Re: [CH] Seed Starting
Will McCown (will@ross-mccown.com)
Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:59:23 -0800
L Herried wrote:
> That time off the year!
>
> I'm looking for any recomendations on heating pads and
> where to buy.
I have one of these:
http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2156&itemType=PRODUCT
in the 20x20 size and I can tell you it's not really enough heat
(at least not in my 65-70 degree basement). This year I built
a little plastic tent around the whole lights and seedling tray
arrangement and got pretty good germination. (The lights contribute
another 120 W of heat -- 4x 40W flourscent.)
I would be very wary of putting a drugstore heating pad under
seedling trays -- they're not really meant for that sort of
wear, and a short circuit could ruin your whole day.
The incandescent light bulb in an enclosed space (Byron's
cheap solution) is probably somewhat safer, but once again
you need to take considerable care that the cardboard gets
nowhere near the lamp.
I suspect that before I run next years seedlings I'm probably
going to spring for one of the "commercial grade" heating mats
(which are roughly twice the power per area). - and move
the low power one to keeping the already hatched seedling going.
--
Will McCown, South Pasadena, CA
will@ross-mccown.com