Here are some options. This Vivosun option is waterproof which is important because humidity alone has caused issues from me in the past: geni.us/4Uzo1M There there is the thermostat option to avoid the leggy/bolted seedlings geni.us/OWDSY
As someone who understands a bit about building underground, the soil KINDA DOESN'T stay warm until your BELOW 6 inches underground. It is referred to as the earth's thermal mass. Once you get below that 6 inches, the ground will stay around 10.5C in Oregon and in Australia in the desert around 26C. It depends on the part of the world you're in as to what the heat of the ground will stay at.
Last comment - OMG I never leave comments like this -but- I love these short very focused videos that you do. Very in depth on one topic is just my speed. I forget half the details in start to finish seed starting vids that a lot of UA-camrs do.
Very good informative video. For my wooden bench I place a piece of aluminum foil with the shiny side up under the heat mat. Basement about 68 degrees F/20C for all around protection of the wood and better uniformity of the heat. Just something I do to help with the germination of seeds.
I use a piece of insulation with the foil radiant barrier. It makes a huge difference in temp output of the mat. You have to be careful not to overheat when putting it on the insulation. That's why I got a heat mat thermostat this year.
It amazes how well seeds germinate in my worm bins. It's about 58F in my basement where the worms live, and tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers germinate in there all the time.
Thanks for the information this is my first year starting from seeds. I have a dome (greenhouse kit), a heat pad, do I also use my grow lights during the germination process?
@@GardeningInCanada What is the solution here, I am having the same issue. I am starting on paper towels in plastic takeout containers with lid, and even still they are drying out too quickly. I can't keep up with them! Help!
My pothos sprouted 3-4 new leafs from the very middle like under the soil since I put them on seed heating mats and the tendrils have grown SO MUCH as well! It’s like explosive growth and they look so alive! The temp in our house stays around 67-70 degrees and counter tops can get pretty cold, so I have most of my plants and any seed starting experiments on heating mats. I didn’t think the mat was going to make any difference because when I put my hand on it it barely feels warm, but that heat builds up in the soil from the bottom of the pot and really makes it the perfect warm temp.
My house is normally 18C, so the heat mat was a game changer. I only have one, so I rotate. For my peppers, I had two trays and never got around to putting the second tray on the mat. The heat mat tray germinated, I moved it and put the other on, and two days later, they germinated. 👏
I'm using my sunroom and temperatures Flux from 80 down to 40 on cool nights and cloudy days so brassica I'm starting without heat mats they came up and seems little slow but I have early April to move out so I'm thinking they are coming along fine Till now I've only basic used grow lights on tomatoes and peppers. They did great 👍 I'm starting many new varieties for this season. I'm thinking you said peppers heat mat removal but you probably thinking in house 60 degrees temperatures believe I need heat protection until sunroom warm up more. Thanks
As the mats present themselves they are actually form of root development support. So if you got cuttings and etc you can set them onto a heating mat too. Also you can invest in a thermostat unit for heat mats to gently heat/cool cycle the mats too. Seemed to work QUITE well so far for 3/4 strawberry varieties (picky about conditions). So that why you don't see the read outs constantly at the temperatures set. It's probably so the seeds and the seedlings can be "used" to cooler temps once they are removed from the heat.
I am always a little confused by when to take my seedlings off the mat. If I only have a couple of seeds germinated in a cell pack, take them off then? Wait until a certain percentage have germinated? A seedling in every cell? What are your thoughts on this?
Starting my onions this week in Ontario After starting indoors- enough time to just crack the seed for germination Then the heating mat goes outside in my cold frame and under an inner dome with a timer - on dusk to Dawn - to harden them off with sun The dome will get slowly lifted by using wooden skewers or vented to acclimate them. Then the starts go in the soil two weeks before the last frost in the garden under cover …
@@GardeningInCanada temperature is 20c inside dome on mat at -10 C outside the cold frame at night With the timer I can turn it on manually during the day if needed but I find that it’s not necessary even on cloudy days I have two wireless thermometers to read the temperature from inside my house but after trials I find them not necessary, I of course watch the local weather and 14 day forecast as well Cheers!
Heat mats are wonderful. My seed starting room is in the basement and is around 68 F. Tomatoes and peppers take forever to germinate without one. I got a second one this year because I start a flat of tomatoes and one of peppers at the same time. I leave it on the light timer because there are not a lot of receptacles in the room. It may not be optimal, but its better than not having one. Yesterday I started a flat of cold weather plants. I dont have a heat mat on for them as they germinate ok at room temp.
