More people than ever recognize that growing food at home increases convenience, decreases their carbon footprint, improves their family’s nutritional intake and encourages self-reliance. The pandemic ushered in renewed interest in gardening, as people had more time at home and grocery shelves lay bare.
If you’re one of the many looking to go beyond the nursery with your gardening, you need tips and tricks to make the most of your efforts. Few things are more disappointing than planting seeds that never sprout. However, too many would-be gardeners give up in frustration after investing money year after year while seeing few yields.
How can you make your homegrown efforts more sustainable while saving money? One of the best methods is learning to effectively sprout seedlings for later transplantation. Here’s your greenhouse guide to Seedling Heat mats for plants.
Why Use a Heat Mat for Indoor Plants?
Perhaps the most cost-effective and eco-friendly way to grow new plants is to learn to save your seeds from the produce your family already eats. That way, you minimize food waste, spare yourself a pricey plant-buying trip to the nursery and stock your garden with varieties you already know your partner and children adore. Peppers, tomatoes, peas and beans are among the easiest species on which newbies can hone their skills.
- Tomatoes: Scoop the seeds from ripe fruit and place them in a water jar, gel and all. Shake it twice a day until the mixture ferments and the seeds drop to the bottom. Spread them on a paper towel to dry.
- Peppers: Simply remove the seeds and spread them out to dry on a paper towel.
- Peas and beans: Allow the pods to ripen until they dry and the seeds begin rattling in their pods. This process may take a month or more. However, you can leave the seeds in the pods until planting time.
Saving your seeds isn’t even half the battle. The tricky part is coaxing them to sprout. Fortunately, the benefits make the effort worth it.
Germination is the technical name for starting plants from seed. All seeds are essentially baby plants with a hard outer shell. They remain dormant, however, until conditions are just right for them to break free.
You can germinate seeds using various methods. One of the simplest involves a damp paper towel and a plastic bag to create a miniature greenhouse. However, this technique isn’t advisable, especially for gardening newbies, as the germinated seeds sprout fine hairs that can attach to the towel. Removing them incorrectly damages your baby plant, possibly destroying it.
Your best bet is to invest in a seedling starter kit. Most of these come equipped with a tray for collecting water, a cell system for holding your seeds and a clear cover for trapping heat and moisture. Notice that a seedling heat mat is not included—you’ll need to invest in one separately. Fortunately, you can pick one up at nearly any nursery or big-box hardware store with an attached garden center.
How to Use a Seedling Heat Mat to Sprout Seeds
It’s simple to use a seedling heat mat to germinate your seeds. Your first order of business is to determine your desired growing schedule. You want your seedlings ready before planting so you don’t waste a moment of the summer’s heat, especially if you live in a northern zone.
However, be aware that veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers can thrive in indoor pots long before it’s warm enough to transplant them into your garden. If you have a greenhouse, there’s no reason why you can’t have fresh, organic produce all year. You might need a large heat mat to keep a steady supply of these indoor plants, but it’s worth it each time you mix up a tasty salad without running to the store.
All you need to do is place your device beneath your seedling starter kit to keep the soil warm. It’s best to invest in a seedling heat mat with a thermostat to select the precise temperature for the crops you wish to grow. Those using a DIY heat mat for plants will have to monitor the temperature daily to ensure it doesn’t get too hot. Fortunately, you can find horizontal stick-on thermometers to mount inside your kit for less than $20 or even $10.
Mistakes to Avoid When Using a Seedling Heat Mat
The best seedling heat mats get nearly all your seeds to germinate. However, there’s always the potential for user error. Avoid the following three mistakes when using your seedling heat mat:
- Watering too much or too little: Your seeds need some moisture to germinate. However, overwatering them will cause them to stagnate and stop developing as the emerging root hairs wither and die. Your best bet is to think slightly damp, not wet.
- Germinating seeds outdoors: Outdoor temperatures vary too widely for successful germination. Yes, plants exist that way in the wild. However, you should note that only a handful of wild seeds make it—you want to achieve at least a 90% germination rate.
