Humidity tray source?
 

Can someone point me to an online source for humidity trays? I'm not having
any luck locally. THanks.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Humidity trays". For my trays I went
to a local nursery and bought a couple of the dark green/black plastic trays
that gardeners use to start seeds from.

They are about 24" long x 12" deep x 3 "tall. Place an inch or so of clean,
washed gravel and add water. I then take a piece of the plastic "egg-crate"
white, plastic fluorescent light cover, that I buy at the local hardware
store. Cut it to fit inside the green trays and place my plants on top of
those.

I don't know if your looking for something fancier than that. But mine work
great for me.

Hope this helps,

Francis Marion

"francis marion" wrote in message
news:tvwgd.329842$MQ5.185068@attbi_s52...
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Humidity trays". For my trays I went
to a local nursery and bought a couple of the dark green/black plastic
trays
that gardeners use to start seeds from.

They are about 24" long x 12" deep x 3 "tall. Place an inch or so of
clean,
washed gravel and add water. I then take a piece of the plastic
"egg-crate"
white, plastic fluorescent light cover, that I buy at the local hardware
store. Cut it to fit inside the green trays and place my plants on top of
those.

I don't know if your looking for something fancier than that. But mine
work
great for me.

Hope this helps,

Francis Marion



That's exactly it - although something nicer looking than plastic would be
good. But none of the garden stores have them, perhaps because it is not
Spring.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Peter Aitken wrote:
Can someone point me to an online source for humidity trays? I'm not having
any luck locally. THanks.

These are somewhat fancier than the do-it-yourself variety, but they
work well.

http://www.humidigrow.com/

--Matt

Peter Aitken wrote:
Can someone point me to an online source for humidity trays? I'm not having
any luck locally. THanks.

These are somewhat fancier than the do-it-yourself variety, but they
work well.

http://www.humidigrow.com/

--Matt

1) I sell beige plastic nursery trays that can be used that way. (I use
them to catch drips or as carrying trays.)
2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.

If you're a home grower with humidity levels too low, they seem to be a good
idea. Unfortunately, nature is working against the idea, as that one foot
by two foot try is trying to humidify your whole house. Add the air
movement you should have in the grow room, and you're dispersing the
moisture even faster. In reality, your plants do not really see a
significant increase in even the local humidity.

Seal that room off totally from the rest of the house, block all central
heating vents, and set up a lot of trays and it's a different matter.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Peter Aitken" wrote in message
om...
Can someone point me to an online source for humidity trays? I'm not
having
any luck locally. THanks.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Ray wrote:

2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.


I agree, although they do a good job of keeping excess water off the
windowsill (or carpet). A little gravel in the bottom is good in order
to lift the bottom of the pot above the water surface, or I usually use
'egg-crate' lighting fixture covers (you can buy them at the home center
in the lighting department - 2x4' sheets).

If you want to 'build your own' humidity tray, you can easily make
them as long as you don't want them to be portable. Tools: hammer,
handsaw, and staple gun. Materials: lumber, a few nails, staples, and a
sheet of heavy plastic. I used 2x4 lumber to build a 'box' of the size
I wanted, and lined that with the heavy plastic. Staples (on the
outside of the box!) hold the plastic in place. If the whole thing
isn't sitting on a flat surface, you want to put a plywood bottom on the
box. My trays were 4' x 8' long, and cost perhaps three dollars to
build... At that size, they probably do a reasonable job of
humidifying, although just grouping enough plants together in a small
space will greatly increase the local humidity.

You can drain the water out of the trays (if it gets too deep)
with a siphon, or maybe a wet-dry vac. If you can drill a hole, you
could put a drain tap on the bottom (you can get a plastic valve at a
home-brewing store, if nowhere else).

With the appropriate frame and a little bracing, you can make a
light cart out of these 'trays' as well. I've seen them four levels
high. No advanced engineering degree is necessary, but you might want
to add more support than you think is strictly necessary (water is heavy).