I got a great timer from Amazon last year and just bought a second one yesterday. It has 8 outlets, four on a timer, four “always on” if you need to use them. I have three heat mats, a fan or two, two table top grow lights and 6 grow lights 2 of which are linked. In a basement with only 2 outlets accessible to me! Fosmon 8-Outlet Power Bar with Timer, Surge Protector $35.99 CAD
@GardeningInCanada The only lightly hot pepper I grow are Pepperoncinis, the rest are bell peppers in 3 different colors. Though I would like to add banana peppers, the wife keeps asking for them. @@susans1679 Thanks for the recommendation. I only have two outlets as well, one used to be a ceiling light that I converted to a receptacle. All that to now power five 4'' lights, two 6000k blade lights, a fan, and now two heat mats. I have two timers that have outdoor extension cords that lead to power strips.
Excellent advice! Had to laugh at the overnight - my husband turns furnace to 14°c overnight - I need the heat mat! In terms of cells, I cut those into 10s or 20s before I start and also have cute little cell packs from Amazon. Came in a package of 12. Each has a 12 cell tray that is clear plastic- can see the roots, it’s own tray and humidity dome. Quite sturdy and handy to have.
Even the thermal mass of the soil thing outside isn't 100 percent correct here. As someone who understands a few things on building underground, year round stable temperatures are only achieved BELOW 6 inches in the ground. The soil will stay warm after sun down but if it's going to get cool at night, it won't help things only a few mm below the surface.
I have a whole TON of heat mats. Only one is a proper one and the rest are cheap USB mats for heating pet beds I got off ebay for like $4. I lay a sheet of clear plastic over them.
I have a question about heat mats. I don’t have room to start my seeds indoors, so I’m trying to start them outdoors on my porch. Our weather is . . . Fickle. In the last two weeks we’ve had highs up to 81F and lows as low as 26F. I’m starting peppers and tomatoes and most have begun germinating. On days over 50F, I’ve been taking the cells that are mostly germinated off the heat and moving them to sunny spots with no dome. When the temps drop toward a frost or freeze, I’ve been moving them back to the dome and heat (and when under freezing, throwing a blanket over the dome.) Is this actually going to work? Or are these guys doomed? It’s only been about a week and the last two days were in the 30s so they were covered. Today is warmer so I went and uncovered and took the dome off this morning.) Any suggestions for how I could do this better?
What if you only have a 2x2 indoor tent and keep the heat mat in there until plants are way into veg? And how to use a heatmat efficiently for inoculating living soil indoors while preventing rot/mold? How do you even tell the difference between good mycelium development vs bad bacterial mold? And is the soil dead if you get bad mold will it kill/contaminate food/medicinal crops?
@@GardeningInCanada I believe it's called electroculture .. I'm just learning about this and I was wondering if u saw any changes in ur plants or still use it
Heat mats scare the crap out of me as an ex-firefighter and licensed electrician. Guess I'll suffer through slow/no starts versus worrying about my house burning down.
There are quite a few now hooked to thermostats and the max temperature isn’t wild. I used to keep reptiles and has the same thought. These are not like the max temp heat mats of 20 years ago. Worth a look if you haven’t in a while.
@@lordvalspeir2721 I have not looked in a long while, but back in the 80's-90's heat mats burnt houses to the ground because the silicone would fail and create a high-resistant short capable of producing extreme, focused, heat before tripping the circuit breaker feeding them. Thank you!
@@lindam9018 Yes, don't use them and feel safe while struggling with longer/later germination times if heating the soil naturally a bit is hard to do. Foil under a tray in a sunny window will heat the tray and the soil. Best, and thank you!
These heat mats get hot At 20c ambient room temperature they will hit 30c without a $40 thermostat probe controller You can lower the temperature by raising the flat with wood strips or with cardboard (or layers) - you just need a thermometer to check the temperature not a $40 controller!
I bought them but don’t use them anymore. I have a surface thermometer (handy for a lot of things - outside and inside) and have found that the surface temp of the heat mat was about 30°c but at the soil surface where the seeds are germinating it ranges from 20 to 22 max. Of course, if you leave the tray on the mat after the seeds have germinated, might harm the delicate roots. I tend to remove from the heat mat when about 50% have germinated. The slower ones seem to be primed and on their way at that point and do pop up in a couple of days.
Btw, are you a fan of fans to prevent seedlings from getting leggy? I used them for the first couple of years but have found they don’t make much difference except to dry things out. One exception - I left a tray of tiny dicentra exima seedlings on a self watering mat under timed lights when we went to the cottage for twelve days. They were 10” tall and very weak when we got home. A fan seems to have strengthened them up.
Leggy seedlings/plants is caused by insufficient light. Always use a thermostat with your heat mat. These things will hit 50C or even hotter, without a thermostat.
Here are some options.
This Vivosun option is waterproof which is important because humidity alone has caused issues from me in the past: geni.us/4Uzo1M
There there is the thermostat option to avoid the leggy/bolted seedlings geni.us/OWDSY
As someone who understands a bit about building underground, the soil KINDA DOESN'T stay warm until your BELOW 6 inches underground. It is referred to as the earth's thermal mass. Once you get below that 6 inches, the ground will stay around 10.5C in Oregon and in Australia in the desert around 26C. It depends on the part of the world you're in as to what the heat of the ground will stay at.
