Hot summer. How do you mist?

[AlainK]

"Hot summer. How do you mist?"

Er...

I'm not sure I want to answer that question in a public place, but Nitrogen is a good fertilizer and a bit of acidity is beneficial too.

Seriously : as long as the roots are happy, moist and if possible slightly cooler than the aerial part of the plant, I don't think trees really need to be misted. I spray the leaves with the hose when I water the trees, in the evening, and when it's very, very hot, around 10/11 in the morning.

 

[Carol 83]

The humidity here is enough, no need for misting.

 

[amatbrewer]

I use a raspberry pi, a relay board, and a rainbird solenoid along with a handful of Linux bash scripts/utilities in my greenhouse for propagation ...but that's probably overkill for what you're wanting.

It probably needs to be taken to a separate conversation or IM, but I would love to hear about your setup.
Specifically how you power the solenoid. I have tried running my pi and a rainbird solenoid off a single 12V power supply (5v regulator for the pi) but even with R/C isolation/filter the initial current draw of the solenoid would cause the pi to reboot. I ended up using separate power supplies.

 

[bwaynef]

It probably needs to be taken to a separate conversation or IM, but I would love to hear about your setup.
Specifically how you power the solenoid. I have tried running my pi and a rainbird solenoid off a single 12V power supply (5v regulator for the pi) but even with R/C isolation/filter the initial current draw of the solenoid would cause the pi to reboot. I ended up using separate power supplies.

I power the pi via usb and a rainbird transformer to drive the solenoid. (I found a power strip that has an offset space for a transformer, a few other 110 plugs, and 2 usb power outlets.)

 

[sorce]

Misting all the time does seem overboard concerning fungus,but I will say my trees seem happier when they are able to get overhead rain from rain events.

rainwater

IMO...

It's not the difference between rainwater or not.

It's the Application.

Flooding and washing away contaminants and fungal spores is different from a mist allowed to capture those same contaminants and fungal spores and allow them to fester.

This is the same as my soil watering theory.

Flush it out.

Overwatering is fake.

Stagnant wet is real.

Sorce

 

[cmeg1]

IMO...

It's not the difference between rainwater or not.

It's the Application.

Flooding and washing away contaminants and fungal spores is different from a mist allowed to capture those same contaminants and fungal spores and allow them to fester.

This is the same as my soil watering theory.

Flush it out.

Overwatering is fake.

Stagnant wet is real.

Sorce

Good!
Thats how I feel with leafy trees.If I had well water I would overhead water daily.Sometimes I find myself Questioning the cleanliness of my rainwater for overhead watering as it gets stored for up to a month sometimes in the sealed barrels,which as of now I have not devised a way to clean.
Pines I do not like to overhead water. All my trees just get rain for top water.Does them good!

 

[sorce]

which as of now I have not devised a way to clean.

I think they sell tabs for this.
Maybe just peroxide?

I was thinking about this for watering my chickens.

Sorce

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I think they sell tabs for this.
Maybe just peroxide?

I was thinking about this for watering my chickens.

Sorce

Chickens do fine with straight from the barrel. Unless there's birds shitting on your shingles, but they would probably shit in/on/through the chicken enclosure as well. Migrating birds fuck up our free roaming chickens every few years by spreading the nasties.

The hippies around here add vinegar to their water, it's supposed to help kill pathogens. I think it's just because the meat tastes better when it's soaked in vinegar.

But it does seem to work wonders for some reason.

Make some glacial acetic acid with your freezer from regular vinegar, the kids will love it! And they'll learn a thing or two about science. Acetic acid solidifies out of solution before water freezes, pretty cool to see. Mix glacial acetic acid with water again and you'll see the stuff form a nice wavey pattern before it's homogenized. Of course in a transparent cup or glass.

 

[sorce]

homogenized

Thanks for the wicked info!

I been adding the apple cider vinegar.

They been ok so far. Just about 5 weeks.
Finished(like a bonsai) the coop yesterday.





Sorce

 

[wireme]

I been adding the apple cider vinegar

Hippy!!

 

[wireme]

Thanks for the wicked info!

I been adding the apple cider vinegar.

They been ok so far. Just about 5 weeks.
Finished(like a bonsai) the coop yesterday.
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Sorce

That’s great!
I have really enjoyed having the birds around. They do climb around the trees and every now and then scratch a bunch of soil out but I put it back in and the trees haven’t seemed to care much so far. They keep the chickweed down pretty good in the pots too. At the moment I’m chookless, wildlife picked them off one at a time this summer so...chicken break. One less thing to care for is ok for now.

