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To: Ellendra

Hi, Ellendra!

Thanks for the info. You answered some questions I was going to ask next: Can fishing line* be used? And what is the spacing? I have a ton of used fishing line. Zippers not so much, but, I can imagine alternatives like the right grade of stainless steel mesh, maybe? Sort of a sewing job...

I wonder if red “Cajun” line would hold up to UV better than clear or near clear lines?

I’m imagining a self-watering garden* for much of the year. And ditto on the dew, many nights / mornings here (mid-South USA — it often takes until noon for the dew to burn off enough to mow.)

I’d think these could be a big deal in poor, water-short countries. Materials need not be too expensive, cheap labor to assemble, or, automate fairly easily...

Do you have any links to articles about designs or how to (home-made) make and utilize (optimum angle / positioning?) fog harps?

*Or self-filling waterers for our chickens. I bought 8 more chicks at Rural King ($1 ea. blowout because they had surplus getting big enough to fly out of their bins.) And now, ~2 weeks later, we have two more hens going broody, and some of the other hens want to help by laying eggs in the broody hens’ nest boxes instead of their own. When my wife gets back home (she is on a 41 day trip to see relatives & friends back home) she is gonna kill me! (”had too many chickens already!”, she’ll say!) Lotsa chicken soup coming up!? Usually more rooster chicks seem to “recruit”, as the fisheries people would say, than hens.

Which reminds me I need to get going on henhouse & run repairs & expansion too — like about 10 million other things around here. Why is there more of this stuff to do the older I get?

However, if I can solve a couple forseeable maintenance problems, self-filling waterers for the gardens and chickens could be a good time saver. :-)


80 posted on 06/11/2023 4:15:26 PM PDT by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Paul R.
I should probably mention, I've never actually heard of a fog harp being made from fishing line. I just can't find any reason why it wouldn't work.

If you do a search on the phrase "diy dew collector" you can see lots of examples, although the majority focus on meshes, not harps. I'm guessing the harps are a new enough development that no one knows the optimum measurements yet, although I'm pretty sure tall is more important than wide. If you decide you want to try zippers to help with the spacing, you can get 10-yard rolls of zipper for around $10 online. I just like how the little teeth keep everything even.

My method for dealing with UV damage is to keep it in the shade. I figure I have to block the wind somehow anyway, I might as well block the sun too. It will probably take some tinkering to find the right enclosure.

One more tip: keep in mind that the strands will change length in response to temperature. If they're nice and taut on a hot day, they might break on a cold day. Make sure you allow for that.

Congratulations on the chickens! I'm looking forward to the day when I can expand my flock.
88 posted on 06/12/2023 11:45:02 AM PDT by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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