Last comment - OMG I never leave comments like this -but- I love these short very focused videos that you do. Very in depth on one topic is just my speed. I forget half the details in start to finish seed starting vids that a lot of UA-camrs do.
It's handy when you're searching back for it later, too.
Wow, thank you!
Just bought some mats for my first growing season. Your timing is perfect!
This is soooo helpful! Your videos make me a better gardener. Love getting advice from someone in a similar climate too.
Happy to help!
Very good informative video. For my wooden bench I place a piece of aluminum foil with the shiny side up under the heat mat. Basement about 68 degrees F/20C for all around protection of the wood and better uniformity of the heat. Just something I do to help with the germination of seeds.
That's a great idea!
I use a piece of insulation with the foil radiant barrier. It makes a huge difference in temp output of the mat. You have to be careful not to overheat when putting it on the insulation. That's why I got a heat mat thermostat this year.
Great video. My leggy plants are off the heat mat and now in a south facing window without the dome. How often do I water them and how much?
It amazes how well seeds germinate in my worm bins. It's about 58F in my basement where the worms live, and tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers germinate in there all the time.
Thanks for this info as I’m ready to start germinating my seeds.
Wonderful!
Thanks for the information this is my first year starting from seeds. I have a dome (greenhouse kit), a heat pad, do I also use my grow lights during the germination process?
Yes absolutely. it will help keep everything nice and compact
Thanks, Ashley! As a first-time user, I was surprised at how quickly my seedlings dried out. Knew it would dry out faster but not that fast.
Yes! Very quick
@@GardeningInCanada What is the solution here, I am having the same issue. I am starting on paper towels in plastic takeout containers with lid, and even still they are drying out too quickly. I can't keep up with them! Help!
If you used a heat dome with this mat would it be good for cloneing plants?
My pothos sprouted 3-4 new leafs from the very middle like under the soil since I put them on seed heating mats and the tendrils have grown SO MUCH as well! It’s like explosive growth and they look so alive!
The temp in our house stays around 67-70 degrees and counter tops can get pretty cold, so I have most of my plants and any seed starting experiments on heating mats.
I didn’t think the mat was going to make any difference because when I put my hand on it it barely feels warm, but that heat builds up in the soil from the bottom of the pot and really makes it the perfect warm temp.
My house is normally 18C, so the heat mat was a game changer. I only have one, so I rotate. For my peppers, I had two trays and never got around to putting the second tray on the mat. The heat mat tray germinated, I moved it and put the other on, and two days later, they germinated. 👏
Ohh yes for-sure. That cooler ambient temp can do some damage.
I'm using my sunroom and temperatures Flux from 80 down to 40 on cool nights and cloudy days so brassica I'm starting without heat mats they came up and seems little slow but I have early April to move out so I'm thinking they are coming along fine
Till now I've only basic used grow lights on tomatoes and peppers. They did great 👍
I'm starting many new varieties for this season.
I'm thinking you said peppers heat mat removal but you probably thinking in house 60 degrees temperatures believe I need heat protection until sunroom warm up more.
Thanks
EXCELLENT editing🌸
Thanks 🤗
Can you export to Sri Lanka seedling heating mat 🙂
Do those heat Matt's require a thermostat?
They don’t but you could get one!
As the mats present themselves they are actually form of root development support. So if you got cuttings and etc you can set them onto a heating mat too. Also you can invest in a thermostat unit for heat mats to gently heat/cool cycle the mats too. Seemed to work QUITE well so far for 3/4 strawberry varieties (picky about conditions). So that why you don't see the read outs constantly at the temperatures set. It's probably so the seeds and the seedlings can be "used" to cooler temps once they are removed from the heat.
I am always a little confused by when to take my seedlings off the mat. If I only have a couple of seeds germinated in a cell pack, take them off then? Wait until a certain percentage have germinated? A seedling in every cell? What are your thoughts on this?
Literally came to ask this question, please answer anyone that has ideas!?!?!
I say 48 hrs after the first ones germinate remove them.
@@GardeningInCanada my hero thanks
I run into problems with a cold draft entering the greenroom area (harming tiny leaves), outside area is about 49degrees,greenroom runsabout 59degrees
Have you tried domes? The big ones with the top vente
Starting my onions this week in Ontario
After starting indoors- enough time to just crack the seed for germination
Then the heating mat goes outside in my cold frame and under an inner dome with a timer - on dusk to Dawn - to harden them off with sun
The dome will get slowly lifted by using wooden skewers or vented to acclimate them.
Then the starts go in the soil two weeks before the last frost in the garden under cover …
The cold frame idea is genius!
