This top bar is for adding a top tent for outdoor use so the rain does not pool on the flat top. I was out of 90 degree fittings so I temporarily used 3-way fittings. Note that the vertical pipes are tied in with bolts so the entire unit can be lifted by the top bar.
Unit assembled and operating with Rain Shield for outdoor use.
My first attempt with it is to try to root green mulberry cuttings. I’ve got Persian and Black Beauty cuttings in there. I used a lot of sand with a much smaller amount of perlite and peat as medium. I’m not sure how easily these root.
The unit is sitting on my lower deck. Except for maybe an hour in the early morning it is shaded by the upper deck. If anyone has experience doing this with mulberries, I’d love to hear about it.
I don’t think Mulberries are water sensitive like chestnuts and some other trees I grow so I’m just connected to the house water. The timer is set to mist for 10 seconds every 10 minutes.
I’d also like to be able to use this unit indoors for things that require high humidity like nut grafting chestnuts. So, my next project is to add a simple water collection/filtering/recycling system to it. I’ll post some pics when I get around to that.
For some reason, the pictures showed up in the preview but not in the final post. I entered them as image links with tags. I’m going to edit the above post to upload the pictures to the site to see if that makes a difference.
Should work great for nut grafts. I’ve used plastic bags hung in a warm window, also burying the new graft right away in soil, but wrapped in peat first.
Both of these work, but capasity is limited. I think your setup would work great for quantity nut grafts.
I picked up this kit: http://www.mrdrip.com/Propagation-Mist-Kit-with-549-Misting-Timer_p_808.html because I wanted extra parts to expand, but you can buy the individual parts for much less. I won’t be using this timer for indoor use. My plan for indoor use will be to use an aquarium pump connected directly to the tubing. You can buy a similar cycling timer that controls an outlet rather than a valve. I found one on Amazon for about $15. It will turn on and off the aquarium pump. I plan to use a tarp under a wire top table to collect and filter the water in a 5 gal bucket system. I’ll be working on that soon. I’m doing this for two reasons: First, many of my more sensitive trees can tolerate city water and I can use rain water with the recycling system. Second, if there is a failure, I don’t want water pouring into my basement.
I’ve had very poor success at nut grafting. I’ve used plastic bags but found two issues. First, without enough air flow, I end up with mold. Chestnuts are high carbs and susceptible to mold. With too much air flow there is not enough humidity for them to take. Second, I’ve not been good at reducing the humidity after they leaf out at the right rate. I’m either too quick and they die or too slow and they mold.
I’ve rooted Illinois Everbearing softwood cuttings taken in July. Used 80% perlite with 20% potting soil. Kept them in a translucent storage container with glass top to seal in moisture. Didn’t use a mister, just a tray with water to maintain humidity. I don’t remember how many rooted but it was not 100%.
