Project description
The collection is mixed. About sixty standards sit in 9 cm pots with rosettes 20 to 25 cm across, twenty semi-miniatures live in 7 cm pots, and there is always a working shelf of leaf cuttings in 100 ml cups. Please plan four tiers, roughly 100 cm wide and 45 cm deep, with 35 cm of clear height on the growing tiers - that is enough for a flat rosette plus the gap to the lamp - and 45 cm on the top tier where the cutting cups and a small propagation dome live. An open level underneath for soil, spare pots and a watering can would be welcome if the frame allows it.
Lighting is the heart of the job. I am counting on two LED bars of about 90 cm per tier, a full spectrum white near 4000 K with a red component, hung so the bar sits 20 to 25 cm above the leaves and can be raised or lowered on hooks as the plants fill out. All tiers should run from one timer, twelve to thirteen hours a day, with the cabling tied along the uprights and a single plug going to the wall socket.
— trays with a 3 to 4 cm rim on every tier, one drained corner with a plug, so a spill stays on the shelf and not on the floor;
— wick watering: a reservoir under each tray, wicks into the pots, refilling once a week instead of chasing a can every evening;
— air movement - a quiet fan or open sides, because grey mould is my main fear with plants this densely packed;
— the back row has to be reachable: no shelf deeper than my arm, and enough room to turn every pot a quarter turn weekly;
— a stable frame with adjustable feet, carrying about 15 kg of wet pots per tier without swaying when I lean on it.
I am not in a hurry, so two to three weeks of work suits me. Please quote the frame, the lighting set and the watering parts separately, and tell me what you would change for a room that sits at 22 C and gets quite dry in winter.