show your seed germination area

[majorcatfish]

since today is way cold to do anything outside "yup cabin fever" figure i would show everyone the updated 2.0 version of our starter area and maybe show some helpful ideas as well.

during the germination period it's important to have a good consistent warm area. since my heating mats went berserk i just use a little personal heater, and lower the plastic to retain the heat..

the lights are on due to babysitting a sick plant even with the lights on and the cover up the soil temp is 67* which is perfect to start lettuce. and only using 2 out of the 6 bulbs.

the next important thing is lighting use to use t-12 shop lights with grow bulbs switched over to a 6 bulb t-5 high output fixture, it has made a night and day difference plus it uses less energy than 3 2 bulb shop light fixtures.

once the seedlings break ground i lower the light using jack chain and move the heater to the top of the fixture, theres no room for it once i transplant everyone to 3x3 pots. during the day i leave the cover up since the heat from the lights will keep the area around 75*-80*, of course once the timer shuts the lights off the cover is down the heater kicks in it has been dialed in to keep the area 80*

here is one of the additions to this years set up. it's 12vdc fan. <came out of a old computer>
since heat rises the fan will blow it back down keeping the night time temp more consistent thoughtout.

and heres the other addition the dw cats love eating plants took some 4' plastic fencing and made a guard
to go around the opening during the day.

heres what the table looked like last april.

also used the dead space below the main area for starting other plants using the t-12 fixtures.

tic toc tic toc have another month till i really start my seeds..
love to see your set-ups

 

[Smart Red]

Pictures of my seed starting area will have to wait until the Geo guy is done in the basement. Soon?

 

[catjac1975]

I especially like the plastic to hold in the heat-everything looks great.

 

[catjac1975]

What kind of lights are those-so thin. New energy efficient?

 

[majorcatfish]

t-5 technology has been out for many years it is now just becoming economical , t-12 lighting has been the standard for decades with that said t-12 lighting is being phased out, it's replacement is t-8 it uses the same lamp holder but you have to replace the ballast and of course the lamps <bulbs>.
heres a comparison between t-5 and t-12 . the t-5 puts out more lumens/ has a high keven temperature and has a high cri <color rendering index>closer to 100 the more it's like natural sunlight. <full spectrum>
@jackb can add the use of adding blue and red bulbs to the mix.
a t-12 double lamp shop light with a magnetic ballast uses 1.7 amps avg /one with a electronic ballast uses 1.2 amps.
a 6 bulb t-5 uses 1.9 amps.

over a years time i removed all the double row 8' t-12 lighting with a single per block 4' t-5 lighting the power bill dropped by a third.
if interested in purchasing these go to a electrical supply store and ask for atlas they have a 5 warranty on they fixtures. expect to pay around 160-170.
buying online you have a big chance of shipping damage and big box stores they are made in china and the ballasts are made to a minimum standard <bic lighter standard>. now with that said the newer electronic ballasts come in new with the voltage options of 120-277vac once you plug them in "new " thats the voltage they will run on. if you buy a used one that was used on 277vac it will not work on 120vac and the same 120vac to 277vac.

 

[Carol Dee]

Looking good. DH has things spread about the basement. Dangerous to move around in! I think he has some of the T5's.

 

[dickiebird]

My seed germ area is any flat surface in our back room!!!
The 1st pic is my normal area in my starting/growing cabinet.There is only one tray of starts left in there all the rest are plants I've repotted into larger containers.
The pic below that is the corner of an old drafting table that just collects stuff.

THANX RICH

 

[digitS']

No lights in mine, Major'. Germination is on top the fridge - where I need to check the cookie boxes twice daily to see if emerging plants need to go out in the sunlight. DD brought us some new cookie boxes last year. I'll forgive her that they weren't full of cookies since they are just the right size for my operation .

Light is to be found in a 5' wide, south window. I once sat a 5' x 4' sheet of plywood on the little olde table that sits there and had that thing full of cookie boxes in March!

The box lid can be lifted a little and closed again at night until the first watering, when it has to be cut off and continue service as a tray. Electric lighting would help both in the window and a few days later in the greenhouse, on cloudy days. I'm hoping we don't have too many of those this time around.

I'm also hoping for sunshine to keep the heat bill under control. There is a feeling of disconnection when all I've got in a 180sqft greenhouse is a collection of cookie boxes taking up 4' by 4' on the bench ...

Steve

 

[majorcatfish]

@digitS' for the last 16 years have been kicking myself for placing the house north/ south instead of east/west.
and yes you have a very nice greenhouse..yup jealous

 

[digitS']

Before that jealousy becomes a torment, @majorcatfish , please take a look at this:

http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

If you look at my part of the world in January and February, your green eyes will turn sad from pity. Nowhere, outside of North Dakota, are we quite as deprived of solar light as we are here.

Sniff