[litesky]

I noticed that a couple people stated that they have a greenhouse. I was just wondering how these greenhouses were built/setup? I would like to grow stuff/test emersed growth stuff. Can somebody give me some ideas and when/where would be the best time of year? Indoor or Outdoor? Real sunlight or articficial sunlight? I could probably find this in the internet somewhere dealing with reg plants, but I would like some first hand information from you guys, the aquatic plant specialists.

 

[Phil Edwards]

If you're in SoCal a kiddie pool with an opaque plastic cover will do the trick. Direct natural light tends to fry plants so some sort of shading is important. Black anti-weed netting works great as a shadecloth. Rubbermaid containers work well for outdoor use as well. Just make sure they're not resting on a surface that will get hot enough to melt the plastic.

Best,
Phil

 

[litesky]

What about heat? Put a heater?

 

[Raul-7]

I think it's hot enough here in Cali...Phil, a kiddie pool! That's going to need a lot of earthworm castings...Would putting emersed plants in topper-wear covered with an opaque cover? Is there even such a thing?

 

[litesky]

I thought it was pretty cold during the night. I don't want the chill to stunt the growth of the plants. Maybe I'll start this project during spring.

 

[MiamiAG]

Depends on how involved you want to be.

1. You can do the tray/dome thing.
2. You can go larger with the kiddie pool or large plastic container.
3. You can set up a small greenhouse like I did. You build the structre out of 1x1 or 2x2 wood, cover it with greenhouse plastic or painter's cloth from Home Depot (like I did). Inside I had a large hydroponic raft system. I had to cool the system because temps can get up to 130 in the int he summer. I used a swamp cooler. Worked great.
4. You can go with the commercial greenhouse setups.

 

[Phil Edwards]

Raul,

Cheap potting soil works well for this kind of thing, unless you can get worm castings really cheaply there's no need. Regular light fertilization is better than rich organics in sunlight where standing water's concerned.

 

[Raul-7]

I found coldframes, basically they're minature greenhouses, it sells for $70(3'4"L x 2'W x 1'4"H)...I don't know if it's worth it?

 

[tsunami]

IMO, the tray/dome thing is probably one of the cheapest and most professional looking options.

It was discussed in detail in this thread:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54

Carlos