Heated grow trays.

I was looking at getting a heated grow tray with thermostat to help improve my rather crappy winter germination rates, I was wondering if anyone out there could tell me anything bad or good about these trays. i.e. do the work well.

A variety of heated trays can be found here

http://www.gardenexpress.com.au/index.html?target=dept_443.html&lang=en-us


Cheers.

This sort of thing was bought up earlier and I think I had suggested heat mats from a reptile store or a heat cord - both work well with a thermostat.

Check eBay for heat mats.

When it comes back online, www.wehaveitall.com.au often have some awesome deals.

Let us know how you get on with this other crowd if you do buy heated seed trays

Cheers

Yeah just use a decent thermostat otherwise you will fry your little baby cacti. The heat mat I use was from ebay, is a pet heating mat and they are available from the sitr slim mentioned. Pretty damn good for a cheaper alternative, just remember to use a thermostat. They are usually about $40+, I got mine from Jaycar Electronics.

Anyone ever tried the el cheapo method of ripping apart an electric blanket fixing it to a board and covering with sand??? I was gonna give it a crack but my partner wouldnt have a bar of it, fire hazard she reckons. Why is everything a bloody fire hazard ffs.

PD wrote:

Anyone ever tried the el cheapo method of ripping apart an electric blanket fixing it to a board and covering with sand??? I was gonna give it a crack but my partner wouldnt have a bar of it, fire hazard she reckons. Why is everything a bloody fire hazard ffs.

mine to mate, but she let me spend good coin on Heat and grow TPS 040: so I cant argue with that! fits 10 X 1lt takeaway containers on it nicely, had good germ rates with it to

http://heatngrow.com.au/products.htm

Leccy blankies aren't a fire hazard... I mean, sand doesn't burn.. you tell her that PD!!!

Heat mats are no better - incorrectly used or a faulty one will burn just as well as any blankie!

well i use a really crap old falling apart reptile heat mat which is at least 12 years old and was about to have been thrown out, with no thermostat, exposed wires where the covering has come away, which i fixed with duct tape. it sparks occassionally. im pretty sure it would qualify as a fire hazard. yet it works!

Quote :

Heat mats are no better - incorrectly used or a faulty one will burn just as well as any blankie!

shhhhh, dont say that, i will have to watch an instructional video before i use my heat mats next.

but seriously, i have used in the past an old electric secretaries foot warmer i found at a second hand shop. Looked to be about circa 1970s from the packaging but it works a treat.

Here's my set up



Got to get something reflective to help keep the light and heat in. Finally got round to putting it on over the weekend and put in some seedlings and then planted and another 31 lots of seeds.

serious stuff Betty! wish I had more room!

I was lucky to get this one fairly cheap. Its an old one of Rudolf Shultz's 3m x 1m. I just wish a bit of his growing powers would rub off on me

Those tomato plants look pretty sus....

Try panda film Betty, they sell it at hydroponics shops.

Quote :

Those tomato plants look pretty sus....

Speaking of hydroponics...


Wish I could have a good setup like the ones in this thread, good work people.

This is what it looks like when its all sealed up - made from panda film and has velcro to close the flaps.


this is what its like on the inside - each level has two 18watt fluros. suspended on a wire mesh - the light below gives heat the level above. the top level is MDF with a few nasty holes cut out.

Thanks guys I will see if we have somehere who sells hydroponics.

They are sure to as busts are quite regular up here

I have it on a MDF table I made that then has carpet with the mat on top and then plastic over the mat just in case. It has a thermostat that sits in a pot in the middle which has a meat thermometer stuck in it. When I said it was too expensive it actually cost me $150 but well worth it.



Slim6y if they were suss plants I wouldn't be working

The tomatoes are actually adansonia and kedrostis plants. Look them up they are interesting plants


WT that is a great looking set up which reminds me I must put my pereskiopsis on the mat.]

San Rainbow lucky I have to shed to throw it in. Yikes just had a terrible thought, what if I can't find a house to rent with a decent size shed. Aah spare bedroom might come in handy

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adansonia

Always wanted a boab tree.

Awesome grow room WT, nice work!!

whered you get your shelf set up from WT? i like the idea of the light heating the level on top, very efficient

sacred pedro wrote:

whered you get your shelf set up from WT? i like the idea of the light heating the level on top, very efficient

its just one of those 'hammerlok' shelves from bunnings - I replaced the mdf shelf with metal mesh - the lights can get very hot and I was worried about starting a fire

Thanks for the pics of peoples set-ups.

Short on cash so might try the heat mat option.

Baobab - Thanks for the heads up on that - they are awesome!

Trigonus wrote:

Always wanted a boab tree.

slim6y wrote:

Baobab - Thanks for the heads up on that - they are awesome!

Slim6y and Trig I grow so many of these type of plants. I still love my cactus but the caudiciforms have taken over as no.1 as far as seeds are concerned. Probably as I get results much quicker than with cacti