Re: Okay, serious stuff

That's essentially how I had my hydroponic garden set up--except there was a water circulation pump or two in the mix.

On Wednesday, March 9, 2005, at 12:05 PM, Fort Wayne, IN wrote:

For my setup in my family room, I plug the timer in the bottom recepticle of
the wall socket; the top still accomodates a regular room lamp. I plug the
powerstrip into the timer. That way the powerstrip can handle 5 shoplights.
I bring another powerstrip from another timer on a different wall into which
I plug the heat mats. Two of my heat mats have those big bulky plugs that,
as you mentioned, prevent use of all sockets. One has a regular plug.

The highest shoplight's cord doesn't reach the powerstrip so I use an heavy
duty appliance extension cord to make it reach. I know all of this is
probably making Donna cringe, but it has worked fine for years.

Kitty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Johnson Cyndi D Civ AFFTC/ITSR" <cyndi.johnson@edwards.af.mil>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 9:43 AM
Subject: RE: [CHAT] Okay, serious stuff


Yes, I already have one of those. It's a little one though. You know how
big

those timers are, you plug it into one space but it's so big you can't

plug
anything in next to it. So two of those take up four outlets on the surge
protector. I looked at some other ways to arrange it but can't come up
with
anything that doesn't involve cables draped over half the workbench.
I know I could get bigger mats, or heating cables, but I just haven't
wrapped my mind around the idea that I want to spend more on the setup.
The

little heat mats are pretty cheap, comparatively speaking, so I just

muddle
through. I only start tomatoes and peppers, and a couple herbs, inside. If
I
ever get motivated I'd also like to do my annual flowers. Maybe lettuces.
Salad season is pretty short here.

Cyndi


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
Behalf

Of james singer
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 2:35 AM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Okay, serious stuff


Cyndi, consider plugging a surge bar into the timer and heating pads
into the surge bar.

On Tuesday, March 8, 2005, at 11:59 AM, Johnson Cyndi D Civ AFFTC/ITSR
wrote:
I have a little setup for starting seeds in my greenhouse with a
couple heat
mats. I don't put anything between the heat mats and the wood; if it
got hot
enough to hurt the wood I would have cooked seeds for sure. I have been
using the plastic trays without drain holes to put peat pots in. That
way I
can water from underneath until the seedlings are up and ready to be
moved
out. I like the idea of the foil trays, though, the plastic trays tend
to
crack after a couple of seasons and replacing them with the aluminum
would
be easier.
My problem is that I really only need the heat on during the night. The
greenhouse is plenty warm enough during the day so I have timers on
the mats
to turn them on in the evening. I don't have enough power outlets
available
to plug in more than two timers so I'm limited in the number of seeds
I can
start. I suspect there are better ways to do this but I'm cheap enough
that
I don't want to spend a hundred bucks or so to get a more flexible
system
(this is probably one of those "penny-wise pound-foolish" cases).
I also don't have lights over the seed trays pretty much for the same
reason. That seems to work out okay, although I'm sure they would grow
a
little faster with the extra hours of light.
I don't put any cover over the trays either, the water at the bottom
keeps
everything sufficiently wet. I do have to remember to check every day
and
make sure they're not drying out.

Cyndi

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
Behalf
Of james singer
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 12:17 PM
To: Chat
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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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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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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