Propagating benches

[Johnny PhantomMember]

Hello,

I’m a bit of a novice at using propagating benches, so this might be a daft question… I’ve recently tried building a bench out of reclaimed scaffolding boards, and filled it with sand. I’m also using Parasene heating cable and a Parasene thermostat.
I was wondering if anybody had advice on how damp to keep the sand?
Any other tips or advice would also be useful.
Thanks in advance.

JP.

[charlesModerator]

 Welcome Johnny

Your bench sounds good. Yes the sand is best kept moist, to spread the warmth and prevent cables overheating. Water it gently until drips come out of the bottom, before switching on. Some drainage holes are needed at the bottom. Sometimes it is worth lifting trays and pots to check they are not drier underneath than they look on top, in which case water well, also water the sand if ever the electricity is on and no pots or trays are sitting on it.

[Johnny PhantomMember]

Hello Charles,

Thanks for the tips. Interestingly, Parasene themselves recommended ‘a light misting’, which didn’t sound quite right…
I’ve had it going for a few days now, and it’s already carrying cabbage, cauliflower, radish and lettuce seedlings… and waiting for some onion varieties to appear… so, fingers crossed!
On a slightly different tack then, with our radishes, we’re trying several to a module – about three or four, roughly – and we’re planning on transplanting them without thinning them out, and harvesting them one at a time, starting with the largest. You’ve mentioned previously about trying this kind of thing with beetroot, I think, and that sounded like a great idea! Have you ever tried this kind of plan with any other vegetables (any less obvious varieties)?
Cheers!

JP

[charlesModerator]

 Radish… I never thought of growing it in modules, sounds promising, certainly it should do well as a transplanted clump of three or four together. Having said that, radish is such a fast growing plant that I usually sow it direct, and soil is bare at this time of year, ready for sowing.

Onions do work well in modules, four to six plants in each. Bulb fennel work, so do swede, both sown two seeds per cell and thinned to one. It is fun growing this way because you can keep a close eye on seedlings and bring them through their most vulnerable stage of life. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Johnny PhantomMember]

Hello Charles,

We’ve set our variable thermostat at about 22 degrees, and we’re using an old fashioned ‘tear drop’ thermometer to measure the temperature of the sand.
During the day, with the room temperature rising, the thermometer (poked into the sand) has registered a maximum of about 24 degrees, on a sunny day. Obviously, during the night, the temperature drops, and I’ve noticed it drop down to about 17 degrees (the lowest I’ve seen so far). At the moment, we’re not monitoring room temperature – how important have you found the ambient temperature to be, for seedlings?
Also, at the moment, we tend to leave the thermostat set at about 22. We were wondering if you adjust the temperture for the evening and during the night?
Thanks in advance,

JP

[charlesModerator]

 No this is too complicated! I never measure temperature of sand but slip my hand underneath occasionally to feel a soft warmth, almost imperceptible on a mild morning.

The thermostat setting of, say 20C is to give plants a range of suitable temperature which may go from 15 on a cold night to 25+ on a hot afternoon, at root level, and with much greater variation at leaf level. In Britain, where temperature is often on the low side, the more warmth the better, for rapid growth so if you set your thermostat to 25 you would find faster growth, but at a price…

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