Propagators and their proper use?

[BrideXIII]

i don't use heated ones, cos i am always worried i will fry my seedlings.
However i would like to ask how long you leave the lids on yours .
up until this year i have always left them on as long as possible, until the seedlings are touching the lid, however i am wondering if i am doing it wrong, should i be taking the lid off as soon as the seedlings are up?

[coomber]

I use a heated propagator, as soon as the seedlings appear i take them out and put the next batch of seed in.
I found if they are left in the propagator they get too leggy

[BarleySugar]

I would be hardening off the seedlings a bit by removing the cover in the day, depending on the surrounding temperatures. Also the light levels are often better with the lid off than on. Night time I would put the lids on if it gets a bit cold. It would depend where you had them I think.
As far as frying, I did this to my busy lizzies seedlings last year in an unheated propagator. They were in the greenhouse, in April. It was a dull day, I didn't open the greenhouse, or think to take off the lid of the propagator. The sun came out, and when I got home from work the soil in the propagator had that horrible baked smell, and the seedlings were totally cooked!

[magz.mccarthy]

I'm using bean pots from wasabi. They each hold around 8 seeds. I take off the plastic lid as soon as must of them look like they're growing. I have them on a chest of drawers next to a sunny windowsill and radiator and so far every single seed has grown, even aubergines.

[BrideXIII]

I would be hardening off the seedlings a bit by removing the cover in the day, depending on the surrounding temperatures. Also the light levels are often better with the lid off than on. Night time I would put the lids on if it gets a bit cold. It would depend where you had them I think.
As far as frying, I did this to my busy lizzies seedlings last year in an unheated propagator. They were in the greenhouse, in April. It was a dull day, I didn't open the greenhouse, or think to take off the lid of the propagator. The sun came out, and when I got home from work the soil in the propagator had that horrible baked smell, and the seedlings were totally cooked!

they are indoors so warmth is not really a problem, hence not having heated ones, ambient temp is always 68+ as for light once they are up i rotate them on sunny windowsills so that they don't get too leggy.

I always kept the lid on for moisture reasons, but I figure after being on here a while this could be more of a problem than a solution.

i have just raided my stock of plastic takeaway ( chinese) trays, i have hundreds, and figure these will make nice little mini propagators, two inside each other, one with holes punched so as to act as a resevoir, and one upside down on top as a lid

[Flummery]

I sow my seeds into 3" pots and just cover with a small poly bag. I whip this off as soon as I see the first signs of germination. I think a bigger worry than the cold is getting mould or damping off so I make sure they have plenty of fresh air.

I don't sow much this early though

[BrideXIII]

I sow my seeds into 3" pots and just cover with a small poly bag. I whip this off as soon as I see the first signs of germination. I think a bigger worry than the cold is getting mould or damping off so I make sure they have plenty of fresh air.

I don't sow much this early though

this 'damping off' thing is why i asked, i never really knew what it was till i came here, no it seems it has been my problem all along.

[Flummery]

Whip it off then, the lid, that is!

[zazen999]

I blow on my seedlings, to get the air circulating and haven't had damping off since.

[janeyo]

I take mine off as soon as they are all up. I fnd they go a bit mouldy looking if not, prob cos I over water them though.

[Two_Sheds]

I only use the Propagator to germinate the seeds .. as soon as the seedlings all come through, they come out.
Onto the windowsill or the plastic greenhouse, then the next batch of seeds go in.

[BrideXIII]

I only use the Propagator to germinate the seeds .. as soon as the seedlings all come through, they come out.
Onto the windowsill or the plastic greenhouse, then the next batch of seeds go in.

Yep, i am getting the message, this is what i have been doing wrong

ok , so i am all prepared now with 15 mini propagators made from takeaway trays, should see me through next month, i am not good at pricking out but am determined to do it this year to free up space for the next lot of germination, so i already have about 50 newspaper pots ready to go for potting on.all i need now is a few more films to watch while i continue pot production ( soooo boring after the first 6) and much more compost than I actually own, still....next year maybe i won't have to buy that either

[PAULW]

I take the lid off once the seeds have hatched this stops them getting leggy I then let them grow on with the bottom heat, last year my chili's were kept in the heated propagator until they were a foot tall before I put them in the greenhouse

[Two_Sheds]

Yeah, she knows!

[Mike and Louise]

We only use heated propagators.
We don't always use the heat function, unless the seed needs it though, but in all cases the lid is obviously left on to start with, then as the seeds start to germinate we open the vents up a bit.
Once ALL the seeds have germinated we open the vents fully.
Once the seedlings are about an inch high we prop the lid up a bit. After about a week of this we take the lid off completly.

After that, we harden the plants off by putting them outside in the unheated greenhouse.