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#1
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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. |
#2
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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 |
#3
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"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. |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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. |
#7
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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 ) |
#8
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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 |
#9
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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 |
#10
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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. |
#11
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"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. |
#12
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"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. |
#13
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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! |
#14
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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. |
#15
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"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. |
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