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Simi valley, ca

would like to here what other people have done, about distance between misters, how many ft? & how far above leaves ? how often they come on ? do they cause any burning? thankx glenn

4/20/2005 11:28:53 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I don't know anything about this stuff. But, the other day I saw a design for a PVC hoop house with integrated mister. The water feeds through the frame to a mister at the top of the structure. I don't plan on building one. But, I thought it was pretty cool. (I'd be lying if I said that I made that oun on purpose)

4/21/2005 2:01:11 AM

Montoursville, PA

A California firm, DRIPWORKS, catalog has a number of misting options. The catalog is on line. It was used by other California and hot state growers.

I set up a misting system my first year using their supplies. Unfortunately it proved to be difficult to use and not at the same time set up conditions that invited the milldews so miserable to deal with in our Northeastern climate.

I should think your environment would be such that a misting system might be an advantage. Here it lowered the patch temperature by significant degrees. I had a battery opp. control meter and used it to mist ten minutes on the hour between eleven AM and four PM. The same firm still has battery operated controls but you will have to consult for application use because it is different make and specifications than the one I have.

Experimentation will be required to determine how high above the mature leaf canopy it needs to be installed. Perfect which I nearly did achieve would be to have the mist evaporate just befor it reaches the leaf surface. Here I needed the finest mist their nozzle choices could provide.
You have considerably different environmental considerations.

Heat wilt is a significant stress on the plant. If you can mist and prevent heat wilt you would certainly have an advantage. The cost of the tubing and misting nozzles is not that great. The meter is pricy but is a good piece of equipment.

By over watering through this system you may be able to foliar feed also. All liquid foliar that will pass through a 200 mesh in line strainer or T-Y will also pass through the misting nozzles. I suggest the inclusion of the strainer even if not figuring on foliar feeding. It is one piece of equipment that protected me from me. The T-Y can be purchased with a manuel back flush which is nice.

Get into their catalog and service for more local advisement.

4/21/2005 9:52:43 AM

Chico, Ca

check out our 2003 growers diary at:

www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryView.asp?season=2003&grower=22156action=L

we space them out about 6 ft apart front to back and side to side.

Lowes has turbo misters @ 5 for $3.00. We will be running this system this year. It can get to 110 f here in summer.
Email me if you have any questions.

Robert

4/22/2005 12:48:18 AM

Chico, Ca

Oh, I forgot.... we turn them on at about 9am run them till 8pm or so. 1 to 5 min duration twice an hour depending on temperature. we grow under 305 shade cloth so we do not experience any burning. have always grown that way so I can't tell you what it is like without it. height is around 6-7 ft. Tornado misters have never clogged up on us and we run a bunch of stuff through our fertigator setup.

4/22/2005 12:55:18 AM

San Diego

Your simi valley is like my area of el cajon. I use drip works. I would set the misters to come on at around 10:30, off at 4:15, no leaves will burn after this time and it allows the plant to dry before dark. I use 3 foot stakes and up to this year supernet pc mini-sprinklers. Get the largest supernet pc, does the best job, around 11 feet for radius, so it does a 22 by 22 area for one sprinkler. I find it good to over lap them. I had mine spaced at around 11 feet apart and had 3 sprinklers for the whole patch. Very simple easy set up, works good. Get a good timer that will come on and off as many times as you want like the dig greenhouse battery operated timer. On hot days, I would average 5 minutes on, 10 minutes off for the 10:30 to 4:15 window. www.dripworks.com Jimmy

4/22/2005 12:51:09 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Arizona....Ya hear all this?...probably why those sides won't show!

4/22/2005 8:25:04 PM

Chico, Ca

If you fertigate through your misters you need a certain flow rate for the injector to work, just something to keep in mind. With smaller more numerous misters in your setup you can add them as you need them. Using larger less numerous misters you do not have this luxury. Use a good fungicide( preferably a systemic like myclobutinil) if you use high cycle rates on your misters... We found half hour cycles to be sufficient for plant cooling, any more and you are just wasting water and drowning your plants. We derive 90% of our plants water through misters.

4/23/2005 1:24:38 AM

Chico, Ca

By half hour cycles we mean 1-5 min on, 30 min off.

4/23/2005 1:26:16 AM

Carrollton, Ga.

Hi all,
I don't have power at my patch, do they have a battery operated valve to cut the water on and off?
Thanks,
Doug
1st. Cor. 3:7

4/23/2005 6:43:16 AM

Chico, Ca

we use two battery powered timers in parallel. we still have to turn the faucet on in the mornings and off at night. cost was under $40

4/23/2005 2:06:07 PM

Garden

The 10 misters I use (dripworks) are each good for a 6' diameter. The are hooked up to a Dig 500 greenhouse timer, and come on for 1 minute, every 10-15 minutes between the hours of 10am-4pm. Wasting water- maybe, but I start to get wilting with less and they dont seem to be over watered.

4/26/2005 9:21:09 PM

Garden

Doug- the timer and valve came hard wired together and are powered by a single 9 volt battery. Have used the same battery for 2 seasons. Will replace it for this year.

4/27/2005 2:15:43 AM

San Diego

every patch has different conditions and water needs, what works in san diego might not work in chico, etc. Trial and error find out what works best in each patch. Jimmy

4/27/2005 12:22:32 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I agree with Jimmy. If we look to the major irrigation companies like Toro, Hunter, etc we find many different outputs & patterns. For many folks, the best place to look is the local wholesale irrigation distributor who has the staff, experience, catalogs & stock to offer custom solutions for individual needs.

Don't be afraid to use different outputs & patterns in certain areas of the same patch to insure proper cooling without getting things too wet.

4/27/2005 10:14:43 PM

Chico, Ca

I agree, your mileage might vary.. I am working on the cheap. We live in an area that is heavily agricultural. There are lots of shops here but they focus on large scale irrigation, so small misters and timers are hard to find.
At some point we will upgrade.I love technology. But I also have a budget. My father built satellites for a living. He tought me to keep things simple. It is up to the you to watch your own patch as you add systems and taylor a system that works for you.When it is hot in Chico in the summer we have no wind, So our evaporation rates might be different then yours.Two completely different systems in two different regions can produce the same results... proper cooling for maximum growth.

Good luck...
Robert

4/28/2005 1:22:59 AM

Sloughhouse, CA

I also use shade cloth and misters.I live in Southern Sac. County about 1 and 1/2 hrs. south of Robert. We do get the benefit of the delta breezes in the evening.
Sue

5/29/2005 2:51:40 AM

Chico, Ca

Ya rub it in Suzy....lol

Oh and I found a mistake in my comments on 4/22
should read 30% not 305 shade cloth. Most folks can only find 50% but that is too much light reduction and the plants get leggy....

5/29/2005 3:59:48 AM

Chico, Ca

The delta breeze is more like a blast furnace by the time it gets here.

5/29/2005 4:02:11 AM