Heated Propagators, we falling for it ?

[jackarmy]

Ok , so i know this is going to be controversial but are we seriously being sold down the river with these things ?

This is my second season using mine and im pretty sure it will be the last. Too dry soil, too leggy plants ( this can happen in a heartbeat) and i honestly am failing to see the benefit .

I know people swear by them but most of everything ive started this season in a heated prop has been just a few days later in a normal windowsill prop and look a lot less healthy.

Ok , the odd exception but on the whole, i think were being duped, windowsills and cold greenhouses for me next year.

Am i on my own in thinking this ?

Usefull for super hot chillis i suppose but even that im dubious about.

[Martin H]

They are useful for germination and for helping cuttings root, but after that it's the old problem: heat on its own is no use without light. I haven't got a light box, I have to rely on natural light, which mostly means things have to be whipped off the propagator and grown on in cooler conditions as soon as they have germinated / rooted. So except for slow-to-germinate things like chillis, there's no point in me starting anything off until March when the light's getting stronger and the nights aren't always so cold so I can keep things alive and growing slowly that way.

[Thelma Sanders]

I wouldn't want to be without mine - but even so not everything needs heat to germinate, so it gets used selectively.
It doesn't mean I sow things any earlier, as you say you still need light to grow seedlings on, but it does mean I get reliable germination for the things that prefer warmth.

[1Bee]

I got mine last year. First time I've had any kind of success with germinating, and things that would usually take weeks to come up take a few days. It's been miraculous for me.

But then, I don't have a greenhouse or sunny windowsills.

[happyhumph]

Same as Thelma - I love it but don't use it for everything. Also, mine is in the back porch with glass on 3 sides & an opaque roof so gets a lot of the available light early in the year.

Mainly used for things that need heat to germinate or have a long growing season so need a head start plus cuttings. Have found drying out more of a problem on one of the windowsills with a radiator under it.

[fishpond]

Ok , so i know this is going to be controversial but are we seriously being sold down the river with these things ?

This is my second season using mine and im pretty sure it will be the last. Too dry soil, too leggy plants ( this can happen in a heartbeat) and i honestly am failing to see the benefit .

I know people swear by them but most of everything ive started this season in a heated prop has been just a few days later in a normal windowsill prop and look a lot less healthy.

Ok , the odd exception but on the whole, i think were being duped, windowsills and cold greenhouses for me next year.

Am i on my own in thinking this ?

Usefull for super hot chillis i suppose but even that im dubious about.

Probably.
I wouldn't be without mine. Been using them for 30 years & my harvests would be a lot less and later without them.
I have 4 at the moment and they are full up, in fact, I am thinking about getting 2 more.

[Bren In Pots]

I use mine but like Thelma says not for everything, when I do use it the minute I see a bit of green in the above the compost seedlings comes out of the H/prop and onto a window sill.

[jackarmy]

I use mine but like Thelma says not for everything, when I do use it the minute I see a bit of green in the above the compost seedlings comes out of the H/prop and onto a window sill.

Maybe i need to take them out a lot earlier than i have been.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

I, like many others swear by mine, I currently have 4 at the minute but only one in use at present, again I don't use them for everything and am pretty selective as to what they get used for, but they do give my chilli's a flying start and next will be the tomatoes, but like Bren, any sign of green emerging then out they come and under lights or sunny windowsill before my investment in lights last year.

They are also brilliant, as Martin mentioned earlier for bringing on cuttings, so I would definatley not be without mine!

[Jay-ell]

I bought 2 double seed tray heated propagators, inherited a single seed tray one and got a propagator with 4 modules as a gift.

Just sown alliums into the 4 modules and will be sowing my peppers, toms and aubergine in a week or so.

After that it's the sweetcorn, beans and the squashes.

I've got two little led light panels which can help a handful of seedlings once potted on until they go down to the plot and into the greenhouse.

[Teabag]

I use mine but like Thelma says not for everything, when I do use it the minute I see a bit of green in the above the compost seedlings comes out of the H/prop and onto a window sill.

Same here, they come out and on the windowsill as soon as they germinate. I had mine off freecycle

[Small pumpkin]

Am i on my own in thinking this ?

Yes !!!



I'm another one that doesn't use it for everything. It gets used on chillies, tomatoes, aubergines. And occasionally if something is struggling. Things don't stay in the heated propagator. Seedlings are generally potted on before the seed leaves are fully open. About 24 hours between germination and potting on.

[Elfeda]

After 2 years of using propagator, mine dint work for some reasons. Sometimes i missed it .. but i have better results this year without propagator. I am finished with my indoor showings a week ago.and most of the seedlings are in greenhouse. Most of them into individual pots and their own coaches. Hands off until it goes cold again

[Chris11]

Even a basic heated propagator makes a massive difference to both germination speed and numbers.

I got mine originally for chillies, but they also get used for tomatoes, courgettes, pretty much everything I grow.

I have two, and one of them is like this, which is currently just £12 at Wilko.
Wilko Propagator Electric 38cm at wilko.com

I'd love to be one of these lucky people with Vitopods or other similar setups with adjustable temperatures and built in lights.

[OscarSidcup]

I'm using mine for the first time this year, courtesy of my subscription to the magazine, and am impressed after one week. On the one hand the basil has loved it and even the chillies are starting to come up, but on the other hand no sign of life on the parsley and coriander...

Reading your comments it seems like I should now get the basil off the heated propagator, and on "normal" conditions on the windowsill. Well it will have to wait another week. I may have fully grown basil by then!