I am misting by hand. 1-2 bottles really give my hand a great work out. I was thinking of using our pump sprayer. Or attaching our mister to the end of the hose and just letting it go.

How do you mist in your greenhouse? Do you have an automatic system?? Tell me about it please?

Cheryl, I have to do my misting with the l.5 L pump-up sprayer. And I am using more of a spray than of a mist. I have too many lights positioned over my plants, as well as heaters/fans, to have anything automatic, and my greenhouses are only 10x12'.

I bought a brass fog head that attaches to a garden hose for $8. I looked around the internet to find a picture so this link should be a page of different misters. The one I use is the top one that has 3 holes in it.
https://www.mountainvalleygrow...

I wouldn't buy the one in this advertisement though. I got mine from the local nursery supply place and that had several heads made by the same people. If you want a super fine mist you want to find one that might put out 1/2 GPM or something like that. I think the ad has a 4 GPM head. That one sprays out well, but is not super fine. AM Leonard had a couple of sizes. you should be able to find one somewhere. I use mine for pepper plant seedlings and all kinds of really delicate plants. Also, if connected to a timer, it could be real good for a propagation system for cuttings.
Just did some extra checking. This should be the one you want for the super fine mist
http://www.groworganic.com/fog...

There are also very cheap plastic "mist nozzles". They might not put out a really fine mist or fog, but it is finer than "spray".

DripWorks "Misters" page:
http://www.dripworks.com/categ...

Cheapest plastic "mister": 80 cents each for 5. It has a 1/4" barb for plugging into 1/4" irrigation tubing
Flow rate: 2.3 GPH at 20 PSI
Pressure range: 10 - 35 PSI
http://www.dripworks.com/produ...

Dave discussed his misting setup inside a greenhouse, seven months ago.. He used a battery-operated, hose-end timer with "Tornado" misters:

Greenhouses forum: Automatic valves for misting systems
The thread "Automatic valves for misting systems" in Greenhouses forum

MEBARB Press-Fit Barb (connects to the tubing) $0.10
MEAD Anti-Drip Device (stops the dripping after the water shuts off) $1.20 each... Expensive!
MTFBPR Tornado Misters (connects below anti-drip device) $0.48 each

http://garden.org/thread/view_...

Note that the anti-drip gadget was more expensive than the mist nozzle.

Guess I'm not as advanced as y'all. Scratching my head. With my fungus gnat problem I've had this winter I assume I've watered too much and question my misting knowledge too. The larger plants get soaked and the little seedlings I usually mist with a spray bottle twice a day. I'm still trying to figure out if I'd be better off just soaking the seedlings every few days or if the spray bottle is what I should be doing. So I pay special attention to what ya'll are doing and eventually I will figure it out. I transplanted 2 Anaheim and 3 California wonder pepper seedlings today into large containers. They had survived the gnat problem and are about 4" tall. They had a lot of roots in those little containers so maybe now they will grow even faster. I used the Vortex soil (made by Lady Bug here in Texas). Will slap myself if I overwater them (ha ha). No misting for them I guess, just a good soaking when they get dry.

In my experience, air movement solves a lot of the insect problems. I also have plenty of those bright yellow, sticky cards hanging throughout my GH's. I am going to add some carnivorous plants this spring, putting 2-4 in each GH. I just want to see IF I can grow them. I think I remember having ONE about 40 years ago, and its time to try my hand growing them again.

I also fog my GH's in the fall. There are numerous foggers out there. You can go with those that are more specific for GH use like Attain TR, Precore, or Pylon TR, or just use one made for home use, and sold at the Big Box stores, like Black Flag, Hot Shot, or Bengal. I think fogging the GH's when I bring in all my plants in the fall does some good.

I have no more gnats thanks to the spiders and anoles that are in the GH. I wish I could mist every day but alas, the working girl cannot have such luxury. I will look into putting my mister on a timer. I have one of those wire misters that you can twist around things. We used it during a 4thof July party so that people could cool off when walking under the arbor. I sprays a fine mist. If it works for people I think it will help in my greenhouse.

