[Stree]

As per the title, I am building a heated propagator, ( my first ) so will be using it by next week I hope.
Will be 40" long and 15" wide so get a few seed trays on there.
I will make a lid to fit in twin wall polycarbonate and it will be thermosatically controlled with a thermometer / Hygrometer in it so should be able to maintain temperature and humidity OK.
Any suggestions what to try for March in it? Thinking about when they are large enough to come out of it and time left to planting out, although they is plenty of room in  the unheated greenhouse.
Suggestions welcome.
PS, I assume this is the most appropriate forum to post this in?

[Stree]

 Not a popular subject the, judging by the response.
Might as well continue myself then .
I finished the propagator yesterday, apart from the thermostat which has not arrived yet,
plugged it in and after an hour it was still cold  hmmmmmmmmm. 77 degrees  humidity and 15 degrees celcius, made a note. Left it on and in the morning checked again and it was 45% humidity and 31 degrees celecius. Thats about 87 F. So I know it can gett warmer than I need, fine.
Lots of room, I made it 41" by 15" internal, and the sloping clear lid goes from 6.5" to 8.5" so room for vertical growth.
Really pleased with it, its very well insulated and the lid sides are clear 1/4" perspex and the top is clear visquine. It has 50 kilo of silver sand in it! so its been a test for my staging benches which are built using only timber wall brackets and no legs. ( I thought legs would just get in the way. Holding up fine though. Pics are in the post I did about building the greenhouse.
My seeds arrived today from Premier direct, I have some innes No 1, and plenty of vermiculite. so I sowed some seeds.
Toms first, Sweetie, White cherry, Black truffle, Marglobe, Brandywine yellow,
Next... and these do not really need heat, but its a trial, just a few seeds,  asparagus pea, courgette black beauty,
Then onto flowers. Verbena, lobelia, nepeta, nemesia, mesembryanthemum,
These went in tonight.....still got 3/4 room left!
Tomorrow . nicotiana, phlox, portulaca, heliachrysum, nigella, probably some peppers too.
Fingers crossed, I should have a better year this year !

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Stree, how's it going?

Sorry I didn't put a reply on here, but I know nothing about building heated propagators.  Hope it all goes well, and hope you put some photo's on here when it's done!   

[Sparkyrog]

Personally I love them ,but would not be wasting space on hardy annuals like Nicotiana 

[mumofstig]

Sorry I missed it as well 

Have you got some fleece or polythene that you can rig up in the greenhouse to make a home for them when they first go outside, other wise it's a big shock, from heated prop straight to cold greenhouse - specially if there are any late frosts.

sparkyrog: Nicotiana is a half hardy annual according to the packet.
I grow the white one every year and start it off in the warm

[Stree]

I grow nicotiana every year from seed and also propagate from root cuttings plus always overwinter some plants in the cool greenhouse.
Sown cold, the germination is very slow and always a touch late for getting the best season from them. It is actually recommended that these are started in het so this year will be a nice change. As for wasting space on them, to be honest it looks like I will struggle to fully occupy this propagator, so not a problem.
Annie, I will get pics of the finished thing but no pics of constructing it.
I called down to the local nurseries yesterday and had a chat with Clive the owner.
He uses soil cable, rigged it up himself, and I described how I had gone about my build and he reckons my set up is better than his. What a lovely fellow!
Mumofstig: Yes, thats a concern, moving them out into the cold.
I made a cold frame about the same size and I might bring that into the greenhouse and insulate it. Otherwise, I have lots of 50mm polystyrene sheet, silver space blanket insulation, and even rolls of rockwool, plus a roll of the foam underlay from laminate flooring and some thick clear visquine. So I should be able to rig something from all that.
I assume tapwater is better to use than rainwater for new seedlings?

[mumofstig]

Yes, it is - rain water can introduce lots of nasties and cause damping off!

[Sparkyrog]

Sorry I missed it as well 

Have you got some fleece or polythene that you can rig up in the greenhouse to make a home for them when they first go outside, other wise it's a big shock, from heated prop straight to cold greenhouse - specially if there are any late frosts.

sparkyrog: Nicotiana is a half hardy annual according to the packet.
I grow the white one every year and start it off in the warm

My mistake times have changed, years ago when I grew the advice was sow insitue   

[AlaninCarlisle]

I built a heated propagator many years ago from a pattern in an ancient (circa 1965) Readers Digest DIY manual. It's about 4ft x 2 ft and I use it every spring in my greenhouse to get stuff of to a racing start - annuals, veg plants, cuttings and etc. It stays there from January to about May when I start to need to use entire area for tomatoes etc. The silver sand goes on the lawn and the entire ensemble goes into storage for the rest of the year

[Stree]

Well did my research and its rainwater for me. Tap water has metals that do no good, some is chlorinated which is worse, hard water through a softener has much less metals but gains sodium from the filter salts.  Also not good.
Rainwater is usually ideal PH and has no metals or excess minerals.
Water in my rainwater buts go through my home made filter,  scotchbrite pad, sponge, tights material. Never used larvae killing liquids, but have not got any any larvae, water is very clear and clean and has no colour.
I half filled a metal watering can and put it on the stove (in the workshop) for 30 mins and its tepid. Just right to use.

[mumofstig]

I only answerd as per RHS advice
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=151

but your filter sounds as if it will sort it 

[JayG]

I use tap water for watering seedlings - leave it in an uncovered container for 24 hours (e.g. a watering can) and most of the chlorine will evaporate - the water should also then be at the same temperature as the soil you are watering.

[DD.]

Same here - almost too simple isn't it?

[AlaninCarlisle]

Even simpler, I use whatever water's closer to hand to fill the watering can, be it tap water or rainwater

[JayG]

There's no way of knowing just how many of the airborne spores of moulds, fungi, and bacteria picked up by the rain as it falls through the atmosphere (and off your shed/greenhoouse roof) are still viable in your water butt, so using conditioned tap water seems like a sensible precaution to me when it comes to watering seedlings.