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Subject: Market Farming
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Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations
- From: "Beth Spaugh" <lists AT rhomestead.com>
- To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations
- Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:25:50 -0500
First thing I start is onions and leeks, without bottom heat. THen
I put them under flourescent lights and put the next seed flats on top of the
flourescent lights, right on the fixture. That usually gives enough heat. My
heated area capacity expands as the number of lights I'm using expands. And, you
can stack trays on top of each other (offset them half a cell so the top one is
resting on the plastic rather than down in the cells). Cheap. What I
want is an old refrigerator with a light bulb on a thermostat for heat. I've
seen folks start a whole slew of trays in one.
Beth Spaugh
Rehoboth Homestead, Peru, NY
Farm Fresh Food Club CSA - http://rhomestead.com
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From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Shawnee Flowerfarmer Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 10:51 PM To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org Subject: Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations I have had many different heat mats/cables and now I am careful to balance the cost/quantity of the seed and the advantage/cost of the heat mat. (What I've always wanted is a germination chamber but never mind.) For example, onions don't need a high germination temperature and squash/melons usually germinate quickly and easily without it. Do research optimum germination temps for each variety. If you are starting lots of seeds like peppers, tomatoes etc, a heat mat can really help. All seedlings-of whatever variety-must come off the mat as soon as they have germinated. (Pepper seed germinates at a high % rate at 80-85 degrees, but the plantlets are more robust when grown on at 55-60. ) Bottom heat benches are another alternative to check into. Shawnee zone 5 From: KAKerby AT aol.com Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:58:53 -0500 To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org Subject: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations Good afternoon, everyone. I'm new here, been gardening for a long
time but this will be my first year to offer produce at market. Towards
that end, one of our investments this year will be germination mats to get our
seeds going a little earlier than they would otherwise. The recent email
about onion seedlings got me to thinking about it. I looked online and
found quite a variety of mats available, and our local hardware store and grower
supply carry different brands.
Are there any preferred brands and/or features that I should look for, or
possibly avoid? This year we'll probably limit ourselves to starting
tom's, melons and squash on those mats, maybe a few trays of each.
But I can see quite a hard-working future for those mats if we like them
this first time out. On the other hand, I don't want to lay down good
money for something that won't do the job. Any recommendations or
observations would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Kathryn Kerby
Frog Chorus Farm
Snohomish, WA Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now. |
-
[Market-farming] germination mat recommendations,
KAKerby, 02/22/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations,
Shawnee Flowerfarmer, 02/22/2010
- Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations, Beth Spaugh, 02/23/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] germination mat recommendations,
Shawnee Flowerfarmer, 02/22/2010
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