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*humidity in my greenhouse*

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How do I keep humidity up in my greenhouse? I isn't really big, just 4' x 6'. I have an evaporative cooler but that is it. I live in Las Vegas. Right now lowest humitity is 38%. I grow some Nepenthes and a Heliamphora so I know I need it higher. I also have some of those humidifiers that heats of the water and releases it as a vapor. Should I use them?


- SunPitcher
 
Yes use as many of thoe humdidfiers as you can. The higher the humidity the better. Dont go into the greenhouse if it isover 90 it might start to rain in thegreenhouse jk. Have a hygrometer in the GH abd a temp meter.--Phil
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Your swamp cooler should be taking care of that...

In Las Vegas the lower the humidity outside the better and more efficent the cooler will operate and provide it's evaporative cooling and humidifying effect. If ym one hygrometer is correct I usualy am around the 70% and higher humidity with no systems running...if the heater kicks on then humidity may drop 5% or so. WIth the evap. cooler running it'll now boost humidity quite high now that I sealed it up to the greenhouse wall so all available air is sucked thru the cooler pads rather than around it.
 
I have found out the best way to keep high humidity in the GH is to use my water sprinkler open for 2-3 min. few times a day and it on the floor only then they water evaporate and it kept over 50-60% all the day.
Arie
 
Thanks all, I will try it. I will put my humidifiers in asap.
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- SunPitcher
 
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they don't work very well. Humidity went up 2%. Any more suggestions?

Thanks
 
Environmental conditions are hard to control in smaller greenhouses. Smaller greenhouses tend to heat up quicker during the summer which makes it harder to cool. In the winter, the smaller air volume cools quicker and makes them harder to heat.

I believe what is happening is that although the cooler and the humidifiers are pumping humid air into the greenhouse, the humidity is being lost through the vents. You may have to setup growing chambers within the greenhouse to maintain the humidity. You will just need to find a way to keep the chambers from overheating. Possibly with shading.

The suggestion of spraying down the floor with water is a very good one. This may have to be done more than once a day depending on how fast the water evaporates.

Another possibility is that you need to get a shade cloth to use during the hottest times of the day to keep the sun from baking the greenhouse. White wash will also help to keep the temperatures down. If your greenhouse is not glass, you will have to find an alternative as it will not work on plastics.

One more option would be to creating a misting system that would cycle on and off to keep the air humid.
 
Greenhouse equipment tends to get pricey real quick. For a misting system like Nick suggested try to get a hand pumped pressure sprayer and some 1/4" black water distribution tubing then they should have some little mister heads there also, throw it all together with a 4 way tee or something (i used the aquarium air manifold that is used for the airpumps.) I can obtain 60% and higher with this little 10-15$ setup easily. Maybe (if you have the money) invest in a misting system on a pressurized tank with a pump and humidistat. Also have your vents shut on the times that the misting system is in operation. And you don't have to have CP water in the misting system, just use junk water to spray the floor down, the rocks don't mind it.
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I found out that if I mist my walls, The humidity gets up to 85%! Thanks for replying!

SunPitcher
 
  • #10
SunPitcher, I would like to add that you are using the wrong humidifiers. Those produce a lot of heat and not a lot of humidity. If you get a really cheap mechanical humidifier (one that says cool mist but is less than 20 bucks) and place it up high so that the small water droplets land on the plants it should have a more significant impact on the humidity in the greenhouse. This would be equivalent to building a misting system but cheaper.

Also I just saw a post by another member who keeps his pots in cheap turkey baking pans. A small layer of water kept in these would also help your humidity and it would be local to the plants which is even better.
Better yet combine the two methods.

joe
 
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