Heated propagators

[Rocket Science]

Hi Sringfellow, think the last two replies from Mart and Charles cover which plants really benefit from some extra warmth in the tricky early spring sowings but just thought it might be useful to add a couple of things. Last year i started all my toms peppers chilis etc on a heat mat lent to me by a friend who used to keep a scorpion! The mats are made by a company called HABISTAT. Mine measures 23″x11″ and is 28Watts. These mats are very cheap compared to others mentioned however have no thermostat. I had no idea what the soil temperature was but everything germinated incredibly quickly and evenly, toms only taking about 3 or 4 days! I use small seed trays for each differant variety being started, sowing the seed only around 1cm apart onto the surface of moist compost, gently pushed in but left uncovered. The trays are then covered with cling film or a sheet of glass and placed directly on the mat. Differant varieties germinate at differant rates so can be taken off the heat as soon as the first white shoot starts to appear. Check the trays at least twice a day as seedlings will become streched and leggy in just a few hours on the heat. Once the critical part of germination has happened continue to grow on your windowsill until large enough to prick out into individual pots. This mat was big enough to cope with all the plants for my tunnel and about 400 plants for sale. Robin