Benching Designs -

Staking and Growing of Dendrobiums, Oncidiums etc...

Strap leaved Vandaceous- Mokaras, Arandas, Arachnis varieties.

The growth systems for Cattleyas,
Width - One meter. Length - Multiples of Meters of 4 m as per Bay design.. Several styles are possible..
Traditionally in Thailand and Malaysia they use a lot of wooden benches.. They are more sturdy and durable. The problem with steel is maintenance. Rust and painting will be major maintanence..

The above system uses sheet metal and metal zali as the benching system. Here you can see seedlings kept in compots together. Edging is done by wood.

The above system uses traditional wood and the potting of the Dendrobiums are done using Cocont Husks as the media for the dendrobiums. The disadvantage with this system is that the media disintegrates after 2 years and may need to repotted. Extreme care should be taken for fungal problems. Most of Thai growers resort tothis practice as it is cheaper.

The above system uses traditional wood and the potting of the Oncidiums is done using 5 inch terracota pots. The wood shavings are used as the mulch for the root systems. Most of Oncidium Gower ramsey , Taka are all grown this way.

The pots are kept staked to the wood reapers.

Here in above you will see use of plastic moulded grills as the top of the benching system. The moulded grill is available in modular form and can be joined to make a continuous row. The width is usually 36 to 40 inches and the length will be normally 1 m in size.

The system is very useful when it comes to hardening the smaller plants and when you need to keep many pots in one bench. As you can see the smaller pots get fixed nicely in the grill space.

The system practised for growing Mokaras, Aarndas and other cutflower variety in ground up styles.See use of wood shavings as the mulching medium. The plants are staked to wooden poles. The shade nets are tied in between the rows of plants.

The above view illustartes the grown Dendrobium system. You cna grow around 25,000 adult plants using a 5 inch pots here. Usually the bench width is 1 m and 1 m passage being used inbetween the rows of plants. The benching height is usually 18 inches from ground.

Usually for Metal Benches we use 25 by 5 mm steel angles with 1by 1 inch or 2 by 1 inch welded mesh using a 1.8 to 2.5 mm glavanised steel wire.
The steel legs which are bent at 18 inches height and around 3 feet wide are fabricated at site. The support frames are then welded to this support benches.

POTTING MIXES

Usually in orchids we employ a plethora of potting mixes combined to create a right growing media.

These include Brick,tile pieces, charcoal, coconut husks, coir, cocopeat etc in differing proportions.