My DIY indoor hothouse
Posted: June 8th, 2018, 1:41 am
I thought it worth sharing my pictures of my latest diy project, being an indoor hothouse for my figs. Being based in Melbourne the figs go into hibernation mode over winter and I wanted to see how much growth could be achieved in a more controlled environment.
The hothouse which I keep in a spare bedroom was put together mostly from bits and pieces I had in my garage and is a cube of around 85cm high and wide. The walls are just scrap plywood, which I coated the inside with mylar for reflection and the outside with bubble wrap for insulation. The bottom of the hothouse is sealed/waterproofed using a couple of blue plastic sheets I picked up from Bunnings. I put a layer of small pebbles at the bottom of the hothouse to keep the plastic flat.
For lighting (and some heating) I was lucky to score a bank of four T5 fluorescent lights at a garage sale for $20 and added a couple of LED lights for the darker spots. The window is a just an old picture frame with a Perspex cover.
I have a small fan running off a USB connection for air circulation I bought from ebay for about $8. I also added a USB water mister that I also purchased from ebay for about $5, which I fill daily with a cup of water. Interestingly I never actually water the fig pots directly as they seem happy enough with just the mist. All the electrical items are on timers and I am running the lights from 9.00am to 11pm at night.
I have been running the indoor hothouse for about 3 weeks now and the figs love it. Heaps of new growth on all the plants and a couple of them are starting to throw out some aerial roots. I am also happy to report that there have been no water leaks to date.
The humidity in the hothouse is a constant 99% and the temp ranges from around 20c at night to 27c during the day.
It took me about 4 days on and off to build (I am only a weekend warrior handyman). I have made a few refinements and changes since I started. I still need to improve the air circulation and am looking at using a couple of old pc fans to address this. I would also like to see if I could raise the temp to about 35c and am toying with the idea of a heat bulb.
Next year I am looking at going high tech and building a more visually appealing unit by converting an old bar fridge.
The hothouse which I keep in a spare bedroom was put together mostly from bits and pieces I had in my garage and is a cube of around 85cm high and wide. The walls are just scrap plywood, which I coated the inside with mylar for reflection and the outside with bubble wrap for insulation. The bottom of the hothouse is sealed/waterproofed using a couple of blue plastic sheets I picked up from Bunnings. I put a layer of small pebbles at the bottom of the hothouse to keep the plastic flat.
For lighting (and some heating) I was lucky to score a bank of four T5 fluorescent lights at a garage sale for $20 and added a couple of LED lights for the darker spots. The window is a just an old picture frame with a Perspex cover.
I have a small fan running off a USB connection for air circulation I bought from ebay for about $8. I also added a USB water mister that I also purchased from ebay for about $5, which I fill daily with a cup of water. Interestingly I never actually water the fig pots directly as they seem happy enough with just the mist. All the electrical items are on timers and I am running the lights from 9.00am to 11pm at night.
I have been running the indoor hothouse for about 3 weeks now and the figs love it. Heaps of new growth on all the plants and a couple of them are starting to throw out some aerial roots. I am also happy to report that there have been no water leaks to date.
The humidity in the hothouse is a constant 99% and the temp ranges from around 20c at night to 27c during the day.
It took me about 4 days on and off to build (I am only a weekend warrior handyman). I have made a few refinements and changes since I started. I still need to improve the air circulation and am looking at using a couple of old pc fans to address this. I would also like to see if I could raise the temp to about 35c and am toying with the idea of a heat bulb.
Next year I am looking at going high tech and building a more visually appealing unit by converting an old bar fridge.
