Propagator?

Hello all,

I am looking to buy one of these and needed some advice, first of all i grow flowering plants from seed and this years i have decided to give some veg a go i.e. toms and runner beans, i have always waited for the weather to warm up before i do this

My question, which ones a better for me the normal heated one which is cheaper or the variable heated one?

any help would be very much appreciated, thank you.

 

Basic: Put the seed pots/pans, or trays, in a plastic bag somewhere of suitable temperature until they germinate. But keep an eye on them, twice a day, and get them out of the bag, and onto a bright windowsill, the moment they germinate. I did this method for years until ...

Medium: get a windowsill propagator with no thermostat (like a Garland 7). They provide gentle bottom heat. ... I've had a couple of these for years :thumb: Cheap bu unsophisticated. My Garland 7 takes 7 x 1/4 sized seed trays, each with transparent lids (make sure you get the vent open as soon as the seeds germinate, and the lid off as soon as the seedlings are reasonably "up", otherwise the damp conditions will be inclined to cause damping-off)

Flashy: get a proper thermostatically controlled propagator.

Unless the seeds are in the plastic bag / propagator-transparent-cover enclosures for a long time (slow germinating seeds) then there will be enough moisture retained by the soil & covers until they germinate, so no need to water - the water evaporates, condenses on the "cover", and runs back into the soil.

I recommend getting some spare seed-trays - I do batches every fortnight; most vegetable seeds are up in a fortnight, and ready to come off the heat, but not ready to be pricked out - that takes another couple of weeks, so by the time they are pricked out the second batch are ready to come out of the propagator. This also covers you if the manufacturer stops makign the original sized trays-to-fit (as Garland did a couple of years ago when they revamped the model ...)

Issues:

You have to grow-on the seedlings you raise. That needs space, heat and light. If you don't have the light (e.g. a conservatory that is heated / heat-able) then don't start too early - otherwise the seedlings will just grow leggy. You could splash out and get a light box (like a T5 Lightwave) ... but space is a limited under those ... You can grow-on on windowsills, but that is not really a good enough light for young plants in February ... by March its getting reasonable, and by April they can go outside on many days in the month ...

You can cheat a bit by keeping things in seed trays as long as possible, so they are huddled together and don't take up too much room, but the moment you prick them out into, say, 3" / 9cm pots then you need quite a bit of space. Of course if you leave them too long, huddled up, that becomes a problem in itself.

If you will have the seedlings /small plants on a windowsill make sure you provide a reflector on the room-side of the windowsill - so that the plants get some light from "behind", and that will stop them leaning towards the window and becoming "drawn". I used to use an old cardboard box cut in half and lined with aluminium foil, but I now understand that Aluminium foil doesn't reflect light very well, and a board painted matt-white is better; polystyrene (ceiling tiles, or a sheet of insulation material) is actually a better light reflector, and if you want to go the whole hog them some Mylar sheet or something like that is the best light reflector (but you don't really need anything that exotic - unless you are growing Cannabis perhaps!!)

 

Hello Resonate , I have used the Garland Super 7 for 4 years. It fits neatly onto a windowsill , and does everything I need it to Amazon have them for £29.50 including P and P . in the garden centres they seem to sell at £39.
Garland Super7 Electric Heated Windowsill Propagator G51: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

 

I own a twenty year old Jemp propagator which has served me well.
Over the years we have grown all sorts from seed, with success and failure alike.
I just wish I could get the sand to settle a bit better nowadays as the eyes are not what they used to be.
Shall ask the OH for help on this matter though.
Good luck in getting what you want and not doing what I did getting what I desired.:o

 

While reading up on germination techniques on a Chilli site , I came across this idea for a propagator ~
Habistat 22W Reptile Heat Strip Mat 35x6" | eBay ~There are many different sizes and power ratings. Has anyone used these as a prop' ? Do they do the job - and are they safe for putting damp seed trays on etc.

 

Thats similar to what I use in one of mine but I do run a stat with it
lucky reptile thermo control thermostat for viv | eBay
I would not use it for my reps because it fluctuates + or -1 so I use a dimmer stat for them.
but the lucky reptile stat will run upto 2000w so 3 heat mats at 90w all in is easy peasy!
I put them under 1" sand and stand the pots or trays on top works a treat.:WINK1:

As for damp pots i wouldn't use under water but reptiles do wee! and like a humid atmosphere

 

Thanks LD , so you could make a custom size Prop for a very reasonable price using these reptile mats. Maybe next year

 

Yes just put the probe from the stat in the grit under a pot and play around with settings using a thermometer until you are happy with the settings over a 48 hr period.
If you haven't got the parts a little tip checkout the reptile forums for sales and somtimes people upgrade and have a job lot up for grabs.