This spring I stuffed the outdoor into the compost pile where I had dumped a bunch of chicken run shovelings in the fall, didn’t expect much but the plants look happy that I had chickens that’s for sure! That’s 2 plants there, prolly woulda been ten feet tall if the deer hadn’t been eating them back all summer.

 

[Cable]

I do occasionally spray the foliage (called syringing) if it is going to be really hot as it helps cool the foliage. But only in the morning so it dries by nightfall.

 

[sorce]

Hippy!!

Hippy!!

Sorce

 

[TN_Jim]

Never had leaves to fall off a privet..that’s intense

Evergreen anything -good showering on the foliage every watering

..it’s way too humid for this here with deciduous, that’s a recipe for a nightmare in less than a week

 

[milehigh_7]

If you have your trees outdoors (and they should be outdoors in the summer, particularly tropical trees) misting is a potential source of problems -- fungus, mold etc. sets up in foliage under such wet conditions. Outdoor humidity is more than adequate for them.

This is dead on. Misting is just begging for fungus.

 

[just.wing.it]

This is dead on. Misting is just begging for fungus.

Is misting more likely to invite fungal problems than over head watering from a sprinkler, you think?

I rely heavily on my timer and sprinklers during most of the spring and summer, due to my work schedule.

I hand water at 6:30am.
Then they get a sprinkler shower at 2:30pm for about 20-30 mins.
Then I hand water if needed again in the evening around 7 pm.

No issues this year (other than whatever happen to all my yews).

I have been using Daconil occasionally as well.

 

[Captain.Bonsai]

Cooler pots =

1. Remove pots from bench
2. Lay down screen material of your choosing.
3. Put pots back on bench.
4. Surround pots with mulch (I use fine cut cedar mulch).
4a. Do not place mulch under pots, they still need to drain.
4b. Covering the bonsai substrate with mulch is not advisable either. The mulch only needs to surround the walls of the pots.
5. Keep mulch moist (water it when watering your bonsai). Mulch will stay wet much longer than substrate.

I live in zone 9 Sacramento, Ca. We get 95-105 F days all summer long. Without this method + adequate shading my bonsai burn up in the heat. This has proven to be extremely effective.

I believe Larry Morton wrote that it can keep the substrate temps about 20 degrees cooler (if my memory serves me correctly). I haven’t dropped a thermometer in my bonsai pots but I do notice that the substrate stays wet much longer than without the mulch. Regardless of any study or reference, it works for me.

 

[rockm]

Is misting more likely to invite fungal problems than over head watering from a sprinkler, you think?

I rely heavily on my timer and sprinklers during most of the spring and summer, due to my work schedule.

I hand water at 6:30am.
Then they get a sprinkler shower at 2:30pm for about 20-30 mins.
Then I hand water if needed again in the evening around 7 pm.

No issues this year (other than whatever happen to all my yews).

I have been using Daconil occasionally as well.

Any watering that keeps foliage wet or damp constantly can set you up for problems. Water the soil. If you're worried about humidity levels--water the AREA AROUND the trees. I only water my trees in the early am, and when I get home from work. I am lucky in that I can get there by 3 pm. These days, I've only been watering once a day (and sometimes not at all) The heat and humidity here in the last couple of weeks has pushed most all of my trees into inaction. With the cooler weather and drier air in the last couple of days, they should start up again. Might need more or less.

 

[just.wing.it]

Any watering that keeps foliage wet or damp constantly can set you up for problems. Water the soil. If you're worried about humidity levels--water the AREA AROUND the trees. I only water my trees in the early am, and when I get home from work. I am lucky in that I can get there by 3 pm. These days, I've only been watering once a day (and sometimes not at all) The heat and humidity here in the last couple of weeks has pushed most all of my trees into inaction. With the cooler weather and drier air in the last couple of days, they should start up again. Might need more or less.

Do you buy into "flushing the pot to get the old, hot water out" even though it is not dry?

 

[rockm]

Do you buy into "flushing the pot to get the old, hot water out" even though it is not dry?

Do you buy into "flushing the pot to get the old, hot water out" even though it is not dry?

I don't have to do that regularly. I shade pots on trees in direct sun. I also tend to move trees in direct sun into shade when the temps get above 96 or so. I do occasionally run cool water on extremely hot days, but its once in the afternoon, when the plant needs watering...