Show your AV growing area - natural light or artificial
A new poster from Canada, Marianne, asked for ideas she could use when setting up her new growing area in her basement. I thought it would be fun to see what different people do; I know there have been photos posted before like this, but not for a while. So, whether you grow under artificial lights or in natural light from your windows, please add your photos. These are mine:
Anne
Comments (43)
7 years agoWhat a great idea! :)
I have three natural light window shelves at a south window. This is an older picture. Currently I'm not using the bottom shelf... Have to keep it clear of little fingers. ;)
And one windowsill at an east window. This is an older picture... There are about 12 minis here currently. All are in full bloom. :)
I also have a few lamps with led lighting that I will use when I want to display the plants away from the light.
- 7 years ago
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Growing Seedlings with Artificial Light
Comments (18)Just wanted to update you all since you were so helpful with your advice. OK - so I did a few things since two weeks ago. First, I began giving the plants 24 hours of light instead of 14-16. Because the lights only have the ability to move up and down, I was not able to rotate the lights to different locations. I did, however, begin rotating the flats in order to give any plants that were getting leggy (or in general just having trouble growing), so that they were closer to the lights. Second, I bought some mylar film and stapled it to some wood frames that I built in order to keep as much light in as possible. As you can see in the photo, the Mylar is nearly as reflective as a mirror, so I think it has been helping quite a bit. I also purchased a 90 watt LED hydroponic grow lamp. It wasn't cheap but after it first blinded me, I think it was well worth it. I began moving some of the higher growing corn over to it because the corn was getting taller than the fluorescent lights and leaning severely toward it. I'm hoping they will correct themselves with the new light directly above them. I have attached pictures of several levels of my flats and also a picture of the grow lamp that I bought....See MoreGrowing AV's...conflicting info
Comments (3)Patrickalan - I live in CT with a climate similar to yours. My southwest picture window is way too hot and bright even in winter. I shade with a lace curtain, as suggested, and that works. Try a double thickness if one panel doesn't do it. An east window is better, and you will still probably need a sheer curtain at the eastern exposure in summertime. The problem with moving plants farther back into the room is that the light falls off drastically more than a foot from the glass. Hold your hands above the plants - you don't want much direct sun, but you should be able to see your hand cast a shadow. In hot weather, you can move plants to a northern exposure, if you have a choice. Hot sun damages plants quickly, and it takes a long time for scorched plants to recover. In January, I inadvertently cooked a violet in a baggie on that bright windowsill, even with the lace curtain there. Everything else was OK because the other plants were a bit farther back. I wick all my plants, so the soil stays moist. In that situation, any slightly limp/wilted leaves are a sign my plants are too hot! Think about fluorescent lights - cool and bright on your hand, casting a shadow. That is what you are shooting for with natural light. Hope this helps. Enjoy your violets! Barbara...See MoreLight Meter: what is the correct dial setting to use for AV-s?
Comments (10)Thank you so much, jwv24! I had figured out that the 10X is best used in full sun and it picks up where the meter maxes out on the X1 setting. What I wasn't sure of was which setting is usually used for AV-s. In other words, if I use the X1 setting, and the meter registeres somewhere between 500-1000, does this indicate an adequate amount of light? I assume so because the AV-s want bright light but not direct sun - so I am always using the x1 setting. If I am on the X10 setting and the indicator is barely above 0 (say at 100)...that means we have a 100x10=1000 candles which would be the same as the needle registering at 1000 on the x1 setting - so good. It is my understanding that in order for AV-s to bloom they need a minimum of 500 foot candles ...and ideally between 1000-2000. I am already starting to figure out by the behavior of my AV-s that they probably have been getting too much light where most have been sitting, which is on a stand placed against a south-eastern window where they also receive a few hours of supplemental artificial light, with the light placed about 7-9 inches above them. I wish I was able to lift the light further above the plants but the shelves are not adjustable, so I have reduced the hours instead. Trouble is they also receive some direct afternoon sun, though most of it is filtered by some trees. All in all, it is clear they are getting too much light because as soon as AV-s spend a few weeks there, the crowns start coming in kind of small and tight, stems shorten and leaves curl. I have moved some of them on the lowest shelf of the stand where they don't receive direct light as there is no window at that level...and I have also reduced the artificial light...so we will see if they straighten up. The meter easily registers over 2000 when on the x1 setting. I also have a smaller corner stand right between an eastern and north-eastern vindow (no supplemental light here) but based on what I have noticed, these too seem to be getting more light than they would like. For a few hours, the sun still kind of shines right on them from above, even if it is just morning sun. Being in the South, all summer sun is hot enough sun, I suppose. Things will change though with the colder season coming so my eastern ad south-eastern windows may be just right by the end of September. Thank you again!...See MoreGrowing onions under artificial lighting
Comments (9)I live about 40 miles out of Lubbock. I've grown Walla Walla successfully by planting from seed in late September/early October. I always planted a nursery row very thickly and then transplanted the survivors to their proper spacing in late February/ early March. Walla Walla always matured nicely with no problems in late July-mid August. Made very big onions. However, they didn't keep well and like other long day types I've grown they tended to mature somewhat irregularly-not all at once. The most successful overwintering onion for me was Desert Sunrise from Johnny's, but it doesn't seem to be available any longer. Now I order transplants from Dixondale for late February delivery. Candy, Superstar, and Red River consistently produce big onions and sometimes store very well. Short day onions transplanted in late February/early March tend to produce fairly small onions, but I always get some Southern Belle for an early harvested onion-usually mid-June. Give it a try....See More
7 years ago
7 years agoGlad you liked the ideas Marianne! And that expression "have the green light" is pretty universal!!!
