Heated Seed Start Tray

[Heron's Nest Farm]

So out here on the farm we are having a bit of a resurrection.
We recently rebuilt the greenhouse and then went on to make a heated seed starting tray. It was super easy and it looks fabulous.

Why heated? Well, it is cold here and we don't heat the greenhouse so the soil stays warm! We purchased a mat, but I am curious what all of you are doing for heating for your trays?

[jasbo]

I have the most slap-dash, amateurish set-up imaginable. I have a heating pad and a 10-plant peat pellet tray on top of a heating pad. The medium setting seems to be about right, and there's room for another 10-pellet tray.

I've never tried starting seeds indoors in my life, but since I'm planning to retire in June, I figured I'd take a whack at being a more involved gardener.

Jim

[rainbowgardener]

Yup, heating pad that they sell for people at the pharmacy, but the old fashioned kind that does NOT have automatic timed cut off.

I have two of them, each with a tray of seeds on it. Once the seeds sprout and have true leaves, they get moved off the heat pad, to make room for more seeds.

The seeds that aren't on heat pads are at about 60 degrees and seem to do fine that way. I occasionally water them with warm water, to keep the soil temp up a little bit.

[wordwiz]

I start several trays of seeds at a time so I built a germination chamber. The heat is provided by a waterbed heater (Thermostatically controlled) as well as the ballast for a 600-watt HID light. The temps vary from 77-85. It has lights (105 watt CFL that also provide a little heat) for very early seeds that germinate before their brothers or sisters. It can hold about 13 standard nursery flats. My plan this year is to move the trays into a GH once most of the seeds in them germinate.

Mike

[DoubleDogFarm]

Mike,

Very interested. Do you have pictures?

Waterbed heater, Is it laying in the bottom? Is it embedded in sand.

Ballast, Where is it located? How much heat and why did you choose to use such a thing?

What type of shelving?

Glass door or solid?

Is the interior painted any particular color?

Do you use water to increase humidity?

Eric

[hendi_alex]

I have a couple of Kane heat mats for our dogs during very cold weather. This time of the year, the dogs let us borrow the mats to start seeds. Each heat mat is about 24 inches by 36 inches so gives plenty of room for starting trays. If I didn't have the Kane mats I would probably built a heat box. It seems that if I put two light sockets on the bottom, facing up, and use maybe 60 watt bulbs, that the top surface of the box would get nicely warm but not overly hot. I certainly can't see paying the price for one of the seed starting mats that many gardeners must buy.

[wordwiz]

DDF,

I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow. It's about 4x8', doors on the front that open down. Inside is painted white. The water bed heater sits under a large mirror that covers about 36" which sits on a couple of 1x2" pieces of wood. I stuck the ballast inside it because it was setting on the top but I figured I might as well use the heat it puts out to decrease the time the heater would be on. Plus, it circulates air.

It works great for germinating seeds - my toms took four days, peas three days and hot peppers about 8-12, depending on the variety (though some Tabascos have yet to come up!). I've also used it to grow seedlings to the stage they can be set outside to harden off.

If LED lighting would come down in price, I would love to line the ceiling with all-blue panels!

Mike

[lakngulf]

DDF, I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow. It's about 4x8', doors on the front that open down. Mike

I would like to see some photos as well. I have a new plant starter house and still in process of determining what should go where. I am not sure I can keep the house warm enough for starting seeds (or I don't want to spend the money to) so I am looking for ways to get the seeds started. This year I used plastic shelves and grow lights in my den, but my goal (or my wife's goal) is to get that thing out of the house. She does enjoy the tomatoes, though, so it may be allowed to stay for that month or so when needed.

[vermontkingdom]

I too would love to see pictures. I have four shelves with overhead lights in the bedroom. Last year my wife was away for five months because of a family emergency so I had grow lights in the living and dining rooms. She wouldn't let me put them there again but did agree to our bedroom as a short term solution. After 41 years of marriage I know her well enough to know this will not become a permanent ring solution. So, it's best to be proactive.......

[wordwiz]

OK, here's a few pics!

The front of it:

[img]https://www.valleycat.net/garden/2011/frontofchamber.jpg[/img]

Looking inside:

[img]https://www.valleycat.net/garden/2011/inside.jpg[/img]

The door:

[img]https://www.valleycat.net/garden/2011/dooropen.jpg[/img]

Looking at the corner (that's a 105 watt CFL on the top left):

[img]https://www.valleycat.net/garden/2011/corner.jpg[/img]

And these little guys germinated in it from last Saturday to this Thursday:

[img]https://www.valleycat.net/garden/2011/toms227.jpg[/img]

Mike

[DoubleDogFarm]

[F0od]

Haha Mike, I love the stacked mini greenhouses. I have about the same setup in my kitchen minus the heated box. My kitchen stays pretty warm most days after January, and I move my plants outside everyday onto shelves in the sun, or solar heated plywood box .

[Garland]

I built a box similar to that of Mike's a couple of years ago and it worked so well that I've made two more since - one unheated for cool loving things like lettuce. There's a couple o differences in mine though. I use an eighty four watt heating cable that's thermostatically controlled at seventy degrees and each box is lit by two forty watt fluorescent bulbs, one daylight and one grow with the bulb height adjustable. They're big enough that I can put two hydroponic tanks in one to hold deep water culture lettuce or spinach for winter salads. Mt basement runs about fifty five so that turns out well.
Earl

[soil]

I built a germination chamber, so I heat a small area of my greenhouse where its needed, and I don't have to heat the whole thing. heated by outdoor tube lighting.