Florida Home
 

My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
carefully to what your orchids have to say. So my wife and I (I didn't take
the orchids. Two's company; 200's a crowd.) went to look at what Florida had
to offer. She was looking for a swimming pool; I was looking for enough
land to put in a greenhouse. We both got lucky and now we are well on our
way to owning a house in North Port. I am enlisting the help of those who
know the area to recommend: 1) an orchid society and 2) what to look for in
a Florida greenhouse (I was thinking of an evaporative cooler since I saw
one operating at Selby Gardens, but how effective would it be in FL?).
Those of you that have greenhouses, what would you look for if you could
start over? Thanks in advance.

________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net

Florida Home
 

Ken,

In your greenhouse look for bugs you have only read about in the past.
Become very good friends with the snakes and anoles who live in your green
house. Watch out for hurricanes. Evaporative coolers work well in Arizona
but I wouldn't depend on one in Florida for cooling much in June through
September... the humidity is too high here in the summer.

Mick
---------------------------

"kenwoodward" wrote in message
. net...
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
CLIP

Florida Home
 

Wow Ken!!! My orchids don't talk to me. What have you been spraying?

I have an Evaporative cooler and was shocked to see how well it works.
Really cools things down on those hot humid days.

Good luck with the move,
Gene





"kenwoodward" wrote in message
. net...
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
carefully to what your orchids have to say. So my wife and I (I didn't
take
the orchids. Two's company; 200's a crowd.) went to look at what Florida
had
to offer. She was looking for a swimming pool; I was looking for enough
land to put in a greenhouse. We both got lucky and now we are well on our
way to owning a house in North Port. I am enlisting the help of those who
know the area to recommend: 1) an orchid society and 2) what to look for
in
a Florida greenhouse (I was thinking of an evaporative cooler since I saw
one operating at Selby Gardens, but how effective would it be in FL?).
Those of you that have greenhouses, what would you look for if you could
start over? Thanks in advance.

________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net

Florida Home
 

"Karen" wrote in message
...
kenwoodward wrote:
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
carefully to what your orchids have to say. So my wife and I (I didn't
take
the orchids. Two's company; 200's a crowd.) went to look at what Florida
had
to offer. She was looking for a swimming pool; I was looking for enough
land to put in a greenhouse. We both got lucky and now we are well on
our
way to owning a house in North Port. I am enlisting the help of those
who
know the area to recommend: 1) an orchid society and 2) what to look
for in
a Florida greenhouse (I was thinking of an evaporative cooler since I
saw
one operating at Selby Gardens, but how effective would it be in FL?).
Those of you that have greenhouses, what would you look for if you could
start over? Thanks in advance.

________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net



Wow Florida, Congratulations. No more winters?
Karen

I may have to face one more winter. It looks like retirement will come next
Feb. I'm just getting ready.

Florida Home
 

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Wow Ken!!! My orchids don't talk to me. What have you been spraying?

You need to listen very carefully -- or is it the neem fumes?

I have an Evaporative cooler and was shocked to see how well it works.
Really cools things down on those hot humid days.

Good luck with the move,

Thanks.

Gene





"kenwoodward" wrote in message
. net...
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
carefully to what your orchids have to say. So my wife and I (I didn't
take
the orchids. Two's company; 200's a crowd.) went to look at what Florida
had
to offer. She was looking for a swimming pool; I was looking for enough
land to put in a greenhouse. We both got lucky and now we are well on
our
way to owning a house in North Port. I am enlisting the help of those
who
know the area to recommend: 1) an orchid society and 2) what to look
for
in
a Florida greenhouse (I was thinking of an evaporative cooler since I
saw
one operating at Selby Gardens, but how effective would it be in FL?).
Those of you that have greenhouses, what would you look for if you could
start over? Thanks in advance.

________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net

Florida Home
 

For the evaporative cooler, see what the costs for a well are. You'll
probably want/have one for the yard anyway. Then make sure that the
holding tank is under cover or underground. That will cool the water
also and help the wetwall.
When I water, I have to use city water and it comes out of a hose.
If I water in the afternoon, it's necessary to run the water a couple
minutes and get rid of the solar heated water already in the hose. In
the am, the hose is shaded.

jimwatts

Florida Home
 

I can't help with the Orchid Society or Greenhouse but for a really great
cooler here is some info:-
Convair Cooler Corp. 1(800) 9 convair - Model WV-47

