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Old November 11, 2010   #47
rnewste
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
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Dewayne,

I want to be clear. I am not advocating using the IncuTainers to grow tomatoes throughout the Winter. That is the purpose of the (unannounced) InnTainer. Where they do have a value is to get a jump start in seedling development in the early Spring to develop a robust root system. The aquarium heating element in the water raises the temperature to a constant 78 degrees, which the seedlings seem to like.

The other issue that I did not address to date (and which others here have proposed solutions like the reptile heater, etc.) is how to keep the temperature in the upper air chamber at something above 45 degrees at all times. On the one hand, you could seal the top to the bottom container to prevent any air leakage, but the plants would certainly cook in the mid-day Sun, even in the Spring. So, some form of thermal heating at night when ambient temps decline, without hermetically sealing in the plants, is what is needed. Some kind of temp regulation to keep the air chamber at 60 degrees at night would seem to be optimal.

Ideas anyone??

Raybo
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