Heat Mat Question

Hope Shoe or someone comes along that will know. I have 4 25' heat mats. I can set them to any temp. If I use them in an unheated coldframe, will they keep the cuttings I set on them warm? Or will the cuttings get chilled from the air temp(which can get down into the 20's) I think what I'm asking is will the air up to a foot above the heat mats be warm? Should I "tent" the cuttings with a second layer of plastic covering? If I can do this it will free up a lot of space in the Jungle House.

If there cuttings that have leaves i think i would tent them you would be taking a chance with out but like you hope shoe comes thru he has had a lot more experience

Howdy folks. Sorry, but I can't give a definite answer on that one Cala. I remember making "hot frames" by burying manure in the ground (usually with alfalfa meal/leaves)...it would heat up like a compost pile does. Plants, seed trays, etc would go in there and were definitely kept warm.
Seems like your electric heat mats would do the same thing Cala. If your cold frame was tightly made and draft-free, and not too high, I'd give it a try. Common sense would tell you to be sure and close the lid before the cool of the evening set in, and as an additional precaution I'd throw a thick blanket (or have some hay bales available)over the top of the lid to help hold the heat in even more.

The best glass top for coldframes seems to me to be sliding glass doors cuz they are usually double-paned, and thick! They're heavy to open and close but with a ballast system hooked up to them you can open them with your pinkie.

As a last thought, if you could create a "cold frame within a cold frame" I'm sure you'd do well with your plants/cuttings staying warm.

Guess you'll hafta experiment w/one and let us know how it goes, okay?

Shoe, I think our cold frames are too big to be much good then, they are 14x36x6ft high. If I put the heat mats on the ground, tent over them with a "cold frame within a cold frame" it should work? I'll have to get Bill to rig up a frame for me, since I'm "mechanicaly challenged".

Six feet high!? Wow!~ Those are long skinny greenhouses to me!
I'm sure Bill can come up with a good plan to section off the lower couple feet, maybe a shelf of some kind (removable) built a couple feet off the bottom...put your cuttings under there. I guess you could also supplement the heat in there with a couple of red heat lamps (like some of us use to keep baby chicks warm). Those could easily be hung up, then plugged into the thermostat that controls your heat mat. That way they'd only come on when the temp drops.

Shoe, you are sooooo smart!!! I could just hug your neck!! I never even thought about the heat lamps like we use for chicks!! Thank you, thank you.

Aw shucks....so, I did good?? Cool, someday when I grow up, I hope to amount to sumpthin'! As for hugging my neck you better get Wally's permission! (Er, is it Bill's permission? I get confused from time to time ya know...).

OK Shoe, for the twentieth time: Wally--dog; Bill--hubby. They are easy to tell apart, Wally has a lot more hair than Bill!!

;>)

Hehehe...I luv teasing her, folks! Er, am I teasing Bill? Or Wally? :>)

OK, nuff said.

Let us know how the heated cold-frames work for ya, Cala!