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm is open - e-mail me for a list )

Love that philosophy - there's always room for one more orchid, then
two. Then when the people in Florida went through such hell we eased
though it by saying "Are the orchids ok?" Anyway I was reading
about everybody's humidity trays and kinda laughed at mine. I use the
door of a small portable ice box with a small metal furnace vent on top
of that.(came from our torn down trailor house) Haha, how's that for
improvising. Hey, anything for my orchids!! Just about anything will
work.......Burr

Love that philosophy - there's always room for one more orchid, then
two. Then when the people in Florida went through such hell we eased
though it by saying "Are the orchids ok?" Anyway I was reading
about everybody's humidity trays and kinda laughed at mine. I use the
door of a small portable ice box with a small metal furnace vent on top
of that.(came from our torn down trailor house) Haha, how's that for
improvising. Hey, anything for my orchids!! Just about anything will
work.......Burr

In article , Ray
wrote:

1) I sell beige plastic nursery trays that can be used that way. (I use
them to catch drips or as carrying trays.)
2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.

If you're a home grower with humidity levels too low, they seem to be a good
idea. Unfortunately, nature is working against the idea, as that one foot
by two foot try is trying to humidify your whole house. Add the air
movement you should have in the grow room, and you're dispersing the
moisture even faster. In reality, your plants do not really see a
significant increase in even the local humidity.

Seal that room off totally from the rest of the house, block all central
heating vents, and set up a lot of trays and it's a different matter.


The original poster might want to think about adopting the advice in
your last statement. In my case, humidity trays have been a GREAT help.


My growing space (about 10 x 22 feet) is a sunroom that is connected
to but separate from the rest of the house. (It was an exterior room
built over the attached garage). Entry is through the living room via
by a tight-fitting wood-framed glass door. An ancient hot-water
radiator (which is always spewing a bit of steam) is connected to the
central heating system but is independently controlled, and it heats
in the room in the winter. However, the artificial lights (1 overhead
400-watt MH and 8 flourescent 4-foot tubes under the shelves), which go
on at 3 AM, usually keep the room pretty toasty. Also, the room is on
the other side of the living room fireplace.

In the room I have 16 large humidity trays and 2 of the extra-large 29"
x 13" trays. It's not a problem to maintain 60-70% humidity EXCEPT in
the dead of winter when the temperature drops to below freezing, and
then I plug in a small humidifier. (I have three fans running 24/7.)
All of the windows in the room were replaced about the time I
discovered orchids and line the east, south, and west walls. The
orchids are on tables in front of the windows; below the windows they
are growing under lights. In winter, blinds come down at night to
provide an air barrier to prevent a chill coming off the glass.

This is certainly not as satisfying as having a greenhouse, but it's
pretty civilized--I enjoy communing with the orchids over my first cup
of coffee. The room was fairly easy to set up. The single most
expensive thing was calling in an electrician to do the additional
wiring and add ciruits.

"Ray" wrote in message
...
1) I sell beige plastic nursery trays that can be used that way. (I use
them to catch drips or as carrying trays.)
2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.

If you're a home grower with humidity levels too low, they seem to be a
good
idea. Unfortunately, nature is working against the idea, as that one foot
by two foot try is trying to humidify your whole house. Add the air
movement you should have in the grow room, and you're dispersing the
moisture even faster. In reality, your plants do not really see a
significant increase in even the local humidity.

Seal that room off totally from the rest of the house, block all central
heating vents, and set up a lot of trays and it's a different matter.

--

I'll have to disagree with you - I used a portable hygrometer to measure
humidity above my trays and it is regularly 10-15% higher than the rest of
the room. Whether this is really a great benefit to the plants I can't say,
but it is a real effect. I do not have the option of sealing the room as you
describe - my goal is to have my orchids a part of our everyday living
space.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Ray" wrote in message
...
1) I sell beige plastic nursery trays that can be used that way. (I use
them to catch drips or as carrying trays.)
2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.