Thanks to you Su for linking my pics. Should have paid more attention to the new thread being put up! Thanks again!
This is a pix of my east window, sorry not very clear, and to the right I have one of those vintage plant poles.
Isn't this a great idea for an antique sewing machine? Not mine, forgot where I got this pix, but I love it! Actually in my west window I do have an antique Singer and it is holding bagged violet leaves along side some stapelia and hueneria. I just don't have a light unit on top like in this photo. But isn't this a great good idea????? Rosie
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Marianne, I will try to take a better pix of just the shelf. It is actually metal, and hangs off of the window latches. They were popular in the 1950's & 1960's I believe. I just never got rid of them! YaY!!!
I think you mean mason jars that my plants are sitting in? No those are not jars at all. The flower pots are sitting in clear plastic drinking cups. (The same cups you get from McDonalds or anywhere! I save them all. You can also buy them in any supermarket or dollar store if you have them.) That lets the wick fall into the water for my wicking system. I tend to use whatever I have on hand. Here is a pix of a streptocarpus on it's wick system. It's pot is a white solo cup and I cut a circle out of the lid of a condiment cup that I got when I went out to dinner. Yep, I wrapped it in a napkin and brought it home! Then I set the solo cup into it for a tight fit. You can't see the wick, but it is dropped down all the way to suck up the water. You just have to make sure you don't cut too large of a hole in the lid. I only want the pot to go into it about 1/2 inch. Just enough for a snug fit. I tried to just make a small hole about the size of a pencil and set the pot on top of the lid, but I kept knocking the pot off!
Here is another example of recycling an ice cream container with it's own lid and a pudding cup used as a pot! These are containers from an ice cream place called Culvers. They came with the lid and the lid already had a nice round hole in it! Fit this size pot (plastic pudding cup) perfectly!
These are just a couple ideas for using what you can. Su (joyfulsu) uses the mason jelly jars that are quilted (they are smaller for her mini's). Look at her pix and you will see that is what they are!
Anything can be used as long as one thing kinda fits in another! Oh and about that "little rope". If you put your plants on a wick system, you can use yarn for the actual wick. Make sure you don't use 100% cotton yarn. Get a yarn that has acrylic in it otherwise it will rot faster than you can say "isn't that a pretty violet? lol And use a very light soil mix. I use 1/2 MiracleGro and 1/2 perlite. I don't add anything else. Read some of the previous posts to get a handle on wick watering. There is lots of info about it. Good luck! Rosie
- 7 years ago
Hi there! My name is Su, but I can see how my username would make it confusing! :)
My husband made those shelves for me and cut glass to fit, but plexiglass would work just as well I'm sure. :) it definitely lets more light thru with clear shelving!
As for the string in the mason jars - that is for wicking the water up into the pot. I use a big needle to thread mason twine down thru the pot. I know some people use yarn or other things as long as it's not cotton, since cotton rots.
I bought plastic pots on eBay that are 3" across, and they fit perfectly onto the widemouth pint mason jars.
For miniatures, I bought 2" plastic pots from pjs violets on eBay and they fit into the half-pint jars. :)
Hope this helps!!! It's great to see you do excited about violets! :D
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7 years agoHere is one of my natural light areas. Its in a glassed wall area with a sliding glass door too, it faces west so I draw a sheer curtain across in the afternoons. This is an older picture.
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I just added another growing space in my basement at a south window. These are my streps and all of my overflow leaves. I got a "bee in my bonnet" to go ahead and put leaves down of all my violets just in case... I'd hate to loose Some of these varieties! So I have those here. Doesn't look so great, but it works. ;)
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSomehow I missed this thread. All of these are great posts! Nice tidy growing areas. I'm working to downsize my collection at the moment in prep to move to a new house this summer and get my collection into a basement where they can grow cooler. We also have plans to erect a green house for my orchids, adeniums, cinnamon and coffee trees, etc.
Here's a shot of one pair of my steel shelving units. I have 5 sets in my art studio here and more elsewhere in the house. About 3,000 plants total though I hope I am getting closer to 2,000 now. I am so pleased to see several of you also growing streptocarpus!
On the left, mostly Streptocarpus with T5 lighting. On the right lots of Corytoplectus cutucuensis with African Violets below. A few orchids and other things here or there. I do a lot of propagation.
My 75 gallon terrarium - how it looked early this spring. I'm in the process of tearing it down now. Everything is being potted up in prep for our relocation. It gives me a chance to strip down the tank and sterilize everything so I may set it back up in the autumn with entirely new plants.
