FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm live in one of the hottest, driest places in the world, at least in the summer. I have had this nagging thought that during the transitional months in between the bone dry summers and bone dry winters the nice cool 80° weather might support a carnivorous plant in full sun. The issue is responsible water usage. I have a gray water system that dumps onto the oleanders in back. They ok in the salty soil and a bit of contamination doesn't seem to bother them. (Trust me they're going nuts. It's a real problem) I was thinking I could use some of that water to fill a pot and create a local increase in humidity without a humidity dome. I've been playing around with the idea of using ultrasonic foggers, but I think they aerosolize the minerals too. Evaporation alone might not be enough. If I have a deep enough external pot to use as a reservoir, and keep it an interior pot insulated, could I use a heating element to generate some vapor and pressurize it out of a nozzle near the base of the plant? I'd assume it would need to be cooled a bit before it reaches the leaves. I understand I need to avoid cooking the roots too. I've got plenty of sun to power a peltier heater off of solar alone. I know they can be inefficient, but they dont have moving parts and I can hook that up to an arduino along with a thermocouple and regulate the temperature automatically. Say I could keep it around 90° F and pump a little air in to create and maintain positive pressure. Would that be enough. Am I overthinking it?

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Well, I do not to be the guy who stifles innovation Murk but perhaps you may be overthinking the humidity thing. Take a look at the following link:

post343678.html#p343678

Once I get a few more plants established I might try that. A few observations 1) it looks like they are in north LV or hendo, which is at a higher elevation than where I'm at 2) they have a nice house with a big pool. That almost certainly raises the humidity. 3) they probably can afford excess watering fees from the SNWA if they decided to fine them. Which I kinda doubt because of point 2. I'm willing to try it, but I'm dubious do to the difference in living situation. We've been in an extended drought so the less water I use, the better I'll feel about doing this. I'm also calling the SNWA on a somewhat related matter on monday.

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Again, I think you may be placing to much emphasis on the humidity levels but I am not a desert dweller. One further thought I had was that you could cover your water reservoir with a piece of white plastic sheeting affixed to that container with a rubber band. Then slice Xs into the plastic through which you will insert your plant pots. This will reduce your loss of good water through evaporation. Similarly you could cover some percentage of the plant pot surface to reduce evaporation in that circumstance. If you are concerned still about humidity you could then place that assembly into a larger reservoir of gray water? Idk but I bet you will work out something!

In my experience with the low humidity soil drys out in a matter of hours during the driest times. I have a schedule for when I can legally water. It's fairly restrictive.

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It's mainly used for setting the drip system, but still applies to using a watering can. The SNWA van likes to park by the side of my yard on break, and I dislike water waste anyhow.

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"In my experience with the low humidity soil drys out in a matter of hours during the driest times. I have a schedule for when I can legally water. It's fairly restrictive."

Yes, exactly! This is why in a previous post I was trying to think of and suggest a way to prevent unnecessary evaporation from the water tray as well the plant soil by attempting to hermetically seal these vessels. In the case of the soil media it would be to some percentage perhaps 50-70% of the surface area. That should conserve a large percentage of your water. The water tray would have to have enough surface area to hold enough water for the day restrictions while not drowning the roots of your plants. VFTs for instance, using a tray watering system, do perfectly for me in a 10 inch deep pot with either peat/sand or lfsm. Progressively deeper pots lose there wicking ability. You will have to experiment! I use a drip system now with no trays but before this I set up my trays so I could go at least a week between watering. I think you will find your temperate CPs enjoy a wetting/drying cycle of the soil. As was mentioned by Stat in another post keep in mind that different CPs have differing soil moisture content desires for optimal growth.

Tell you what Murk. I am intrigued by the idea of growing CPs in a desert climate. I do note though that one of the greatest growers of VFTs lived in the semi-arid climate of Portales, New Mexico. How hard could it be? So if you are interested in the idea of growing outdoors and can come up with a reasonably likely plan for success I will be happy to send you some of my three year old seedling VFTs to experiment with. My greatest challenge to growing is the fact that my wife despises these plants and thinks I have too many.

My east facing wall is probably going to be the safest bet. I also think the use of an air stone as outlined by Barry Rice's post in the FAQ section of his website is a good idea. I use positive pressure via air stone in my spirulina bioreactor to keep cat hair out and stir the culture, but I could probably sacrifice one for the experiment. JB weld is magic for creating good air tight seals. I bet I could make a test setup out of glass and plexi. I've got diamond bits for doing crap like this. I've just gotta wait a pay cycle so I dont overspend on nozzles.

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Update: Local botanical gardens conservation expert advised against any outdoor greenhouse use during the summer months. I expected that answer, but getting in on paper is always a good thing.

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Good news! I found an adjustable pressure release valve rated 0-100 psi! I've got a plan involving PVC and an air stone. I'll draw a mock up on friday.

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I'm convinced if you keep them permanently sitting in water, they will grow well in bone dry environment. Assuming that water is distilled water.

P A U L wrote:I'm convinced if you keep them permanently sitting in water, they will grow well in bone dry environment. Assuming that water is distilled water.

See "I'm not trying to get a ticket from the SNWA" for more details.

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Here's the valve. I'll clean the flux off and drill and tap a PVC end cap. The current idea is to have a reservoir where there can be some watering contact with the media, but also a PVC section with some check valves to let water in. When the temperature rises the valves close, when the pressure gets high enough (which I'd need to dial in) the relief valve will let out some extra water vapor.


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