Newbie question...alternatives to heating mats for starting seed
Prachi
11 years ago
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digdirt2
11 years agoPrachi
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Heat mat to start caladiums: leave on 24 hours a day?
Comments (6)Plants thrive by being given a specific time of growing, then they should be given a 'rest'. Forcing a plant to grow 24/7 would be like putting yourself on a steady diet of food and sunlight. You wouldn't like it, neither does a plant. It must have a rest. Usually the seed or seedling is given up to 16 hours of growth phase, then 8 hours of rest. Time your growth phase with a timer. Water only as the plant requires to keep it damp...no more....See Moreseed starting with heat mat but no flourescents
Comments (7)That amount of light is fine for germination, which should be very fast with a heat mat. Very bright light is needed after germination, otherwise your seedlings will start stretching towards the light source and get leggy quickly. I use Jiffy pellets and a heat mat (plus a thermostat) and most things come up in 1-7 days. Tomatoes will also outgrow a Jiffy pellet quickly. If you have a yard or balcony and your temps are warm now, you can just pot up the seedlings, harden them off and move them outside at that point though....See Morenewbie seed starting question
Comments (6)Mia, I've been wanting a greenhouse forever and was starting to think we'd never get around to building one. I received the geenhouse kit as a Christmas present from my DH, but since he's either at work, or commuting to/from work (he drives about 85 miles one-way) or out fighting fires (he's the chief of our volunteer fire dept.), I wasn't sure we'd even start building it this year. We tend to take forever to finish any project we start. Now that I'm about to have my own little greenhouse, I want Busy1's greenhouse because it is so much bigger than mine! Busy1 has been very gracious and helpful in offering me advice on aspects of greenhouse-building and operating. The issue with the dome over the seedlings is a complicated one. Because I grow indoors in a room that has a southward-facing window and a westward-facing window, I remove the dome as soon as the seeds sprout because that specific room stays warm and humid and the plants can stay too humid and develop damping off if I leave the dome on. Busy1's seed-starting is in a greenhouse so the conditions are different, hence the need to keep the dome on. With seed-starting, it is sort of a learn-as-you-go process because the conditions will vary depending on whether your seed-starting flat is in a warm room indoors, a cool room or basement indoors, a garage, a shed, a sunporch or a greenhouse. With time, you'll figure out what works for you in your specific conditions just as the rest of us have figured out what works for us in our conditions. Next year, I expect to pick Busy1's brain a lot to learn what I'll have to do differently when starting seeds outside in a fairly cool greenhouse. I'll likely keep the greenhouse somewhat warm with a greenhouse heater, but it won't be nearly as warm as the house, so I'll have to modify my procedures accordingly. Because of efforts to make refrigerators more energy-efficient, I don't think most modern-day refrigerators get as warm on the top as they used to. I can remember 20 or 30 years ago that seeds sprouted quickly on top of refrigerators, but I think refrigerator tops aren't as warm now as they were then. It does take some experience with growing from seed, both in the ground and in flats, for the germination and temperature chart to make a lot of sense. For example, once you're waited 20 or 30 days for carrots to sprout in cold soil, the numbers on the page really mean something to you. One year, in an effort to get carrot seeds to sprout (my whole garden slopes, so I have trouble getting carrot seeds to sprout before rain washes them downhill into the woods), I started them inside, using cardboard rolls (from toilet tissue, paper towels and wrapping paper). The seeds sprouted in 5 or 6 days (this was years before I found the germination chart) and it was too cold to transplant them out, but I planted them out into really cool soil and air temps and they did fine, even though they were in the ground about 3 or 4 weeks early. I got lucky that year because it wasn't a terribly cold February. So, I got to see first-hand the difference between how long carrot seeds take in cold soil vs. warm soil. It is the same thing with peppers. I grew peppers indoors for eons before I bought a heat mat. They germinated fine, though slowly. Then, with the heat mat, they popped right up in just a few days. What an amazing difference! I love my heat mat because I do grow a lot of peppers, but I only use it for a week or two out of the year. Many years ago, I'd see both soil thermometers and compost thermometers in one of my favorite organic gardening stores in Fort Worth, and I'd roll my eyes and say to myself "why in the world would anyone take their soil's or copost's temperature?" Now I find myself being the one taking my soil's temperature, although I certainly didn't drive to a gardening supply store and buy a fancy soil thermometer that is virtually identical to a simple meat thermometer that you can buy in the kitchen supply section at any store. I refuse to take the temperature of my compost, and to do that, you really would need a compost thermometer with a long probe like the ones sold by garden supply companies. Dawn...See Moreseed starting/heating mat
Comments (1)I have used my heating pad many times. You can also place the flat on top of the fridge or freezer for extra warmth. Anything that is warm will work. Oops, I see you don't want to use the frig....See Morejonfrum
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11 years agoPrachi
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