heating mat??

[annastasia76]

I read all over the forum about heating mats under the planting containers, are these regular heating mats that you would get in a pharmacy section or are these special made for planting?? what's the difference between the 2, I am assuming that one is made so that if it gets wet you won't get an electric shock.

[annastasia76]

will they be of any help outdoors, I don't have any room to start my seeds indoors so it has to be done outside.

[applestar]

I think if you are planting them outside, you might as well direct seed them -- in containers where they'll be grown or in the garden bed.

What are you planting? Cool-weather crops probably won't need any in your climate. If you want to goose tomatoes and peppers into growing faster, I would consider using top of cut-off plastic soda bottles and milk jugs with the caps removed for containers or individual plantings or floating row cover or plastic low/row tunnel for larger beds. There are commercial products sold for this purpose as well. I have a couple of clear plastic umbrella-like thingies (2'x4'), but bent wire coat hanger supports and and plastic sheeting would work.

I used this trick to start sunflowers and a small planting of corn extra early last year:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image6660.jpg[/img]

Another option is to "winter sow" in plastic tubs, etc. (There's a thread about it here in Seed Starting Forum). But I suspect weather is warm and ready for planting by now for you, at least. Here in NJ, we're having an unseasonably warm weather in the upper 60's yesterday and today, but we're going back down to 30's daytime high and 20's night time low after the weekend 50's.

[DoubleDogFarm]

and now we now the meaning of the crop circles and who has been leaving them.

Apple, that is really cool, or hot! warm anyway. With all that mulch, how was the soil temperature? Did you allow the soil to warm before covering?


Eric

[annastasia76]

our weather has actually been going back and forth, right now we have been having cool days and cold nights, even at the store today guy I was talking to said that it's still a few more weeks until tomatoes can be planted in the ground