If you're a home grower with humidity levels too low, they seem to be a
good
idea. Unfortunately, nature is working against the idea, as that one foot
by two foot try is trying to humidify your whole house. Add the air
movement you should have in the grow room, and you're dispersing the
moisture even faster. In reality, your plants do not really see a
significant increase in even the local humidity.

Seal that room off totally from the rest of the house, block all central
heating vents, and set up a lot of trays and it's a different matter.

--

I'll have to disagree with you - I used a portable hygrometer to measure
humidity above my trays and it is regularly 10-15% higher than the rest of
the room. Whether this is really a great benefit to the plants I can't say,
but it is a real effect. I do not have the option of sealing the room as you
describe - my goal is to have my orchids a part of our everyday living
space.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Peter, both Kelley's Korner in Kittery ME and Orchids Limited sell some nice black or white trays w/ grids. KK has them slightly cheaper than OL.
Good luck!

I cannot argue with your evidence, but I stand by my general comment. There
are too many factors involved - air flow from fans, heaters, etc., how well
sealed the room is, and those inconsequential laws of nature.

Nature always wants an equilibrium, i.e., no gradients. A single source of
evaporation will raise the humidity in the immediate area, but those
airborne water molecules will quickly disperse into the entire room, and if
that room is not sealed off from the rest of the house, into that full
volume as well - and beyond. The simple fact that household humidity is low
in the winter proves that the moisture emanating from showers, sinks,
dishwashers, washing machines, our own perspiration and exhaling, etc., is
diffusing out into the dry environment outdoors.

If the %RH near your plants is 10%-15% higher than the surrounding room, I'd
speculate that you don't have sufficient air movement.

You might find this of interest:
http://forum.theorchidsource.com/cgi...=000089#000005

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Peter Aitken" wrote in message
m...
"Ray" wrote in message
...
1) I sell beige plastic nursery trays that can be used that way. (I use
them to catch drips or as carrying trays.)
2) I don't think "humidity trays" are of any real benefit.

If you're a home grower with humidity levels too low, they seem to be a
good
idea. Unfortunately, nature is working against the idea, as that one
foot
by two foot try is trying to humidify your whole house. Add the air
movement you should have in the grow room, and you're dispersing the
moisture even faster. In reality, your plants do not really see a
significant increase in even the local humidity.

Seal that room off totally from the rest of the house, block all central
heating vents, and set up a lot of trays and it's a different matter.

--

I'll have to disagree with you - I used a portable hygrometer to measure
humidity above my trays and it is regularly 10-15% higher than the rest of
the room. Whether this is really a great benefit to the plants I can't
say,
but it is a real effect. I do not have the option of sealing the room as
you
describe - my goal is to have my orchids a part of our everyday living
space.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Ray" wrote in message
...
I cannot argue with your evidence, but I stand by my general comment.
There
are too many factors involved - air flow from fans, heaters, etc., how
well
sealed the room is, and those inconsequential laws of nature.

Nature always wants an equilibrium, i.e., no gradients. A single source
of
evaporation will raise the humidity in the immediate area, but those
airborne water molecules will quickly disperse into the entire room, and
if
that room is not sealed off from the rest of the house, into that full
volume as well - and beyond. The simple fact that household humidity is
low
in the winter proves that the moisture emanating from showers, sinks,
dishwashers, washing machines, our own perspiration and exhaling, etc., is
diffusing out into the dry environment outdoors.

If the %RH near your plants is 10%-15% higher than the surrounding room,
I'd
speculate that you don't have sufficient air movement.

You might find this of interest:

http://forum.theorchidsource.com/cgi...=000089#000005


You may be right - but I am not looking to establish equilibrium. Humid air
is lighter than dry air, so there will be continuous evaporation, rising of
the humid air from the tray past the plants and into the room. I am aware
that some air movement is good. But again, I am trying to create an "OK"
environment for orchids in a room that is regularly used, and I know that I
will never be able to create an ideal environment or even close to it as I
could in a dedicated orchid room. I have considered partially enclosing the
shelves with clear plastic. In any case, the trays cannot hurt the humidity
situation and will serve to catch overflow from watering if nothing else!


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.