First indoor setup! tips and tricks wanted!

[tainoson]

bit the bullet and got my indoor setup running- temps are already hitting 35°-40°f at night up here.

2'x4'x6-1/2" shelving unit. i wanted to line the trays with lava rock but that plan fell through, maybe next year. ended up using 3/8" "egg crate" light diffusers to add some depth for a humidity tray effect and tubed them to allow runoff. two Spider Farmer SF-2000's are leading the effort. i still need to grab a small fan and a timer for the lights, but she's up and running. the basement dehumidifier is set to 50% now, though i normally run it at 40%. we'll see how it goes; if it starts to seem musty i might rig up a shower curtain setup to allow for a higher humidity around the trees.

i went a little crazy with pafra and ficus cuttings this year as you can see... not sure if i'm going to get another shelving unit set up or just tough it out like this for a year and re-evaluate next year. i know it can be frowned upon by some, but i love my out-of-zone trees... i'm envious of those who can grow strong ficus and serissa outdoors all year long. any tips, pointers, or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[essdoesbonsai]

I'm a newbie so no tips, just looks like an awesome set up hope it works out for you!

 

[Hack Yeah!]

You'll want the light as close as reasonable to the plants. So it looks like you could move each light considerably closer.

 

[LittleDingus]

With that kind of crowding, a fan to gently rustle the leaves would be helpful. Something to move the stagnant air out from between the plants. It will help with mold and other issues. You don't need a wind tunnel...just enough to see leaf movement is typically good enough.

This is true if without the crowding.

 

[tainoson]

You'll want the light as close as reasonable to the plants. So it looks like you could move each light considerably closer.

yeah, they're height adjustable for that very reason. the instructional booklet recommends 12-18" stand off from the canopy, which is where its set for my taller tree up top. down below, i do need to lower it a foot or so, but i just snapped a quick photo to share. i had just moved everything inside and was exhausted from a long day haha.

but i do plan to experiment with the distance between the lights and the plants! thank you!

 

[tainoson]

With that kind of crowding, a fan to gently rustle the leaves would be helpful. Something to move the stagnant air out from between the plants. It will help with mold and other issues. You don't need a wind tunnel...just enough to see leaf movement is typically good enough.

This is true if without the crowding.

this is definitely on the short list of things to do!

 

[Hack Yeah!]

No need to experiment, light intensity will fall based on the inverse of the distance squared. So if you cut the distance in half your plants get 4x the intensity. The set up looks

 

[LittleDingus]

yeah, they're height adjustable for that very reason. the instructional booklet recommends 12-18" stand off from the canopy, which is where its set for my taller tree up top. down below, i do need to lower it a foot or so, but i just snapped a quick photo to share. i had just moved everything inside and was exhausted from a long day haha.

but i do plan to experiment with the distance between the lights and the plants! thank you!

View attachment 329600

I look at it this way: too much light tends to show signs quicker than too little light. A leaf can burn very quickly. Etoliation from lack of light isn't noticeable til next flush...if there is one. Start strong. Monitor frequently. Back of if you're burning chlorophyl.

My seedling setup is similar except I went cheaper on the lights.

 

[tainoson]

I look at it this way: too much light tends to show signs quicker than too little light. A leaf can burn very quickly. Etoliation from lack of light isn't noticeable til next flush...if there is one. Start strong. Monitor frequently. Back of if you're burning chlorophyl.

My seedling setup is similar except I went cheaper on the lights.

No need to experiment, light intensity will fall based on the inverse of the distance squared. So if you cut the distance in half your plants get 4x the intensity. The set up looks

noted! thank you both!

 

[sorce]

I reckon any "closeness" (crowding seems at a higher level than this) can be remedied by intermingling half the bottom with half the top.

It's not that pests won't find another plant if not touching, but avoiding toll-free superhighways allows you time to catch it before Everything is toast.

If you can afford it, throw some more lights around the sides to keep bottom branches strong, then no more envy!

Welcome to Crazy!

Convenient drain system!

Sorce

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Looks good. Agree about a fan.. cpu fans are cheap and 2 or 3 would get the movement you need. Agree on closeness of light.. even if you get some scorching, it’ll usually adjust and come back but with smaller leaves.

I use rayon mop strands and a reservoir for vacation watering and continuous fertilizing. My setup is much smaller and in a large aquarium. Different ways to accomplish, but thinking ahead to vacations can save some heart ache upon return... and my indoor season is now more productive than my outdoor season.

 

[hinmo24t]

nice setup, fellow masshole. im close to umass d.

good call on the temps. im on the coast but we had a few high 40s or mid-40 5am's this week.

my stuff is going to my two southwindows soon. i run a humidifier on them and oscillating fan on 1.
and contemplated getting some cheap clip on grow lights for this year but still havent pulled the trigger.
theres a nice 'majestic' humidifier brand i think on amazon that is higher reviewed than vicks or even a bunch of other
name-brand low end humidifiers and its working awesome on my tropicals right now.

sell me some ficus since youre close sometime


i only run my fan, humidifier, and hypothetical lights (i get some burn from south window sun still) from about 5 pm - 630 am
and mist daily - but bougainvillea, hibiscus, citus, ficus, and yucca prob want some more when they come in

 

[tainoson]

I reckon any "closeness" (crowding seems at a higher level than this) can be remedied by intermingling half the bottom with half the top.

It's not that pests won't find another plant if not touching, but avoiding toll-free superhighways allows you time to catch it before Everything is toast.

