Heated mat for Tom's and chillies

[Marb67]

I decided to buy one of those heated growing mats with good reviews to start my Tom's and chillies in their domed trays with vents. So far they have had a day but the covers are misting up with humidity. I have the vents open but still condensation. Should I take the lids off or leave them as I don't want mold and damping off? Also, do I need growing lights as they are indoors by a north.facing window?

As I had a lot of trouble getting germination last year from the chillies, I wanted to make sure I get fruit as they never really matured because they had such a slow start. Hopefully this will give them a healthier chance of growth in the coming months.

Thanks.

[Penellype]

I use a heat mat for germinating my peppers as they won't germinate at temperatures below 17 degrees and I don't keep my otherwise mostly unused spare room that warm. It is quite normal for the covers to steam up like that as the compost is damp and the heat will cause the water to evaporate. Make sure the pots are not standing in water otherwise the compost will be too wet and the seeds may rot. When you check the pots you can tip the covers slightly to cause the condensation to run off either to drip onto the compost to keep it damp if it looks dry, or to remove it if things look too wet. Once there is any sign of germination you want to take the covers off, otherwise you risk damping off and mould. At this point you will definitely need some light especially if the window faces north, otherwise they will very quickly become weak and leggy. LED lights are much cheaper to run than fluorescent tube ones. I turn mine on at about 7am and off at 11pm - most grow lights with a timer will not give you any longer than 12 hours, so I run mine on a separate timer, which means I have to remember to turn them on manually every morning. The timer then turns them off.

[Marb67]

Thanks so much. I shall follow those guidelines. I just need to invest in some led grow lights. I could take them into the cold greenhouse during the day once germinated but obviously bring them in in evening.

[Penellype]

I thought it might be helpful to post a photo of my setup as it is today:



I chit my early seeds (peppers, tomatoes and beans) on damp kitchen paper before sowing to save on compost as I find increasingly that bought seed germinates very patchily.

The heat mat extends from the edge of the tray on the right to half way across the one on the left. There are 2 sets of LED lights - I find this sort useful as you can adjust the height as the seedlings grow, but they do come with a built in timer (which is a nuisance as it means that once turned off it stays off until switched on manually) and they do need a firm surface such as a table edge to clip onto. The wire at the front is the thermostat for the heat mat, which I have set at 17 degrees, the end of which is stuck into a pot so that it is measuring the soil temperature, not the heat mat or the air.

From left to right - 4 pots of Half Pint peas sown on 21st January (not on the heat mat), which were old seed and have not germinated very well. A pot of 4 dwarf French beans put to chit on 31st January and sown on 3rd February. These are Sonesta, which is a yellow variety, which I think is why the leaves look a bit yellow. In the tuna tub are some tomato seeds (Alicante) on wet kitchen paper, which I am testing to see if they are still viable as they are from a packet market sow by 2014. Tomato seeds live for ages, so I might be lucky. The next 2 pots contain 2 plants each of tomato Balconi red, put to chit on 30th January and sown on 10th February. These need potting on into individual pots soon. The other square pot contains 2 tomato Shirley put to chit on 30th January and sown on 16th February. There are 6 small pots containing 1 snackbite pepper each, put to chit on 30th January and sown around 13th February. The bigger round pot contains 5 tomato Shirley put to chit on 20th February and sown on 24th as they were already germinating. I don't know why these were so much faster than the others from the same packet of seed. All of the tomatoes (apart from the Alicante, which are just a test) will live in the house - it is too early for tomatoes that are going outside. The pot at the front contains more French beans - these were put to chit on 24th February and sown on 26th - I was not expecting quite so many to grow (6) and they will need splitting up when they have grown a bit. Behind in the white pot are 4 more snackbite peppers chitting - these will eventually go to my friend's greenhouse. The little bottle contains water standing on the heat mat so that it is warm when I water the small seedlings. They don't need much water at this stage, so it is a case of a little at a time and checking a couple of times a day.

One thing I didn't mention - because I am using the heat mat for both sown seeds and seedlings, when I plant the seeds in a pot I cover the pot with a plastic bag until they emerge, to retain moisture.

[Penellype]

Thanks so much. I shall follow those guidelines. I just need to invest in some led grow lights. I could take them into the cold greenhouse during the day once germinated but obviously bring them in in evening.

Unless your greenhouse is very sunny it is probably rather cold to be putting peppers in there. They are shocked easily, especially when young.

[Marb67]

Quite a set up you have there. Thanks for sharing in so much detail.

