Earlier in this thread, Al wrote, "So - we've seen that rain or mist on leaves obviously slows water loss from foliage by making (near) perfect the boundary layer. Since this slows transpirational loss, it closes stomata" (end quote) That sounds backward to me. Stomata should open when there's plenty of moisture, all else equal. That's when they can get CO2 most cheaply, in terms of work the roots have to do in order to replace the water. Here's what a search turns up. When the leaves of a plant were wet by dew or rain, or wet artificially, the stomata usually opened if closed, or opened more widely if partially open. http://books.google.com/books?id=CBUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=stomata+rain&source=bl&ots=OHXooQEPZX&sig=VnRDj1fwARuoWe7xr-kUSRJt3hI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=16XvUJYyy-_RAfPLgOgC&ved=0CFUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=stomata rain&f=false In case that link doesn't work, here's another source saying somewhat the same thing. In nature, many foliar bacterial disease outbreaks require high humidity, rain, or storms, which could favor stomatal opening http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18422426

Well, win a few, lose a few! Thanks everyone for your input. It's a matter of finding a happy medium in this unforgiving climate. The aviary is completely made of 1x2 rabbit wire. For a few months, I've just had the plants in there w/no plastic. But we have had 97-100 degrees day after day. The fruit finally fell off a chocolate pepper plant I was greatly anticipating getting a pepper off of. My eggplants were very wilty during the day, sometimes pick up a little at night, sometimes not. One tomato plant too a nose dive--I was surprised it recovered. I had a shade cloth just big enough to cover the top and was afraid even that would keep the veggies from fruiting with too little sun. It sure didn't make any difference on the temperature, wilting or other problems. So that's when I decided to cover w/plastic and see if I could mist it to cool it that way. It took two trips to the hardware store and two different systems, but as far as conquering the temperature problem, I think I have. It's 98 degrees in the sun, 91 in the shade and 82 in the greenhouse now. Wahoo!!!!! I have found, I think, that I have to leave the two big doors open on the greenhouse or the heat does build up too bad. I am worried about the moisture. I bought a 10 foot patio mister from Home Depot. Well, the aviary/greenhouse is only about 7 feet high which puts some plants pretty close to the mister heads and it seems some of the plants are getting way too much condensation. I'll cut the mister off about 6 p.m. or when the greenhouse is in the shade. Then I'll leave it off until 10:30 or 11 a.m. when the heat starts to build up again. Hopefully, our very dry breeze will give them some relief during those off-hours. What do you all think? Do you think 7 hours of moisture during the hottest part of the day will still cause me trouble? Connie

Only the top leaves of any plant will benefit from artificial light, plain fluorescent or grow light, doesn't matter. And with basil, as an annual with a finite life cycle, I feel that once it has persistently begun to bolt (which it will do if stressed for whatever reason--including lack of sufficient light) you have lost the battle! Basically, all it is striving to do at this point is set seed in order to ensure the survival of the species! Also, since the leaves are are yellowing, I am surmising a nutrient deficiency. I'd suggest you start new plants, and if you simply cannot grow them outdoors (really? in CA??) at least try a dwarf species more suitable to a container such as Spicy Globe. Get a good organic fertilizer --maybe Sea Magic or Neptune's Harvest, maybe add some worm compost to the soilless mix you are using. Just don't try to plant in regular garden soil or commercial potting soil with fertilizer added. Potting soil is too heavy. Use something labeled seed starter, then add your own nutrients as suggested. Or if you must use potting soil, mix it half & half with perlite and maybe even some vermiculite also to lighten it up and make it drain better. The good thing: you are correct in not overwatering! Good luck.

