Commercial heat mat surface temperature thermometer placed on top of soil.
How to make a propagation heat mat.
Particularly well suited for starting your seeds early through winter and in cooler areas but can also be used year round.
Many seeds require sunlight to germinate and a heating lamp provides not only light but additional heat.
Propagation heat mats which may also be called greenhouse heating mats seeding starting mats or something similar provide a source of warmth.
The perfect tool for successful seed raising and plant propagation.
Simply plug in and grow.
The heating pad used for medical purposes is not for gardening and may cause injury or fires.
The heat mat takes approximately 30 45 minutes to fully heat up and using my hand felt as warm as the commercial heat mat.
They radiate heat into the soil ensuring it s at the right temperature for germination sprouting and initial seedling growth.
Upon taking measurements with both regular and soil thermometers the numbers were impressive.
You don t want to spend so much money on this homemade device.
It has to be easy to construct even by inexperienced users.
You have to make sure that the heating mat is safe and won t cause an electrical shock or a fire hazard.
73 75 degrees f soil temperature.
Heating seeds with a propagation mat works from below and from above.
You can fit four standard 10 x20 plant propagation trays on this bad boy making it much more efficient for the money if you re starting a large quantity of seeds.
The heatpad is made from polycarbonate and supplies a steady low heat 37 degrees celsius through mains power.
Your heating mat has to be big enough to help all your seeds and seedlings.
Here the best choice is the hydrofarm 48 x20 heat mat with a jump start heat mat thermostat.
Heat mats are especially handy for sprouting hard to germinate seeds or those that typically take many days or weeks.