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Mon, Feb 21, 05 at 16:04
| I am new to starting seeds indoors using a seedling heat mat, I bought the heat mat and the automatic thermastat. I have the setup in the basement which is around 55-60 degrees. The thermastat states that if the heat mat stays on for more than 5 hours at a time to add something under the mat to hold in the heat. Any suggestions?
The setup: Sunlight table growlight, 4' L heat mat on top of the growlight base (the base is partially filled in with ceramic tile because the mat is larger than the base and doesn't fit inside the base). I put a cardboard box over the trays (because the seeds need the dark to germinate). Thanks
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by shrubs_n_bulbs z8/9 UK (My Page) on Tue, Feb 22, 05 at 8:39
| Bubble wrap, expanded polystyrene sheets, corrugated cardboard, even a blanket or a folded bedsheet. |
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| I have flats of cuttings that I'm rooting and also some flats of seeds on heat mats in my unheated greenhouse. The temp of the GH is in the 80's on a sunny day but dips down pretty low at night. I've placed the mats on a sheet of rigid styrofoam, the flats with clear dome lids on top and at night I go out and cover the flats with several layors of burlap (a blanket would do just as well)which I remove during the day. A few cloudy, cold days I haven't bothered to remove the burlap. I should add that my heat mats came with a thin plastic tray that they sit in as well, so they do not sit directly on the styrofoam. |
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| Thanks for your ideas, the flats are supposed to be kept in the dark so I covered them with cardboard boxes and now the light on the thermostat has gone out. Apparently it didn't need much. Thanks, I will remember all of your ideas. Karen_B |
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- Posted by George102 z6-7 VA (gwead@adelphia.net) on Thu, Feb 24, 05 at 12:32
| I have a problem with TOO MUCH heat from a mat. I have three altogether, two of them some years old. This morning I discovered that one of the older ones had gone wild and heated a flat planted with lobelia, candytuft and carnation seeds to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, I've moved the flat to another mat. My question: have the seeds been cooked beyond germination? They've been on the bad tray for 48 hours. |
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