Misting systems-A primer

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Misting systems-A primer

A misting system is one of the best, if not THE greatest, investments you can make if you are determined to root cuttings. Various softwood cuttings will root in a few weeks, allowing you to root numerous batches of cuttings in one season. Depending on the original cost of the misting system, the payback can be quite rapid. For instance, for an initial outlay of $325.00 for a system, successfully rooting and selling only 1000 cuttings for $0.75 each, for a total of $750.00, the payback will be between 1 and 2 years, depending on other factors such as original cost of stock plants, etc. Two years is a phenominal length of time to recover your investment. Firstly, we need to be familiar with what intermittent misting is. An intermittent misting system is designed to keep softwood cuttings and semi-hardwood cuttings from overheating by increasing the humidity level around the cuttings, and keep the foliage moist until the cutting can grow roots to be able to take up water through them. The leaves of cuttings lose water through a process called transpiration. Misting covers the foliage with tiny droplets of water which gives the cuttings some moisture, and also keeps the cuttings cool. An intermittent misting system cycles on and off on a pre-determined schedule, which delivers mist to the cuttings for a set cycle of time. In layman's terms, the routine controls how long the mist is on for, and how many minutes will elapse before the system mists again. More advanced systems will also turn on routinely at a predetermined time in the morning, and off in the evening. The first documented use of using mist to proliferate plants was in 1936. G.E.L. Spencer attempted to root cuttings of the Cacao plant. His research proved that a continous treatment of mist cooled off the plants too much, and waterlogged the rooting medium, resulting in poor rooting success. Then, in 1953, a Tennesee nurseryman named H.Templeton invented a means to control the mist by using a dual electrode controller. Thus was born the first intermittent mist controller. Conventionally, mechanical timers were used to control the regularity and interval of the mist. One 24 hour dial was mandatory to turn the system on and off, and another dial was used to turn the mist on and off. A very trustworthy system, but with a few drawbacks. If the power was broken up to the timers, they would have to be reset. Not a big problem unless a big operation used many timers to control the misting of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of cuttings. Plainly hours could be exhausted just resetting the timers. Each mechanical timer takes up roughly the same amount of room as a shoebox. Not terrible if you only need two timers for a zone of misting, but when misting many zones, the amount of space required for the timers could get pretty significant. Another downside with motorized timers is that they are in effect limited to controlling one zone of misters per timer. Sizeable operations contain hundreds of zones, also recognized as rooting beds or houses, which would require an equivalent amount of timers to direct the misting for each zone. Mechanical misting systems were developed to be in command of multiple zones, but are extremely high-priced. Lastly, each mechanical timer needs electricity to move the inner mechanism of the timer, as well as feed the transformer which is necessary to convert the electricity to low voltage for the solenoid valves, which supplies water to the misting nozzles. Several timers would demand great amounts of electricity to control. With digital technology came considerable improvements in misting controllers. There are now reasonably priced timers on the market that take up about the same amount of room as a small envelope. The single digital timer replaces two of the mechanical timers from the old mechanical timer approach, as well as the transformer that controls the solenoids. The same digital timer can control up to six individual zones, and has a battery backup in the event of a power failure. The battery retains the controller's settings, and by design, starts the misting process when the power is restored. No more running around resetting the timers because of a power outage! Now for a fundamental understanding of what a misting system consists of, and how it works: A conventional intermittent misting system consists of a timer (or timers if using the mechanical setup), a transformer to convert the high electrical voltage to a lower voltage, a solenoid to control the flow of water, piping to transfer the water to the cuttings (can be overhead or on the surface), and nozzles to convert the water to mist, or a fine spray. Most professional misting setups use a filter to ensure no unknown particles meddle with any of the misting apparatus, which could cause a tragic failure, resulting in harm of the cuttings. This Article Was Written By: Dane Haskell
For more information as well as a free report on misting and misting systems, visit the Plant Propagation Misting System website. Article Source: http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com/diy Please Rate this Article Not yet Rated Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Plant Propagation Articles Via RSS! Additional Articles From - Home \| Plant Propagation Plants From Seed - Adapting To A Future World - By : bentan Engage in a Constructive Debate About Genetically Modified Crops - By : James Wachai Cactus Grafting: Lophophora Williamsii to Trichocereus Candicans as a Rapid Propagation Technique - By : Phillip Hambly Free Landscaping Ideas Free Landscaping Pictures Directory Pictures Of Backyard Landscaping Buy Landscape Fabric Backyard Landscaping Ideas Front Yard Landscaping Ideas Landscaping Plan Landscaping Plans Lawn Care