Still haven't decided whether to go for a proper hot bench or a soil
cable and plunge unit. (Shall be sad to decide it's somehow fun to plan
spending money and not actually getting around to ordering anything from
two West's.

One question I'd like to ask the experts.
Why doesn't a mist unit encourage damping off? I would have thought
enclosing lots of cuttings in an area of constant wetness would be
lethal.

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...

Still haven't decided whether to go for a proper hot bench or a soil
cable and plunge unit. (Shall be sad to decide it's somehow fun to plan
spending money and not actually getting around to ordering anything from
two West's.

One question I'd like to ask the experts.
Why doesn't a mist unit encourage damping off? I would have thought
enclosing lots of cuttings in an area of constant wetness would be
lethal.

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

I'd guess maybe that with a misting unit the air is in constant circulation,
and thus less risk of the "stagnant" moist air hanging around where you
don't want it. Damping off seems worse in propagators without any
ventilation after all.

Isn't damping off caused by a fungus ?, maybe it doesn't have time to
settle. Or maybe the misting unit somehow raises destroys the fungal spores,
seems unlikely.

Duncan

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...

Still haven't decided whether to go for a proper hot bench or a soil
cable and plunge unit. (Shall be sad to decide it's somehow fun to plan
spending money and not actually getting around to ordering anything from
two West's.

One question I'd like to ask the experts.
Why doesn't a mist unit encourage damping off? I would have thought
enclosing lots of cuttings in an area of constant wetness would be
lethal.

janet
--
The constant misting washes the fungal spore straight off, mist units are
also good for tricky seeds (you just adjust things a little) LBS do a very
versatile unit, mines never given a problem in 10 years.
One word of advice, its very difficult to get the amount of water delivered
to equal that which is evaporating, so some way for excess to be got rid of
safely is a good idea, I use a bit of capillary matting as a wick removing
excess safely into a bucket for removal from the greenhouse (but then my
mist house is over my coal shred so you can imagine what happens to the
excess without !)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)