They are in Phoenix AZ & no retail but a call or search to find the nearest
distributor.
They are designed & manufactured by those wonderful guys down under!
The coolers are more expensive than the norm but are made of a thick heavy
duty polymer &
the only metal in them is the motor & pump shaft.
Good luck in your new area, I'm sure your orchids will reward you.
Cheer Wendy

"kenwoodward" wrote in message
. net...
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to listen
carefully to what your orchids have to say. So my wife and I (I didn't
take
the orchids. Two's company; 200's a crowd.) went to look at what Florida
had
to offer. She was looking for a swimming pool; I was looking for enough
land to put in a greenhouse. We both got lucky and now we are well on our
way to owning a house in North Port. I am enlisting the help of those who
know the area to recommend: 1) an orchid society and 2) what to look for
in
a Florida greenhouse (I was thinking of an evaporative cooler since I saw
one operating at Selby Gardens, but how effective would it be in FL?).
Those of you that have greenhouses, what would you look for if you could
start over? Thanks in advance.

________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net

Florida Home
 

Thanks, Mick.
"Mick Fournier" wrote in message
. ..
Ken,

What you saw in Selby was probably a modified chiller which on the surface
looks like an evaporative (swamp) cooler found in arid states like Arizona
and New Mexico. Out of your view the water was probably being run through
a
remote electric powered cooling tower to lower the temperature of the
water
to be fed over porous vertical hung mats through which air is blown and
directed out over the benches. JEM in Delray Beach uses a similar forced
air fed system in the owner's greenhouse, but electricity is expensive in
Florida and such a system could eat your shorts in no time... unless you
are
one of those millionaire northerners.

Some fancy-pantsy open-air restaurants in Florida now use chilled water
forced under high pressure through overhead mister jets to lightly blanket
their customers in cool air to ward off the hot humid air we normally bear
in Florida... if you have some deep pockets you could consider that system
also.

Mick





"kenwoodward" wrote in message
news:AyGra.674885$F1.89022@sccrnsc04...

"Mick Fournier" wrote in message
...
Ken,
CLIP

Florida Home
 

I would generally agree about the ineffectiveness of them in high-humidity
conditions - I AM an engineer, after all - but I saw an evaporative cooler
in use INSIDE of a greenhouse in Houston in August, and the output was
noticeably cooler.

One is not getting that much more hot and humid in the continental US, and
if it worked there...

--

Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids
http://www.firstrays.com
Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info!


"V_coerulea" wrote in message
...
I don't live in FL but SC is close. I agree with Mick in that you can't
rely
on the evaporative pads for good cooling on humid days. But in the worst
of
summer, it usually keeps the temps down in the 80's instead of 90's or low
100's. On drier days, it's absolutely beautiful. Even on humid days, they
can go through a lot of water, so you know some cooling has to be going
on.
Some of the cooling may be due just to the temp difference of the air and
water. I don't know the efficiency of the evap pads compared to , say
mist,
but the temps are better than no cooling, for absolutely certain. I
haven't
tried and air conditioner with mist. Maybe someday when I win the lottery.

"Mick Fournier" wrote in message
...
Ken,

In your greenhouse look for bugs you have only read about in the past.
Become very good friends with the snakes and anoles who live in your
green
house. Watch out for hurricanes. Evaporative coolers work well in
Arizona
but I wouldn't depend on one in Florida for cooling much in June through
September... the humidity is too high here in the summer.

Mick
---------------------------

"kenwoodward" wrote in message
. net...
My orchids whispered to me that they might be far more comfortable in
a
Florida home. Naturally I listened to them. It is important to
listen
CLIP

Florida Home
 

You're right to think twice about growing around the pool. There are
benefits, such as higher night time temps when it gets overly cool, as it
did this past winter. But - my husband just finished cleaning the patio
again. Watering, fertilizing, dead blooms, a falling leaf now and again
make for a mess. I've tried to transfer all but the Vandas and Phals out to
the new area (the Vandas make very little mess, and love their spot, and the
Phals need the cover of the patio roof). Unfortunately, though, what
started out to be an alternative orchid space is fast becoming "additional"
space. It's a sickness.................

Diana

Florida Home
 

Thanks for the info. I have noticed a number of articles on evaporative
cooling since I posted. I think the contention of one article was that no
matter how high the dew point, as the temperature rose, the RH tended to
move toward 50%. The author stated that you could expect a 10 degree temp
drop even in Florida. I'll have to do a little experimenting.
________________
Ken Woodward
Newton, MA
http://kwoodward.net

"Keha11" wrote in message
...
I should have mentioned that the thermostat is about 40 feet from the cool
pads
so it is considerably cooler right in front of the pads.
Keith