there is a plant propogation book i have wherein the author describes his own mist system. that author has a large black coil of hose in the roof of his greenhouse so that water can be heated before reaching the mist nozzles. that's at least one vote for using warm water and keeping the cuttings reasonably warm as they root. just thought i would toss that in! lol. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mosaic z8 LA (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 11:59 With such a setup you could probably root roses under mist all winter here in Louisiana. And then as an added bonus, you could save on your power bills all summer by using it to steam your veggies :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: tammyinwv z6/WV (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:05 i have been unable to find the mist heads even within an hr from my home.Someone mentioned here they found them for .50 each.would anyone be willing to get me a couple and mail them? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: wild_garden virginia z6b (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:32 at my lowes store the mist heads where in the indoor gardening area next to the register, i doubt the people at lowes would have even know what to look for. it was with the drip irrigation supplies, as i said in the indoor gardening area next to the big outdoor area where they sell trees and things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mist heads supply source Posted by: RoseHawke 7b AL (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 03 at 10:37 For you folks that haven't been able to find the heads locally, try going to this site: Dripworks or here's a direct link to one of the pages with some heads:Misters . I just a couple of weeks ago ordered some irrigation supplies from them and received them quite quickly. About 4 days if I remember correctly. Haven't had a chance to put it together yet, which is probably just as well as the flood we had last week would've probably washed everything down the creek ;-). I also have the Melnor timer, and it does seem a bit confusing about its ability to do a mist cycle, but what you're doing is programing it to do one cycle (on in the am; off in the pm) and punching in a choice of watering pattern, in this case the off for 10" on for 2" pattern. I believe the idea behind the pattern was/is actually to help prevent water run-off when doing overhead watering by allowing the water to soak in between the on phases. I bought this particular timer though because when I looked at it my mind said "Ah! Mist!" (heh), even though the reason I bought it at the time was to keep a new patch of zoysia sod watered until it rooted in. My batteries did last all season last year, but it was only opening that valve 4x a day for 3 weeks, and then 1x every 4 days for a couple of months. I can see where a misting pattern of opening and closing that valve many times during the day may eat batteries, but as ShamanSherpa pointed out, it's still cheaper than a $100+ misting timer! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: patclem z7 (or 6) TN (My Page) on Fri, May 23, 03 at 8:32 Regardless of how much water it wastes, etc, I decided to experiment with misting. I am TERRIBLE at rooting cuttings. I've tried baggies. I've tried jars. I've tried special cutting trays with plastic domes. I've had one rooted cutting out of probably 50. I had the same problem finding true super-fine mist systems in the south. None at Lowe's, none at HD. They're not popular here because they don't have the same evaporating effect they have in less humid areas of the country - they make you wet here. Here's where I found mist heads. They didn't charge me anything for shipping. They were super-good to deal with online. Web Page - Phone/Fax 888-693-0578 Local/Fax (719) 495-2266 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W401; Product: Monarch Misting Nozzles M-1; Amount: $7.40 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W519; Product: Reducing Tee for Monarch Misting Nozzles; Amount: $4.40 You have to go to Lowe's or local hardware store and get a hose adapter, timers, 1/2" PVC, PVC caps, etc. I have mine set up with 2 mist heads, and about a 6' diameter section of my grass is soaked! I don't have mine on a timer yet. Results? I don't have any yet, except none of my cuttings have turned black yet. PS - I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS BUSINESS IN ANY WAY! Here is a link that might be useful: Mist Heads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: fuselighter 7/WA (My Page) on Thu, May 29, 03 at 21:41 I am so excited about the misting bed. I went out and bought all the supplies today. Total cost was about $15 (my husband had PVC and elbows left over from installing the sprinkler system). I would like to go to an intermittent system eventually, but for now I am going with continuous. The water bill is not an issue because we have an irrigation system (there is an annual fee but it is not based on usage). I set the whole thing up in about an hour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: debbinard Z4CO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 10:54 Shamansherpa -- I could not open your picture! I live in Colorado, it gets very warm middle of June (up to upper 90's) and stays low humidity. We are on outsidewater restrictions 2xweek, so I'm not sure this method would fly. Am wondering how visible this is, or if inside is an option under lights. At any rate, I would like to propigate some rose cuttings now (is this a good time?) My daughter in law is moving and would love some plants from a rose with sentimental value. Is the rooting hormone used just the usual or special for roses? Thanks Deb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 13:48 Deb, Maybe you could call your water extention office and see if you can get special permission, exsplain to them how little water it uses. Yes you use rooting hormone, there are many available. Dip and grow I here is supposed to be really good. I got some of the more exspensive stuff from a friend whom bought it threw rose imporium on line. But you can always use something like dip and grow. Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: rose_enthusiast z7 TX. (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 15:47 Hi there Deanna! It seems to me you've managed to help a lot of people with your invaluable info. And I would like to thank you for inspiring me to start a misting bed to root my cuttings. I have one question to add to the many others you've been getting though... What rose company is it that you get your rooting hormone from? Is it Rose Emporium or the Antique Rose Emporium? I would like to purchase this product as well, since you and this company are using this to successfully root your cuttings. Thanks Again, Carlos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 1:31 Carlos, Thank you but we should all thank AngieAnders, she is the one who did all the research and work to discover this method and then post it here for us last year! She truly diserves all the credit. I just wanted to keep any new people aware that have just started rooting this year. Best of luck all and don't forget to post your sucess! Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: epiphany z5b PA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 9:28 I found the Arizona Mist system which is by Orbit as mentioned at Wal-Mart. It has 12' of tubing, end cap, six misting heads and hose adapter for $14.95. Of course, it is once again cold and wet here,......all of a balmy 56°. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: auntnana 6 TN (My Page) on Thu, Jun 5, 03 at 13:06 I ordered the misting heads mentioned above from Dripworks last year and they don't put out a fine mist as much as they do a fine spray/droplets. And even though I had a pressure regulator on there, I kept having a problem with the heads blowing off! (Their drippers work perfectly by the way so it's nothing against the company) I ordered foggers from Misty Mate this year and they put out a super fine fog. Perfect for propagation. They are a litte more expensive than the ones from Dripworks but worth it. And if you ask they will ship the misting heads for $1.50. I went to HD and bought a 10-24 tap and drill set (3.00) and drilled holes in my 1/2" cvpvc and the heads just screwed right in! I bought a Melnor timer at HD for $39 and it has 1 minute spray options so I've got it set for 1 minute every 10 minutes. Can't remember the model number but it's not the one on the HD website. I hope to finish my new propagation box soon. I built one on a stand this year so I can move it around easily. Wouldn't you know, HD has plastic sheeting made just for greenhouses that I used! It's not the real thick heavy stuff either. It's only 4mil and is crystal clear see-thru! Hopefully I'll be finished this week!