Ecscuba said: ... With my fungus gnat problem I've had this winter I assume I've watered too much and question my misting knowledge too. The larger plants get soaked and the little seedlings I usually mist with a spray bottle twice a day. I'm still trying to figure out if I'd be better off just soaking the seedlings every few days or if the spray bottle is what I should be doing. ...

I figure that any seedling with even one pair of true leaves already has a rootlet that reaches pretty far down into the flat or cell or pot. As long as the mix is moist down there, the seedling has water. If the upper layer is drier, good. Less damping off and maybe fewer insects.

I think misting after emergence is probably a bad idea, but a totally dry surface "makes me nervous" and I still sometimes mist or top-water. But I think it's less than ideal, and part of my "I can't stop over-watering" issue.

(BEFORE emerging or sending out a rootlet, seeds need moisture right near them. Hence humidity domes and maybe misting UNTIL seedlings start to emerge.)

I tried bottom-watering after so many people said it was The Only Way. But after carrying the trays back and forth to and from the bathtub, I clogged my bathtub's drain and never really got them uniformly damp.

Of course I found a gadgety way to deal with that.

But it's my simplest Rube Goldberg method.

Now I lay down a piece of absorbent cloth between the flat, cells or pots and the water-holding 1020 tray they sit in.

(I use cotton flannel, but an old Tee short doubled, or denim, or water-absorbent felt would work. You might have to wash the felt to get rid of water-repelling coating or "size".)



I never add enough water to see it standing above the absorbent felt. I just add enough water to fill some of the "grooves" in the 1020 tray, and make the felt obviously moist. Since the felt touches the soilless mix in every cell, I know that the bottom layer of the mix in every cell is exactly as damp as the felt.

If the mix wicks well at all, it must also be damp for another inch or two above the bottom. A mix with any peat or bark fines will wick water up higher than that.

But I keep a "mini-mulch" of bark shreds or chips on top so I KNOW I have a dry surface. Then I'm not SURE that the cell is moist everywhere a root might be, so I revert to over-watering, or at least top-watering, once a week or so.

The nice thing for me is that the flannel in the bottom of the tray ALSO protects against my over-watering from the top! Within the cells, capillary action pulls the water to fill the mix fairly uniformly, and gravity assures that the bottom of the cell has a little more water than the top. The flannel touches that bottom layer, and pulls excess water OUT of the cell. No water-logging! No root rot!

It even shares the excess water from one cell with other cells that might be thirstier!

http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...

I wrote to the mfgs. of Hot Shot foggers asking if using one in a 10x12' GH would be off label use. Their reply was using for the 10x12' GH would be the same as a 10x12 room they were designed for. So no this is perfectly legal. I like them because the mammal toxicity is very low (LD50). You pets would not effected if they licked it off of a plant. The minimum exposure you would receive in handling the plants after treatment would do you no harm. The active ingredient is a synthetic pyrethrin.
I also use the "No Pest Strips". These include a deadly organophosphate (Dichlorvos) and should be handled with care. Since it is impregnated into a solid it is stable and relatively safe to use. Many GHs use them, and unless you spend a lot of time in a closed space with them you will be okay. Following the instructions is all you have to do.

Ric, good information. I have never actually used those "commercial" ones made for GH use. For all I know they have the same active ingredients as those sold for home use. Then again, the GH foggers may be much more potent and have a longer residual affect. I really don't know. Naturally, when you trigger the fogger in a home or in a (home) greenhouse, you quickly vacate that area and won't return for an hour or more. When I'm doing my fogging, I will do it in the AM, close the door, and not return to the GH until late afternoon or even the following day.

Ken, the ones I use are designed for the house. I think you would have to be licensed and buy from a GH supply to get something designed for a GH.

No, not at all. You can actually buy the "commercial" foggers off eBay and Amazon. That shouldn't surprise you, Ric.