Re: Okay, serious stuff

Jim,
I've often wondered how to utilize both capillary matting and heating pads
as, since I use APS units I sense that my seeds are too distant from the
heat mat to benefit.  Your irigation/humidity cookie pans - will the water
be always in contact with the medium or is this just to catch the excess
moisture?
I wouldn't think you'd really need to place anything between your heating
mats and the wood.  They only get to something like 75 F, not likely to
start a fire or anything.  Heating coils, though - I think some of them come
with adjustable temperature gauges and could be set hotter.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "james singer" <jsinger@igc.org>
To: "Chat" <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 2:16 PM
Subject: [CHAT] Okay, serious stuff


> I think I'm going to clean up a big part of my garage workbench and
> install a seed-starting station. I've got seed beds outdoors for big
> stuff, like palms and loquats, but no really good place to start small
> seeds--peppers and cacti and such.
>
> The bench has fluorescent shop lights overhead and they can be altered
> so they can be lowered and raised as need be.
>
> The top of the bench is 2-inch by 12-inch pine/fir planks. I want to
> lay down heating mats or heating coils. What, if anything, should I put
> between the mats or coils and the wooden planks?
>
> I think I will put something like cookie sheets, the kind that are
> shallow pans, on top of the mats/coils so I can control both irrigation
> and humidity. I do not intend to enclose the growing medium [some
> variation on peat pots, unless someone has a better idea] in a tent or
> one of those little "greenhouses" since the garage never gets below 50
> degrees.
>
> What else do I need to consider? What would you do differently? I've
> never started seedlings indoors before [bet it shows, eh?].
>
> What say ye?
>
> Island Jim
> Southwest Florida
> 27.0 N, 82.4 W
> Hardiness Zone 10
> Heat Zone 10
> Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
> Maximum 100 F [38 C]
>
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