Xmas Light Seedling Heat Mat - Page 5

dice · January 1, 2012

I had excess seedlings in unheated clear vinyl mini-greenhouses last
spring with a trouble light in the bottom to keep them from freezing at
night where day and night temperatures were below the temperatures
used by commercial growers described in that thread.

The seedlings still inside under flourescent lights were healthier
and faster growing, despite having considerably less light. Both
had the same seedling mix, etc.

janezee · January 1, 2012

Thanks, dice. That's just what I that's not the answer I was hoping for, though it's just the information I was seeking. Darn. I guess I'll just have to find some lights and rig up a system inside. I sure would like not to have that hassle, since my space is so small. But I'm willing to just about anything to get ripe tomatoes before the blight hits in September.
I didn't even get what was sold to me as Bloody Butcher to ripen last summer in the very cool weather we had here. This was my first garden at this house, in the fog belt.

dice · January 1, 2012

If you can get the temperature up to around 65F days and 45F at night
they will do ok. My trouble lights were 75W max, so one incandescent
bulb was their limit. (I did not want to risk melting the vinyl coating on
the racks, catching the paint or vinyl shell on fire, etc, by using infrared
heat lamps.) The outside seedlings had the cold weather purples (cold
temperature induced intereference with phosphorous uptake) until
mid-April.

It was a fairly cold spring and early summer in 2011, and seedlings
outside in unheated greenhouses were suffering more than most
years as a result. Any year can be like that, even if most are not,
so having more heat available to the seedlings just in case, especially
in March to early April, is a wise precaution.

janezee · January 1, 2012

I was thinking that keeping their feet warm might be enough to keep them happy. The little 4x6 cold house I'm building could house my utility light with a 150W bulb for heat. When they're big enough, I'm planning on planting them out in low tunnels with old style Christmas lights, 9C-7 bulbs) strung from the pipes. I want to keep those babies warm enough to set fruit earlier. What do you think?

LuvsToPlant · January 1, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by dice

Below that but above freezing, they just sit there, turning purple from
the cold interfering with phosphorous uptake.

...Anything colder than 52*F will exactly cause this... in my experience.

dice · January 2, 2012

Quote:

When they're big enough, I'm planning on planting them out in low tunnels with old style Christmas lights, 9C-7 bulbs) strung from the pipes.

I have not tried that. (If the soil is still cold, how much are they going to
grow, even if you get the air temperature up? You can adjust that a little
by cultivating some grass clippings, alfalfa, clover, etc into the top six
inches a couple of weeks before transplanting. That will provide some
heat of decomposition in the soil around the seedlings.)

janezee · January 2, 2012

I will be planting in raised beds with mostly mushroom compost, and some peat moss and perlite, which heats up remarkably fast. I was just out Wednesday, and it was 55* outside, and the soil was 54*. I figure if I can get the soil temp up using clear plastic on the tunnels before I plant out, I can keep them warmer with the lights on. I can also add a taller tunnel for extra warmth, like Eliot Coleman recommends. Actually, today I was thinking of how much lighting I can put in the cold house to keep it warm in there, too. I'll also have a 30 gallon black trash can of water in there for heat mass, if I can get it warm and keep it warm. It's been fairly moderate for winter here, so far. (knocking on wood) Not as cloudy as usual, either.

I just got a remote thermometer today, to keep tabs on the cloches that are up now. One has double plastic on it, the other is single. I'll be checking on that daily for the next month or two, before I make any decisions.

Errol · February 26, 2012

I made this using some rope lights I had in my RV , and a plastic tub which I already had.. I wanted this for growing my sweet potato slips..

this is with the potatos in and 5 days afterward, slips coming up!

January 1, 2012	#61
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I had excess seedlings in unheated clear vinyl mini-greenhouses last spring with a trouble light in the bottom to keep them from freezing at night where day and night temperatures were below the temperatures used by commercial growers described in that thread. The seedlings still inside under flourescent lights were healthier and faster growing, despite having considerably less light. Both had the same seedling mix, etc. __________________ -- alias

January 1, 2012	#63
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	If you can get the temperature up to around 65F days and 45F at night they will do ok. My trouble lights were 75W max, so one incandescent bulb was their limit. (I did not want to risk melting the vinyl coating on the racks, catching the paint or vinyl shell on fire, etc, by using infrared heat lamps.) The outside seedlings had the cold weather purples (cold temperature induced intereference with phosphorous uptake) until mid-April. It was a fairly cold spring and early summer in 2011, and seedlings outside in unheated greenhouses were suffering more than most years as a result. Any year can be like that, even if most are not, so having more heat available to the seedlings just in case, especially in March to early April, is a wise precaution. __________________ -- alias

February 26, 2012	#68
Errol Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: beech grove, tn Posts: 45	homemade bottom heat that works I made this using some rope lights I had in my RV , and a plastic tub which I already had.. I wanted this for growing my sweet potato slips.. this is with the potatos in and 5 days afterward, slips coming up!

January 1, 2012	#62
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	Thanks, dice. That's just what I that's not the answer I was hoping for, though it's just the information I was seeking. Darn. I guess I'll just have to find some lights and rig up a system inside. I sure would like not to have that hassle, since my space is so small. But I'm willing to just about anything to get ripe tomatoes before the blight hits in September. I didn't even get what was sold to me as Bloody Butcher to ripen last summer in the very cool weather we had here. This was my first garden at this house, in the fog belt.

January 2, 2012	#67
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	I will be planting in raised beds with mostly mushroom compost, and some peat moss and perlite, which heats up remarkably fast. I was just out Wednesday, and it was 55* outside, and the soil was 54*. I figure if I can get the soil temp up using clear plastic on the tunnels before I plant out, I can keep them warmer with the lights on. I can also add a taller tunnel for extra warmth, like Eliot Coleman recommends. Actually, today I was thinking of how much lighting I can put in the cold house to keep it warm in there, too. I'll also have a 30 gallon black trash can of water in there for heat mass, if I can get it warm and keep it warm. It's been fairly moderate for winter here, so far. (knocking on wood) Not as cloudy as usual, either. I just got a remote thermometer today, to keep tabs on the cloches that are up now. One has double plastic on it, the other is single. I'll be checking on that daily for the next month or two, before I make any decisions.