Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: japagow on February 09, 2011, 19:16
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Impatient germinator needs help!!
I have an h.p. It has a lid and a thermostat and a light that says its taking a charge and there is moisture on the inside of the lid, but there's moisture in a propagator ANYWAY. I feel gentle heat on the bottom which is covered in compost as per instructions.
My seed trays with sweet pepper, chilli, tomatilla and okra-why not?- sit on the compost under the lid
But is it working properly?, I ask myself as I poke my finger into a cell of slightly ever so slightly clammy soil and vermilite which shows NO SIGNS OF LIFE after two weeks with seed in it and the light on and everything.
Is the heat side of the propagator that obvious. Like if I take the lid off am I supposed to feel a waft of something like when you pull down the oven door or open the microwave?
Instructions say 1) Its working when the light comes on. The light is on.
2) Put some soil/compost on the bottom. Done that.
3) Fiddle about with the vents to get the right temperature. Okay but there won't be any temp if it's bust.
4) Buy a soil thermometer to test the soil temperature. MORE MONEY?
What is supposed to happen???
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You know what?
Polythene bags don't give me that hassle. 5 days to germinate tomatoes. ;)
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I suppose it is possible that the light comes on, but there is no heat?
My propagator has no light, and no thermostat, and uses such a small number of Watts that you do wonder!
I used to use the bags-over-pots method (which is fine), and if I put the back of my hand on the propagator base I can ONLY JUST feel some warmth ... but ... I reckon I get better results than when I just used bags-over-pots, and I like the little rectangular trays and their clear plastic lids :)
I reckon it provides a nice gentle heat, and warms the soil in the mini-trays, and it is warm soil, more than warm air, that makes all the difference to seedlings.
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DD: I hate you for implying I might have WASTED MONEY on something that the good Lord above and some clingfilm would have done just as well if not better :)
Nevertheless, DD I shall soldier on and prove to you that SPENDING LOADS OF DOSH solves every gardening problem known to mankind.
Kristen: Thank you. You sound like a gentle green-fingered sensible soul and I feel better knowing you too have SPENT MONEY on a heated propagator.
If your bottom is gently warm like mine then I feel that something good will come out of this.
Do you put compost in? Can you feel heat wafting out when you open the lid? Am I impatient?
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Kristen: ... I feel better knowing you too have SPENT MONEY on a heated propagator.
No, you misunderstand, I have TWO of them :D
If your bottom is gently warm like mine then I feel that something good will come out of this.
Do you put compost in? Can you feel heat wafting out when you open the lid?
Mine has little 1/4 size seed trays that you put ON the warm propagator base (piccie attached).
Am I impatient?
Relative to what? :D
(http://www.garden4less.co.uk/prodimages/greenhouse/garland-windowsill-super-7-propagator.jpg)
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persactly the same as mine Kristen :D I think it works brilliantly ;)
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You say it's got a thermostat which would imply you can control the temperature. If so, what temp have you set it at?
I have several heated props and the work just fine and I wouldn't be without mine. They can be used with or without lids and they're trouble free so long as you don't try and germinate seeds that require cool conditions to germinate. Sounds obvious but you could easily "cook" your seeds :D
You only get a gentle bottom heat with these props and you can just feel the warmth when you lay the flat of your hand on it (without the compost in) So there's no escape of heat as you lift the lid off. Did you sow in cold compost? It needs to be at room temp. Once I've sown my seeds as per packet instructions I stand the seed tray etc into a shallow dish of water so it take can take up water and remove it when the top shows the water being absorbed. Remove from the tray and allow to drain for a bit before putting into the prop :) You don't want your seedlings to be waterlogged, and especially not in cold compost
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with regards to chili and sweet pepper - they can take up to three weeks plus to get going (well, mine did last year anyway!!)
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Patience is a virtue as they say!
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Isn't it a bit early to be setting off Chillis and peppers :unsure: I have ordered my heated propogator, and I am impatiently awaiting it's arrival. :)
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some chilli and sweet peppers are really slow to germinate and grow.
If you have enough indoor space to raise them then now is a good time to start them.
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Sowed mine today.
Now cosy in their plaggy bags.
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just for info - I started mine on Feb 27th last year, and had loads of Cayennes from early June until November.
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OK, I don't have a heated propagator but my sil does and she says you are supposed to put the damp compost in and let it warm up for 24 hours before you sow any seeds. She said it really helped with germination.
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I have 3 heated propagators, two with separate little compartments and one which you put the compost into a large seed bed thingy. None have thermostats, but I did go for a soil thermometer, the temperature rises well and stays pretty constant despite the vast range of temperature in the rooms.
I have no windowsills and my house is quite dark during the winter, and the temperature ranges from 20 degrees down to 10 between night and day, another room stays about 12-15 degrees! A propagator was necessary! I don't have a greenhouse as we live on the side of a hill and it gets rather blowy!!!
My only comment is that, seeds can take a while to germinate, but also how old are the seeds? If new it may be worth getting n touch with the company to see what they think the germination time should be.
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Mistakes with heated propogator I have made that lead to impatience are as follows,
1) I sowed the seeds in cold compost. I did not let it warm up. It was freezing.
2) I did not place the h.p inside the house.It was in the garage albeit next to a windowsill but all the same. Cold.
3) The seeds are romanian peppers, gogosari. They might be old as they come via a friends mother in law although the date is good.
4) On top of the above I have chosen to sow chilli and pepper which a) might be early b) take a long time to germinate.
5) The bottom is gently warm so I know it is working.
6) Impatient relative to what? I don't understand the question. Am impatient to want seeds to grow quickly in a heated propogator, obviously.
I have moved the hp to a warm bay window in a house and am currently receiving impatience treatment courtesy of you the tax payer.
Sincere thanks to all have posted tips and advice on this thread. I smell success even if i can't see it yet.
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(http://bestsmileys.com/fingers/1.gif) for you ;)
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If it gets warm its working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I bought one this year, not because I needed it but because it is the only way I could get OH to allow plants on our (narrow) windowsills but saying that they were self contained and not messy.
Germination times in the same room with same central heating from sowings at the same time last year;
tomatoes without prop 12-16 days depending on var, with prop 4-5 days
chilli without prop 21 days, with prop 8 days
Problem is I am not ahead of where I wanted to be...
Charlie
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Chim, I am amazed and impressed that you have recorded the times for prop' with and without an HP. I keep a garden diary of sorts too but it is not as detailed.
BRAVO
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Since starting this thread my tomatoe, chiili and something else - I can't read the writing on the white stick- have germinated in the bay window which is warmer.
Now, fellow propogators, get this......The tray of seeds that has NOT propogated, and there are two in the HP, is the one with suspected older seeds sown in cold compost originally.
Elementary stuff.
Thanks once again to all for the enlightenment.