And a view of my back deck where I put a lot of tropicals, coffee trees, cinnamon, orchids, etc. I also have a 30 by 60 foot vegetable garden and shelving set up out there for my adenium collection to get full sun (Desert Roses). I have about 400 of them.
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7 years agookay so nothing to big for me..although my av collection has grown a lot very quickly..and i have 5 leaves on the way eep!..Sorry if the pics are ginormous.
I have a cute wooden cd holder that i took the cd's out and put my named av's in..one has already outgrown the space..I'm testing a leaf propagation via water. My very first propagation is in the pink cup..plucked from my moms plant in a way too big of a cup (before i really knew anything) they finally have leaves showing. oh and one succulent ..excuse the in memory of card. I think minis would look adorable in this as what i have will outgrow that space. I thought about removing some of the shelves..but its such a nice cd stand..i dont have the heart to do that
omg this i'm over the moon about!!..i just worked on my plant shelf. So I could make room for these..i love how pretty they look on their own shelf..I have a bad feeling I'm going to need more shelves just for av's they look so happy. (excuse the plant supplies on the bottom shelf)
...and here..another noid...is what started it all..its technically not mine..but i take care of it..it needs to be split and plucked etc..it finally just flowered..so i'm going to leave it alone..(at least for now..theres two leaves that i'm dying to get rid of errr propagate)
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Hello I take few minutes to send you that picture of my beauty. It is a burgendy violet that I bought about 6 years ago
and kept preciously out of my the reach of my ''4 little diable'' : I have 4 boys and a girl) Over the years ,I had to cut it and share with friend. 6 months ago It has been almost killed ( I wanted to place it in a more sunny area to make it bloom) The bouncing of a basket ball ( YES!, in the house !!! ) left it with only 6 to 7 leaves. It was 12 inches large... I can tell you, house was very silent after the ''accident...'' my little rats were all gone hiding)
I found a pretty way to make little pot to grow leaves. As I could not find pretty little masson pot and I dont have a lot of space now, ( I only have natural light) and I want it to be pretty so it can be instaledl on the border of a window; I took time to do my own litte pot from the bottom of a bottle of water and a plastic glass that I cutted and glued. And install the little rope ( Thank you Sue for the information you sent to me on that technic. I find it pretty ( shape of a little flower and transparency).
I have seen that Patty (Hyn Patty, sorry I dont know your name) uses plastic bag to put growing plant in suspension in a kind of washing line in a window . What a nice idea! What is the interest of using plastic bag? is it only to be able to suspend it ? Does the closed bag helps for humidity!
Patty you have an amazing site, I love your section plant propagation I hope your agree that I give you as reference here!?...(https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/65626967/thumbs/plant-propagation)
What a extraordinairy work you do! I love your streptocapus and your jewellery to!
My mother is out of danger but still weak. Her hearth is sick. She is waiting for a surgery.
It is a real privilège for me to read all of you who has so much experience. I am a huge fan of AV. but only an ''amateur'' I will discover more and more with you! Thank you! Marianne
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everyone, I love your growing space! Heather, that is such a cool idea! I love the CD rack.. beautiful. Marianne, that is SUCH a clever idea for the leaf reservoir! And I love the poor plant that got smashed. ;) gorgeous blooms. Children are the best, even if they can be naughty at times. But then again, so can we! Chuckle. I'm glad you were able to save some leaves.
I've changed some things up, to try and get all my plants clustered in a few diff areas, so that they aren't sprawled all over the house! So I'm gonna post some updated photos. My set up is always changing.. I love rearranging. Lol.
These next three pictures are at my east dining room window. I'd like to get those clear, acrylic shelves for this window someday.
The next two are at my kitchen window. This is another east window.
This is my south bedroom window, with the shelves my husband made for me. Yes.. that middle shelf is full of leaves! There are some generous, awesome violet people in this world! ;) the other two shelves are all standards, cept for one large semi-mini.
Moving onto the front porch now... Here's my growing space out there. Yes that's a live bird in the birdcage. Lol! He likes to hang out on the porch during the day, and call to the song birds!
And there's my two trays of streps. The bottom tray is just unnamed seedlings... I'm enjoying the surprise of seeing what color will bloom next. :).
Please excuse the dirt! Remember... Children are the key to our future! :D
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Treat it like any other tropical, light regular feeding. Do keep bumping it up in pot size and make sure it has plenty of water in warm weather (but not staying wet). Likes bright light but full sun will burn the leaves. Takes about 5 years to reach blooming and fruiting size. By then you'll want them in at least 30 gallon bins or pots. Blooms are white and fragrant like Jasmine. ;)
Mine go outside from spring to autumn on my back deck. They /can/ reach as much as 8 to 12 feet tall but I keep mine trimmed easily at around 5 to 6 foot tall which is typical to keep the beans easy to reach. They tend to flower around June i the hot rainy season, then produce fruit which ripens in late winter through spring. Each coffee 'cherry' holds 2 to 3 beans.
Here's a shot of mine growing on my back deck, near right side. I should start some new seedlings for our hoped for greenhouse later. You can get about 1 to 1.5 lbs of beans per mature tree depending on which variety you have.
Hmm, I seem to have hijacked the thread. Pardon.
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terrilou