Heat mat for sowing seeds. Who uses one?

And who doesn't.


I've always been too cheap to buy one. and It wouldn't be big enough if I did get one.

I have humidity domes, but out in the greenhouse, they tend to stay really damp inside, and I"m concerned abou t rot. This is the first year i've germinated seeds this early in the winter time. Usually start around The beginning of february. Do they really need to have bottom heat to germinate? I didn't have any problems in the past but it was alway s warmer weather when I sowed the seeds. I'm concerned about my seeds rotting or rotting after they have germinated. Things don't dry out fast in the greenhouse . I do bottom water.

kathy

I use them regularly with Jiffy greenhouses with great success.

I've found them exceptionally useful for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in my climate.

This message was edited Dec 30, 2006 8:53 PM

I start my tomatoes and peppers inside on my light benches in Feb. Never had problems w/ the tomatoes but peppers have been really slow and with poor germination so I bought a heat mat from Parks Seed sale a month or two ago. This will be my first time to use heat mat.

May try others on heat mat once the peppers are going good.

P

I think Critterologist uses a heat mat for peppers... you might want to shoot her a d-mail

~Julie =0)

Kathy, I've also always been too cheap to buy a heat mat. Last year DH searched and searched the web for DIY alternatives for me...and he found one! We tried it and it worked great! Here's the link
http://www.gardengrapevine.com/BottomHeater.html

We did our own little twist on it. We only used one container, and we used kitty litter since it's much cheaper than sand. We bought our rope lights on eBay, the containers at the dollar store and the litter where it was the cheapest. This year we'll be using scoopable litter since it's consistency is closer to sand. We hooked the rope light to the bottom of the container with "u" hooks that have screws, or you can use silicone and place a weight on top of it till the silicone is dry.

We have a digital thermometer that we stick in the top of the litter and it measures the temp. This set-up works very well. We also figured that since the ropes are approved for outdoor use and the litter would absorb any little spills we'd be safe. We are also very careful when we water...and you can always remove plants for watering and let them drain before returning them to the containers.

I hope this info helps!
Heather

Heather, you read my mind LOL, I will check out this link, and see if we can't come up with something here like that. thanks so much

Glad to share! If I can help with any set up questions just let me know.

I bought a heating mat from Thompson and Morgan. At first, I thought it was broken because it wasn't warm to the touch. I suppose it works ok after noticing the condensation form so quickly on the seed tray dome.
I just bit the bullet and bought it with my eyes wide shut. lol It was a splurge for sure at $30.

Deborah♥

Deborah, I thought the same thing about the kitty litter and rope light set up I posted the link to. I thought it wasn't working because the litter didn't feel warm to the touch...then I realized that we wanted the temp set around 72-74* and our body temp is around 98*. Ok, so DH actually pointed it out to me, big deal, LOL! That's why the digital thermometers are so handy.

I also put a plastic cup w/ water in it on our homemade heat mats and let it set for a few hours then tested it's temp. That might be easier for some folks to do, depending on the type of thermometer you may have.

heathrjoy, I'm printing this thread so I can re-read your post about your set-up. It's still not quite clear to me. I guess I'm just thick-headed. Can't visualize. Do you have any pictures? I've got plenty of cat litter.

Deborah♥

Oh, the link! I just went to it and found the pictures. Thanks!

Heat mats are great! I am too cheap to buy them as well (the catalog prices are insane!) so I visited good ol' EBAY! I now have 5. I forget how much I paid, but I know it took me about 6 months to find and win each mat at a price I was willing to pay. I'm sure they are used, but as long as they work (which they do!) I'm happy.