If you can afford it, throw some more lights around the sides to keep bottom branches strong, then no more envy!

Welcome to Crazy!

Convenient drain system!

Sorce

yeah, i'm going to cave in and get a half-sized shelf so the full sized trees will have more room... after looking at it again and getting the feedback from you all, it's a necessity i feel. side lighting is a good idea! i think i can make that happen in the next few weeks...

Looks good. Agree about a fan.. cpu fans are cheap and 2 or 3 would get the movement you need. Agree on closeness of light.. even if you get some scorching, it’ll usually adjust and come back but with smaller leaves.

I use rayon mop strands and a reservoir for vacation watering and continuous fertilizing. My setup is much smaller and in a large aquarium. Different ways to accomplish, but thinking ahead to vacations can save some heart ache upon return... and my indoor season is now more productive than my outdoor season.

i think i had seen a few posts from you about those exact topics, especially the wick watering! i actually bought some cordage and have begun experimenting! i definitely want to be able to knock off for a weekend here and there.

 

[tainoson]

nice setup, fellow masshole. im close to umass d.

good call on the temps. im on the coast but we had a few high 40s or mid-40 5am's this week.

my stuff is going to my two southwindows soon. i run a humidifier on them and oscillating fan on 1.
and contemplated getting some cheap clip on grow lights for this year but still havent pulled the trigger.
theres a nice 'majestic' humidifier brand i think on amazon that is higher reviewed than vicks or even a bunch of other
name-brand low end humidifiers and its working awesome on my tropicals right now.

sell me some ficus since youre close sometime


i only run my fan, humidifier, and hypothetical lights (i get some burn from south window sun still) from about 5 pm - 630 am
and mist daily - but bougainvillea, hibiscus, citus, ficus, and yucca prob want some more when they come in

haha, hey! i'm not far from umass amherst.

i only have one actual ficus tree... but i have a bunch of cuttings going, so maybe in a year or two i'll have some ready to sell haha.

 

[hinmo24t]

haha, hey! i'm not far from umass amherst.

i only have one actual ficus tree... but i have a bunch of cuttings going, so maybe in a year or two i'll have some ready to sell haha.

right on. dinosaur jr. style (im a big fan of their music and theyre from northampton)

and i know old florida rd from four wheeling in adams i think.

its nice out there, VT/NH/upstate NY feeling

good luck and holler about some nice cuttings sometime.
i tried a ginseng (lol) cutting and it didnt take, but i got a dogwood to root,
and possibly a field elm (umass d, and a taxpayer since 14, brutal)

 

[BrianBay9]

In my experience you can expect to get more pests inside, no matter what you do. It's amazing how much getting them outside in summer helps with the pest control - natural predators outside. A fan helps, and I'd recommend running it 24-7. You can add some systemic pesticide to each pot to keep scale, aphids, etc away longer. Plan on giving them all a good shower (actually in your shower) with hand inspection and leaf washing, a couple of times during the winter.

 

[hinmo24t]

In my experience you can expect to get more pests inside, no matter what you do. It's amazing how much getting them outside in summer helps with the pest control - natural predators outside. A fan helps, and I'd recommend running it 24-7. You can add some systemic pesticide to each pot to keep scale, aphids, etc away longer. Plan on giving them all a good shower (actually in your shower) with hand inspection and leaf washing, a couple of times during the winter.

whats the deal with people leaving a fan on all day during work? i work in lifesafety fire alarm honeywell
and it kind of bugs me out burning down the house and my dog... i figure my humidifier and fan for 70% of a full day is decent, no?

 

[penumbra]

Lots of good info here already but let me say I think you are off to a great start. Be careful though, because indoor gardening is very addictive. I have 36 lights currently hanging and am currently taking up about 300 square feet inside. My electric bill in winter exceeds that in summer and I heat only with wood. Wife won't let me have a greenhouse, but I will continue to work on her. Its a sickness I tell ya.
Fan is paramount, maybe more important than amount of light for simply keeping things alive. Wick system is useful and egg crating is excellent. There is also wicking fabric as seen in picts. The fabric will not work with elevated pots but the wick will. Most bonsai pots are elevated. Light, you just have to play with for awhile to get it right. While it is darn near impossible to have too much light, some plants can get by with quite a bit less than others so use your lights wisely. Mylar backing on walls is also very helpful to take advantage of reflected light.
The best advice I can personally give for indoor growing is to try to visit every plant every day if you can. If you can't (and who can) do your best. Sometimes problems can pop up in the plant there in the back that is seldom seen and the problem can spread. Also, don't use granular organic fertilizers in these growing conditions or you will end up with fungus growing in and on your soil. For inside growing I much prefer liquids.

First pick is wicking reservoir, second is wicking fabric for flat bottom pots.

My indoor "garden". Not quit full yet, more plants coming in today and two new lights as well.





Some of these areas will have mylar added this year and a few more lights.

 

[BrianBay9]

I never considered a decent fan with proper electrical circuits to be a safety hazard. On sometimes is better than none. On all the time is better than some. From a pest control standpoint.

 

[penumbra]

whats the deal with people leaving a fan on all day during work? i work in lifesafety fire alarm honeywell
and it kind of bugs me out burning down the house and my dog... i figure my humidifier and fan for 70% of a full day is decent, no?

My fans are many and very low volt designed for use in grow tents. There is a much higher likelihood of burning down my house a hundred other ways. I use fishtanks instead of humidifiers.
Ultimately you have to do what you are comfortable with.