# My New Orchid House!



## Stoneledge (Oct 29, 2006)

Hi All,

I've been extremely busy this fall converting a building into a new orchid growing area. I had outgrown my current 8' x 20' sunroom and had to come up with a better solution. I could barely move without knocking a plant off a shelf  .

Here is a link to a slideshow of my new 'orchid house'  . I plan to have lots of fun this Fall and Winter as I move Paphs, Phals, Phrags, etc., into their 'new' home  .

http://img137.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img137/4425/11621216752yy.smil


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## Heather (Oct 29, 2006)

Wow! Jim, you HAVE been busy, haven't you!? 

So, you commondeered the whole house for the orchids? Are your living quarters nearby? It looks great! How many total MH lights do you have? Do you prefer those to HPS? 

Cool slideshow - very exciting!!!


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## SlipperFan (Oct 29, 2006)

What a beautiful spot! I love it -- a whole house for orchids. Looks like a dream come true, and a lot of work!


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## Rick (Oct 29, 2006)

That's spectacular!!

Will you adopt meoke:


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## WolfDog1 (C. Williams) (Oct 29, 2006)

WOW!

:drool: 

That's VERY nice.


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## plntlady (Oct 29, 2006)

I'm very jeolous. My room is a converted bedroom and
I am growing from the window and some plug in grow 
lights. on 4 3 1/2 x 2 ft shelves.


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## NYEric (Oct 29, 2006)

Nice. How about a skylight to let in suome natural light [and UV rays]?


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## Park Bear (Oct 30, 2006)

great show....wonderful little house


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## Greenpaph (Oct 30, 2006)

Plenty more room!

CONGRATULATIONS


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## Gideon (Oct 30, 2006)

Wow, nice place


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## Stoneledge (Oct 30, 2006)

Heather said:


> Wow! Jim, you HAVE been busy, haven't you!?
> 
> So, you commondeered the whole house for the orchids? Are your living quarters nearby? It looks great! How many total MH lights do you have? Do you prefer those to HPS?
> 
> Cool slideshow - very exciting!!!



Thanks Heather and All,

This is my 'real' house that I live in, about 150 feet from the orchid house (it was a canary aviary in a previous life  ). The orchid 'shed' has about 410 square feet of floor space. I am using 4, 400 watt Hydrofarm MH 'Sunburst' fixtures with Agrosun bulbs. I purchased them because the ballast is in the fixture and not a seperate unit. (I did not want additional electrical cords running to ballasts on the floor or wall.) I am using fans, mounted on top of each fixture, to dissapate the heat and heat the building this winter. I have a vented propane furnace that kicks on at night when the indoor temps drop below 58 degrees F. I am also using a number of the Hydrofarm Compact Florescent lighting fixtures that handle either a 125 watt or 150 watt bulb. In addition, I have 18, 48" HO florescent tubes for some additional light that throw a CRI of 92. So, I think I have the UV's and most of the light spectrum covered. I do prefer the MH to the HPS bulbs. From what I've researched, the new Agrosun bulbs are as good as a combination MH/HPS set-up.

My house (named Stoneledge in the original deeds) was built in 1796 and is listed in the National Historic registered village of Fort Loudon, PA. This is a little known fact but, historians claim that the American Revolution actually started at Fort Loudon, PA, in 1756. John Wayne starred in the movie "Allegheny Uprising" that portrayed the events that showed that James Smith's 'Blackboys' fired the first shots on British soldiers at the Fort. The British had begun trading with the Tuscarora Native Americans and supplying them with rifles. The guns were then used in raids and murders of the local settlers. Jim Smith organized a local militia, disguised them as Indians, and attacked the Fort and drove out the British.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 30, 2006)

Wow, 1796. What a beautiful home. I wonder how many times it's been renovated.


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