After all the years of using heating mats and large plastic hard pretzel containers under lights to start cuttings, I've decided to make an outdoor misting bed this coming Spring. Thank you to all on this forum for giving me the inspiration and information to finally do it. Here are my tentative plans:

It will be 4'wide X 8' long using 2" X 8" pressure treated lumber for the sides and probably 5/4" pressure treated deck boards for the bottom. The bottom boards will be spaced to allow excellent drainage. I plan to put plastic window screen over the bottom to prevent washout of the rooting medium. I expect to use either coarse sand (is swimming pool filter sand too coarse) or a 75/25 perlite/peat moss mix as the medium.

I have just purchased online some 1/2 GPH plastic screw-in mist nozzles with a built in filter and PVC T's into which they fit. I also have some 1 GPH nozzles and a 1/2" PVC to hose adapter comming soon. I will put a water filter in the system to help prevent nozzle clogging and at this time plan on using a Melnor 3060 timer that has the mist cycle. The 2007 model is supposed to be improved, but at this time the Melnor website does not have mentioned what the improvments over the previous version are. Last years models can be had on eBay for half of their usual $40.00 price right now, but if they lowered the mist "on" time from the present minimum 2 minutes, that would be a plus for ther new version. If not, then buying the old version is a deal.

Since I don't know what the coverage of these mist nozzles is going to be, does anyone have a guess as to how high over the bed they should be mounted and will I need a double row for a 4' wide bed? Should I enclose the sides of the bed with clear plastic up to nozzle height and maybe make a plastic roof over it too? I don't want to enclose the whole thing, as I know it needs good air circulation, so I can make the roof elevated above the sides. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to make them as I can still have plenty of time to incorporate good ideas into the plan.

Thanks,

Paul