- Overheating your baby plants: This problem most often occurs with DIY seedling heat mats. Checking your temperature daily is crucial, even with commercial ones with thermostats.
Should You DIY a Seedling Heat Mat for Plants?
You can learn how to make a heat mat for plants. For the ultimate in sustainability, construct yours from repurposed materials.
Greg Holdsworth at Fine Gardening magazine offers this great DIY seedling mat project. We’ll sum up the instructions here. First, gather the following materials:
- One plywood plank
- Two wood furring strips long enough to fit the plank
- Wood screws
- Plastic cable clamps
- Hand saw or jigsaw
- Tape measure or square
- Pencil
- Sandpaper
- Rope light with incandescent (not LED) bulbs
Cut the furring strips to create three to four strips attached to your plywood plank with wood screws. These will serve as guides for wrapping your lights. Wrap the lights around the furring, securing it with cable clamps. Voila! You are ready to place your seedling kit on top.
Remember that you will have to monitor the temperature, so consider investing in an adhesive strip that you can easily read on the side of your seeding starter kit. Furthermore, recognize that these devices aren’t expensive. It’s generally cost-effective to buy a commercial model unless you happen to have these materials on hand.
Determining the Best Seedling Heat Mat for Your Needs
How can you determine the best seedling heat mat for your needs? Several factors play a role. How many plants do you plan to raise? What varieties will you attempt and how sensitive are they to temperature? Do you need a large heat mat for your indoor plants or are you more of a small, container gardening type?
Selecting the best seedling heat mat isn’t challenging or complicated. The associates at your favorite nursery will be happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are you just interested in the facts? Get your questions answered here.
Seedling heat mats work best in the winter when you want to start germinating plants that demand an early springtime transplant or those that take longer to sprout. Each plant has a different germination period and precise conditions necessary to grow. Fortunately, that benefits you as a gardener, as you can use the same mat on other seeds at different times.
Each plant has a specific temperature at which it germinates. Many require soil temperatures between 65-75F. Heat mats differ from grow lights because they don’t induce photosynthesis. Instead, they sit under your seedlings, warming the soil to the correct temperature to encourage germination.
You can construct a DIY seedling heat mat if you have an old string of incandescent (not LED) holiday lights. You’ll also need a plywood plank, furring strips, wood screws, cable clamps and the tools to complete the job. It’s simple to learn how to make this heat mat for plants—just wrap the lights around your constructed base and place it beneath your seedlings.
How long you leave the seedling heat mat on depends on the species you hope to grow. Each variety has a specific germination schedule. However, once you turn on your seedling heat mat, you should leave it running, even overnight. Seeds germinate best when they maintain a consistent temperature over time.
Yes; depending on your species, a seedling heat mat can get too hot. This excess can cause the soil surface to dry out, meaning your seeds will not germinate. If your mat consistently elevates temperatures beyond the desired setting, try placing a piece of metal or stone between it and the tray to absorb some of the excesses. Never use wood or other flammable materials atop your heat mat.
You can find seedling heat mats at nearly any nursery or hardware supply store with a garden center. You can also order them online. Handy types can learn how to DIY a heat mat for plants. Please ensure it provides sufficient—but not too much—heat to your baby plants.
Use a Seedling Heat Mat to Start Your Plants
Do you need a seedling heat mat for your plants? These devices can save you considerable frustration and money by upping your germination rate and making it simpler to start plants from seeds.
Follow the above guide for selecting or constructing the best seedling heat mat for your unique needs. Whether you outfit your greenhouse or merely start a few varieties for containers, you’ll enjoy delicious organic produce with less fuss.
Feature image: Gretta Hoffman; Image 1: Dawafenjo Gurung; Image 2: Tima Miroshnichenko
This post first appeared on Green Home Gnome - Green Homes For Sale And Guides, please read the originial post: here