The heat mat I use - "The greenhouse heat mat provides consistent, uniform heating at temperatures around 70°F to 85°F (24℃ to 30℃)"

So I just leave it 24/7 until seeds emerge and I can switch it off. I just hope it doesn't use too much electric which is expensive presently. I shall invest in one set of led lights although I do have a couple of led clip on desk lamps which are excellent and can be set between warm light and white light. If I set one at warm and the other at white that should cover it ? If not, I will invest in a set of those type you have. be good to grow salad in Winter too,

I haven't chitted my seeds but may drip some used tea bag water onto the soil which I read on this forum some time ago helps with germination.

Thanks again.

[smallblueplanet]

I use a heat mat for germinating my peppers as they won't germinate at temperatures below 17 degrees and I don't keep my otherwise mostly unused spare room that warm. It is quite normal for the covers to steam up like that as the compost is damp and the heat will cause the water to evaporate. Make sure the pots are not standing in water otherwise the compost will be too wet and the seeds may rot. When you check the pots you can tip the covers slightly to cause the condensation to run off either to drip onto the compost to keep it damp if it looks dry, or to remove it if things look too wet. Once there is any sign of germination you want to take the covers off, otherwise you risk damping off and mould. At this point you will definitely need some light especially if the window faces north, otherwise they will very quickly become weak and leggy. LED lights are much cheaper to run than fluorescent tube ones. I turn mine on at about 7am and off at 11pm - most grow lights with a timer will not give you any longer than 12 hours, so I run mine on a separate timer, which means I have to remember to turn them on manually every morning. The timer then turns them off.

Heard any low flying (Police) helicopters recently?
I've seen those lights on Ebay, but can you replace the LEDs?
I can't afford specialist lighting so make an attempt to increase light with a daylight bulb in a desk lamp angled over the heated propagator.

[Penellype]

Quite a set up you have there. Thanks for sharing in so much detail.

The heat mat I use - "The greenhouse heat mat provides consistent, uniform heating at temperatures around 70°F to 85°F (24℃ to 30℃)"

So I just leave it 24/7 until seeds emerge and I can switch it off. I just hope it doesn't use too much electric which is expensive presently. I shall invest in one set of led lights although I do have a couple of led clip on desk lamps which are excellent and can be set between warm light and white light. If I set one at warm and the other at white that should cover it ? If not, I will invest in a set of those type you have. be good to grow salad in Winter too,

I haven't chitted my seeds but may drip some used tea bag water onto the soil which I read on this forum some time ago helps with germination.

Thanks again.

Any form of light is much better than no light. Your desk lamps should be fine. I'm not sure whether warm light or white light is better so a mixture of both is probably a good idea, unless someone else knows more about it than I do.

[Marb67]

Another thing I could do is use a reflector to bounce light from the window onto the shaded side.

[smallblueplanet]

Another thing I could do is use a reflector to bounce light from the window onto the shaded side.

I made one from cardboard and covered it in kitchen foil, very Blue Peter!

[Penellype]

Another thing I could do is use a reflector to bounce light from the window onto the shaded side.

I use white card when the area covered gets bigger and therefore there is less available light per unit area.

[smallblueplanet]

Any form of light is much better than no light. Your desk lamps should be fine. I'm not sure whether warm light or white light is better so a mixture of both is probably a good idea, unless someone else knows more about it than I do.

Yeah I used to sow/grow more types of chillies and peppers than I knew what to do with, I've slowed down somewhat now tbh.

[Penellype]

Heard any low flying (Police) helicopters recently?
I've seen those lights on Ebay, but can you replace the LEDs?
I can't afford specialist lighting so make an attempt to increase light with a daylight bulb in a desk lamp angled over the heated propagator.

Ha ha, no police helicopters so far...

I don't think you can replace the LEDs but LEDs last for ages. I've had these lights for 3 years, on every day for the best part of 6 months and none of the LEDs has failed yet. The fluorescent tubes in my grow light garden (which I am using less and less for this reason) tend to last about 18 months on average. They cost about £10 each and the grow light garden takes 2, so the clip on LED lights at about £30 per set probably work out cheaper in the long run.

[Marb67]

Ha ha, no police helicopters so far...

I don't think you can replace the LEDs but LEDs last for ages. I've had these lights for 3 years, on every day for the best part of 6 months and none of the LEDs has failed yet. The fluorescent tubes in my grow light garden (which I am using less and less for this reason) tend to last about 18 months on average. They cost about £10 each and the grow light garden takes 2, so the clip on LED lights at about £30 per set probably work out cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for that. How do you find the lights and matt affect your electric usage/ cost?

[ameno]

Any form of light is much better than no light. Your desk lamps should be fine. I'm not sure whether warm light or white light is better so a mixture of both is probably a good idea, unless someone else knows more about it than I do.

White is always better. As broad spectrum as possible.