If you were to look at all the postings on this blog, at the beginning of each one there is a statement about how long it has been since the last, along with a hopeful declaration that there will be more postings in the near future. This one is no different! A LOT of time has passed, but I remain hopeful that this blog will soon take off with a buzz of springtime activity.
A friend of mine, Gary Millwood, sent me a link a few weeks ago with some helpful hints on using a light strand from the hardware store to create the heat needed to get seeds germinating indoors for early transplants. These strands are lights people generally use to stretch along walls, stairs, or other surfaces, and to cast a neat glow indoors. Here's one of the strands, running on top of a piece of cardboard, inside a crate that we're using to start seeds in:
Here is the basic idea: you find a crate or large tupperware container large enough to set a flat of seedlings in. You cut some holes near the bottom that are large enough to thread the light strand into it. Next, find some sand. We are lucky enough to have the Elkhorn creek nearby, which blesses us with sand deposits as it winds its way through the farms and forests of northern Franklin County. Our sand is dark and contains a lot of little creature's shells. (We're taking extra sand to add to our compost piles.) Here's what it looks like:
Next step: add a layer of sand about 4-5 inches deep at the bottom of the crate or container, burying the light strand as you go. I use about 4-5 feet of strand for a container that will heat one flat of seedlings. Next, insert your seedling flat into the sand, nestling it down into the sand so that the cells of the flat are somwhat buried. The lights will slowly heat the sand, then the seedling flat, its potting soil, and your seeds. Last night when I set this one up, the sand and soil were a cool 50 degrees, and within an hour the soil had warmed to 65+ degrees...just warm enough to germinate many garden seeds. My hunch is that by using more feet of strand per container you may be able to reach 75 degrees or higher, which would be ideal.
You can get these light strands in several different lengths, and they can plug into one another to create any length you desire. I bought a 24 foot strand that was around $30, and am able to use it in three containers simultaneously to germinate three flats of seeds. The crates we have are handy because they can stack on top of one another without stacking INSIDE each other, and so a flat of seedlings can fit in one while another container sits on top of it. This 24 foot strand is stretching into these three containers, and the containers can be stacked so they don't take up too much space in the house!
Thanks, Gary!
A friend of mine, Gary Millwood, sent me a link a few weeks ago with some helpful hints on using a light strand from the hardware store to create the heat needed to get seeds germinating indoors for early transplants. These strands are lights people generally use to stretch along walls, stairs, or other surfaces, and to cast a neat glow indoors. Here's one of the strands, running on top of a piece of cardboard, inside a crate that we're using to start seeds in:
Here is the basic idea: you find a crate or large tupperware container large enough to set a flat of seedlings in. You cut some holes near the bottom that are large enough to thread the light strand into it. Next, find some sand. We are lucky enough to have the Elkhorn creek nearby, which blesses us with sand deposits as it winds its way through the farms and forests of northern Franklin County. Our sand is dark and contains a lot of little creature's shells. (We're taking extra sand to add to our compost piles.) Here's what it looks like:
Next step: add a layer of sand about 4-5 inches deep at the bottom of the crate or container, burying the light strand as you go. I use about 4-5 feet of strand for a container that will heat one flat of seedlings. Next, insert your seedling flat into the sand, nestling it down into the sand so that the cells of the flat are somwhat buried. The lights will slowly heat the sand, then the seedling flat, its potting soil, and your seeds. Last night when I set this one up, the sand and soil were a cool 50 degrees, and within an hour the soil had warmed to 65+ degrees...just warm enough to germinate many garden seeds. My hunch is that by using more feet of strand per container you may be able to reach 75 degrees or higher, which would be ideal.
You can get these light strands in several different lengths, and they can plug into one another to create any length you desire. I bought a 24 foot strand that was around $30, and am able to use it in three containers simultaneously to germinate three flats of seeds. The crates we have are handy because they can stack on top of one another without stacking INSIDE each other, and so a flat of seedlings can fit in one while another container sits on top of it. This 24 foot strand is stretching into these three containers, and the containers can be stacked so they don't take up too much space in the house!
Thanks, Gary!
