Misting System Suggestions

I'm looking to install a misting system to control temperature and water seedlings.

It will be more the watering than cooling as I only intend to add the system over the staging where the seed trays will be. Automatic irrigation is in place for the bigger stuff.

Ive had a look around and prices vary wildly

Are there any suggestions for a lower end system ?

 

Will have another search. I had a look earlier and found bits on misting.


Thanks

 

Okay, I'm confused. Weren't you asking about lighting AKA electrcity in your tunnel?

Years ago I had a misting system in my greenhouse but felt that it was ridiculous to try to run electrics in the same area so I ripped it out. Figure out what you want. Mist or lights?

Wearing wellies isn't going to save you worries about possible electrical fires!

 

Electricity in a greenhouse or anywhere away from the normal domestic area, has to be sealed. In the case of using misting. These units are usually lower to the staging than lights. Switches are best protected inside waterproof casings, cheap enough from most hardware/electrical shops. Bare bulb lighting can be used if high up but the actual bulb holder must be waterproofed. I have flurolscent strip lights in sealed casings in my GH fixed to the inside of the roof ridge.

The misters can be purchased fairly cheap, either made from steel or plastic. Years ago a nick name was given them as, The magic Leaf. EBay probably has various sellers. Two Wests & Elliot is a nursery and supplier who I believe can help. Best wishes.

 

@Mike Allen You need mains with proper GFCI as we call it for wet areas. I run dc powered by batteries and solar panels out there and would never mix water with that or alternating current. @andrews is a newbie and should not be encouraged to play above his knowledge/expertise. And I wired the entire lot myself after consulting an electrical engineer. .. for the price of a guinness and of course a long time friendship. We only run 110 for mains that do not involve ovens, stoves, clothes dryers. So being careful is kicked up a notch for your country.

I'm calling "wannabe helpful and hotdog" on this advice. Sorry

 

Thanks for the feedback - its good to have.

Ive probably not explained where we are with gardening. We have been gardening for 30+ years but since changing the garden we needed a place to over-winter the tender tropicals and grow tropicals / arids, along with veg. The 8ft x 6ft greenhouse wasn't big enough, hence the tunnel. We now have aloes, agaves, various musa, palms, brugs and other stuff germinated but I don't want my work to count for nothing when we are not around.

I'm by no means an expert - always learning.

On misting …. this is me looking towards next summer. The in-laws look after the garden while we are away but theres a lot to water so I want to minimise this as much as possible. I have automatic irrigation in place but wanted to have watering for seeds and seedlings too and thought that misting would be a good option. I realise that this wont stop the need for watering / general checking of the plants but hope that it will keep the tunnel ticking over with less attention while we are away.
Electrics are fine. Brother in law is an electrician who is qualified to test electricians against regulatory standards (cant remember the name of the test - think it used to be part p ?). He installed the electrics including IP56 sockets and RCD protection so in the event of an issue, electrics are shut down immediately. He did charge me a case of Kronenburg though.

On grow lights …. We currently have enough light for germination of most of the seeds that I am growing but I want to give things a head start and sow over winter. In a month or so the nights will draw in and it will not be so great for germination. I'm discounting lights in the polytunnel for now due to the brightness and attention that this may draw. However, I may be getting a room back in the outbuilding that is window-free with no light pollution to the outside world. The added benefit is that it has adjustable racking in place. This may be my growing area for the winter.

Hopefully this gives a bit more of an insight into my recent questions.

Will check out your suggestions @Mike Allen

 

I see. I had made the assumption that you were new to gardening based on your first few posts. Silly me

You have many more years of experience than I so I will keep mum i

 

Earlier gardening was more cottage borders.

My greenhouse gardening has moved from growing a couple of tomatoes to growing more exotic plants and trying to push the boundaries of the natural growing season. As I mentioned previously, I'm no expert. A lot of the questions that I'm asking are in areas that I have no previous experience in.

I don't want to fall into the traps of 'buy cheap, buy twice' or convince myself to buy the latest snake oil

 

Noticed this recently. Simply Control.co.uk

 

whats the problem of rigging up a Hozelock timer and microjet misting heads ???..I have my greenhouse piped up inside with both these and sprinklers and a hose connector on the outside of the structure for connectability...if this was attached to an outside faucet coupled to a timing device would this not be fit for purpose..I originally purchased cheap chinese tat..this was a false economy and was absolutely useless.

 

This is where much depends upon the individual gardener and what you consider, 'misting' as being.

The setting up of fine jet nozzles and having these controlled via an automatic timer, I would tend to class simply as automatic watering. This is different than misting. Misting I have always understood was a means of gently keeping the foliage of newly raised seedlings and cuttings. The tender new growth requires being kept just moist. The principle of automatic watering, sprinkling etc basically gives the plants and soil/compost a measured/timed soak.

The setup was. The water was supplied to a minature stand-pipe usually about 18" high. This stood in amongst the pots/trays of plants. The top of the stand-pipe had a very fine jet or valve fitted. Attached to the stand was a wire that extended for a set length. This had a small piece of absorbant material at the end. The other end attached to the stand operated a small valve, like the ball valve in a toilet cistern. The absorbant pad [magic leaf] would dry out and cause the valve to open and thus spray the plants, during this process the magic leaf would gain weight and shut of the water supply. The difference is obvious between, automatic/timed watering and mist propagation. Using the latter, The atmosphere in the GH also contributes to the efficiency of the system. Cool conditions and the sensor [magic leaf, remains wet/moist/damp longer mimiking the delicate leaves of the plants.

The mist is also most important. Only the individual gardener can decide, what he/she calls a mist, compared to a spray. Perhaps the simplest ways of doing this is. Next time you have the lawn sprinkler up and running, walk close bye. You can see the water and yes, you might get a soaking. Now compare misting. Have you ever, of course you have. Walked outside, not raining but after a while you realise, you are wet. Same principle with mist propagation.

Perhaps for many, this might be a time to look at some of the older gardening books etc. for ideas. I do hope my scribbling have been of help. Enjoy your gardening.

 

I've done a bit more reading up on misting and, like a lot of things, what started out as a cheap exercise is turning into something bigger.

I'll be ordering a system once Ive made a bit of money from the sale of a shotgun

 

Gun sold.... for the full asking price

I think Ive decided on a 3m riser system from these people

Riser Kit - Single Bench 1M Wide | Buy Online from Access Irrigation

I'm planning on putting taps between each 1m stretch so that I can turn segments on and off as I need them. More to follow ….

 

Misting now ordered.

Like a lot of things, the original idea has grown a bit.

The system will be 1m misting over the heated sand bed and then 3m over the benches. I'll be able to turn off the benches in 1m segments and turn off the section over the heated bed.