I know that I know this but..

When you get a flask and some of the seedlings still haven't developed
roots how do you compot them? I was potting out a flask yesterday and
acouple of clumps of seedlings were anchored togather with what looked
to be seed hulls (brown and kinda lumpy) and hadn't developped roots.

Do you toss them or do you put them in the compot and wait for roots to
develop?

and is sterial technique very important in compotting?

Jack

They're likely goners, in my experience. I usually pot 'em up, but don't
expect them to grow.

Sterility is lost once you open the flask.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
I know that I know this but..

When you get a flask and some of the seedlings still haven't developed
roots how do you compot them? I was potting out a flask yesterday and
acouple of clumps of seedlings were anchored togather with what looked
to be seed hulls (brown and kinda lumpy) and hadn't developped roots.

Do you toss them or do you put them in the compot and wait for roots to
develop?

and is sterial technique very important in compotting?

Jack

Thanks

Guess I'll see what develops

Jack

Occasionally I get some type of contamination in flasks of very young
protocormy orchid babies that just mean too much to me to throw away. It
seems the more they mean to me and the fewer flasks there are the more
likely I am to get contamination. Anyway, I have taken such tiny plants and
laid them on a thin sheet of moss and more recently a shallow bed of pea
gravel and put them under a sprinkler system timed to provide daily to 3 or
four times a week watering. Otherwise I try to pretend they are not around
because if you pester them or acknowledge them too often they will die just
to prove the universe is perverse. I have had more success with gravel than
moss. I don't think daily or frequent misting is good for them. My daily
watering system comes on for 30 minutes and then goes off for 24 hours in
the area where they are left to fend for themselves. I am often pleasantly
surprised by how many survive and grow into plants, but I think Ray is
correct, they are probably goners.

"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
I know that I know this but..

When you get a flask and some of the seedlings still haven't developed
roots how do you compot them? I was potting out a flask yesterday and
acouple of clumps of seedlings were anchored togather with what looked
to be seed hulls (brown and kinda lumpy) and hadn't developped roots.

Do you toss them or do you put them in the compot and wait for roots to
develop?

and is sterial technique very important in compotting?

Jack

well now some of the leaves are turning kinda transparent, and some are
falling off, I don't think it is a humidity problem, I have them in
open baggies. and haven't seen any root growth yet..

Jack

Al, your 30 min. sprinkler water cycle is interesting. I have noticed
that rain, my plants are outside, really seems to perk up the plants.
Compared to watering, which lasts a few seconds. So maybe I will try
that.
Joe T
Houston

what type of sprinkler system do you use, I use rainbird spray heads
for a drip system. When I build my green house I want to set up a drip
system and put in overhead misters, I found some low presure micro
misters (vs fine spray) online, but still need to figure out a way to
up the pressure in the lines to about 70psi.

Jack

All of the sprinkler heads, line, tubing, emitters, pressure regulators,
filters credit card bills etc, etc came from
dripworksusa.com. The rainforest cage in the back of the greenhouse uses
what they call a mini-mister. Each mister puts out 2 or so gallons an hour
@ 20 psi. I have them spaced in a grid across the top at about 14 square
inch intervals. Used this way, it is more like a fine rain at about 1/2
inch in half an hour on the plants below. The mounted plants and basket
plants really like it. I run the fertilizer right through the water line.

I do not have very high water pressure, it maxes out at about 45 psi and
then dwindles to about 20 psi before the pump kicks back on. I have very
low flow from the well...or the pump is as old as I am. Both may be true.
I have lots of zones in the greenhouse. I still find I have to do a lot of
watering by hand to keep up but the watering system does help a bit. I
really want a higher flow rate and one day soon when some of the other bills
are paid and oil prices come back down I will look into it.




"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
what type of sprinkler system do you use, I use rainbird spray heads
for a drip system. When I build my green house I want to set up a drip
system and put in overhead misters, I found some low presure micro
misters (vs fine spray) online, but still need to figure out a way to
up the pressure in the lines to about 70psi.

