So it really depends on the $ ur willing to throw down and to what extent.

To me. Let's say 6 months to fruit.. If you have that setup you're probably looking at around 500-600 for a hydro, HID,

and depending on your light, you're probably looking at a couple hundred more in power.

Is what you're planting worth the investment?

Or if you went LED's, it dramatically drops the amount of power consumption and makes that level even more affordable.

Also with Led's since they use such a low power. @ some point in the future I want to set up a parallel 12v system tied to a Gear bike generator. So I go and workout in the morning and it powers my grow box. In which you could easily set up for another $200.

Enjoy, and any questions or schematics you may want just hit me up.

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