Jack

I need to set up a small mister for my plants with a timer. I think it
would really help with plant growth.
Joe T
Houston

well I run my off a sump pump which is connected to a standard hose
fitting, it took me a little looking at the hardware store to find a
3/4 to 1/2" push adapter. The pump is a 1/4 hp eletrict, it has a
little power getting pressure to the top of my shelve ( a 6' rise)

What you might want to do is see if you can get a larger pressure tank
for your well head.
I am trying to see if I can hook a presure tank into my system if I
expand it and have it make up the pressure difference, I think if I use
PVC and run it to a elevated pressure vessel that I should get good
pressure, the part I couldn't figure out is how to wire, you have to
delay the misters until pressure has built up.

Jack

If the pump can't get the pressure high enough, adding the tank won't help,
as it's the pump that pressurizes the tank. The tank does not add pressure,
it merely "holds" it so the pump doesn't have to run unnecessarily.

Typically, those setups consist of a pump, tank, and pressure switch, having
an on/off pressure differential, in addition to a setpoint. When the
pressure in the tank drops below that setpoint, the pump comes on and
repressurizes it to the higher pressure of the differential, then shuts off
until it gets below that lower setting.

In most misting systems, the flow out is a lot less than the capacity of the
pump. Rather than having a (numbers for extreme example only) 20 gpm pump
running constantly while the mist heads are only allowing 1 gpm - a real
strain on the pump motor - the tank allows the pump to function at full
capacity then shut off.

In my system, during a 20-minute continuous mist cycle, the pump runs four
times for about a minute each time.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Jack" wrote in message
ups.com...
well I run my off a sump pump which is connected to a standard hose
fitting, it took me a little looking at the hardware store to find a
3/4 to 1/2" push adapter. The pump is a 1/4 hp eletrict, it has a
little power getting pressure to the top of my shelve ( a 6' rise)

What you might want to do is see if you can get a larger pressure tank
for your well head.
I am trying to see if I can hook a presure tank into my system if I
expand it and have it make up the pressure difference, I think if I use
PVC and run it to a elevated pressure vessel that I should get good
pressure, the part I couldn't figure out is how to wire, you have to
delay the misters until pressure has built up.

Jack

On 22 Apr 2006 22:45:12 -0700 in . com Jack wrote:
well I run my off a sump pump which is connected to a standard hose
fitting, it took me a little looking at the hardware store to find a
3/4 to 1/2" push adapter. The pump is a 1/4 hp eletrict, it has a
little power getting pressure to the top of my shelve ( a 6' rise)

What you might want to do is see if you can get a larger pressure tank
for your well head.
I am trying to see if I can hook a presure tank into my system if I
expand it and have it make up the pressure difference, I think if I use
PVC and run it to a elevated pressure vessel that I should get good
pressure, the part I couldn't figure out is how to wire, you have to
delay the misters until pressure has built up.

There are shallow well kits that should have all the bits ready to go.
The pressure tank would have sensors that shut off the pump when it reaches
a certain pressure and turns it on when it drops below another pressure.
As memory serves this is adjustable.

Al, As memory serves from the home inspection on my house, 18-20PSI is the
expected cut on point for the pump.


--
Chris Dukes
tajwerk this job isnt bad though. Today we had free breakfast and
B0rg implants.

I use the small tanks at my washes to prevent water hammer. The
diaphragm has a definite life span, to check it, take it out of the
system and fill it through the air valve on top, say, to about 20 PSI,
no more, 10 is safer. The water should spurt out for awhile then stop,
go slow. If after a bit air starts coming out the diaphragm is broken.
Chunk the unit and replace with another. Another less positive way is
to just add air to the pot. Your pump should stay on longer and off
longer for a time. The air will be adsorbed or enter your system
putting you back to square one.

Joe T

Just wanting to check if this is normal, all of the plants in one of my
compots have lost their leaves, they turned translucent then fell off,
very limp, no browning or mold that I could see, the compots are in
plastic bags with the tops open, I see new root growth but now this one
lost all the leaves on the plants and some others are looking like they
are going the same way.

Any help appreciated

Jack

That would be a sure sign of death. Probably seedlings that couldn't handle
the transplant shock.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
Just wanting to check if this is normal, all of the plants in one of my
compots have lost their leaves, they turned translucent then fell off,
very limp, no browning or mold that I could see, the compots are in
plastic bags with the tops open, I see new root growth but now this one
lost all the leaves on the plants and some others are looking like they
are going the same way.

Any help appreciated

Jack