@@GardeningInCanada temperature is 20c inside dome on mat at -10 C outside the cold frame at night
With the timer I can turn it on manually during the day if needed but I find that it’s not necessary even on cloudy days
I have two wireless thermometers to read the temperature from inside my house but after trials I find them not necessary, I of course watch the local weather and 14 day forecast as well
Cheers!
Heat mats are wonderful. My seed starting room is in the basement and is around 68 F. Tomatoes and peppers take forever to germinate without one. I got a second one this year because I start a flat of tomatoes and one of peppers at the same time. I leave it on the light timer because there are not a lot of receptacles in the room. It may not be optimal, but its better than not having one. Yesterday I started a flat of cold weather plants. I dont have a heat mat on for them as they germinate ok at room temp.
Yes! Love it. Are you doing hot peppers?
I got a great timer from Amazon last year and just bought a second one yesterday. It has 8 outlets, four on a timer, four “always on” if you need to use them. I have three heat mats, a fan or two, two table top grow lights and 6 grow lights 2 of which are linked. In a basement with only 2 outlets accessible to me! Fosmon 8-Outlet Power Bar with Timer, Surge Protector $35.99 CAD
@GardeningInCanada The only lightly hot pepper I grow are Pepperoncinis, the rest are bell peppers in 3 different colors. Though I would like to add banana peppers, the wife keeps asking for them.
@@susans1679 Thanks for the recommendation. I only have two outlets as well, one used to be a ceiling light that I converted to a receptacle. All that to now power five 4'' lights, two 6000k blade lights, a fan, and now two heat mats. I have two timers that have outdoor extension cords that lead to power strips.
@@susans1679Boy! I could learn from you!!! 🌸
Whats your thought on heat mat thermostat?
I think if you are doing exotic stuff then absolutely
At what percentage of germination should I remove the heat mat?
With a heat mat it should be pretty darn even. But 80% ideally
Just have a quick question. Is a thermostat for the heat mat worth the investment?
I don’t think so. I mean you definitely could if you intend on doing a lot of indoor exotics but regular stuff nah.
Just out of curiosity. How can you tell when onion seedlings are getting leggy?
They end up very skinny and fall over easily
Excellent advice! Had to laugh at the overnight - my husband turns furnace to
14°c overnight - I need the heat mat! In terms of cells, I cut those into 10s or 20s before I start and also have cute little cell packs from Amazon. Came in a package of 12. Each has a 12 cell tray that is clear plastic- can see the roots, it’s own tray and humidity dome. Quite sturdy and handy to have.
That’s suppose to be good fit sleep haha but seedlings not so much
I guess your husband wants you to cuddle! :)
Even the thermal mass of the soil thing outside isn't 100 percent correct here. As someone who understands a few things on building underground, year round stable temperatures are only achieved BELOW 6 inches in the ground. The soil will stay warm after sun down but if it's going to get cool at night, it won't help things only a few mm below the surface.
I have a whole TON of heat mats. Only one is a proper one and the rest are cheap USB mats for heating pet beds I got off ebay for like $4. I lay a sheet of clear plastic over them.
I have a question about heat mats.
I don’t have room to start my seeds indoors, so I’m trying to start them outdoors on my porch. Our weather is . . . Fickle. In the last two weeks we’ve had highs up to 81F and lows as low as 26F. I’m starting peppers and tomatoes and most have begun germinating. On days over 50F, I’ve been taking the cells that are mostly germinated off the heat and moving them to sunny spots with no dome. When the temps drop toward a frost or freeze, I’ve been moving them back to the dome and heat (and when under freezing, throwing a blanket over the dome.)
Is this actually going to work? Or are these guys doomed? It’s only been about a week and the last two days were in the 30s so they were covered. Today is warmer so I went and uncovered and took the dome off this morning.)
Any suggestions for how I could do this better?
You totally can do this
What if you only have a 2x2 indoor tent and keep the heat mat in there until plants are way into veg? And how to use a heatmat efficiently for inoculating living soil indoors while preventing rot/mold? How do you even tell the difference between good mycelium development vs bad bacterial mold? And is the soil dead if you get bad mold will it kill/contaminate food/medicinal crops?
Yup that would work too
Do still put copper in ur garden.. it was interesting
Like the chain mail sheets?
@@GardeningInCanada I believe it's called electroculture .. I'm just learning about this and I was wondering if u saw any changes in ur plants or still use it
Oh yeah, wasn't there going to be a spray coming out? I guess I missed it somehow.
Cool! Thanks for the info!
I think you miss the most important aspect of the heat mat in this video? At what temperature you should keep your heatmat?
Heat mats scare the crap out of me as an ex-firefighter and licensed electrician. Guess I'll suffer through slow/no starts versus worrying about my house burning down.
There are quite a few now hooked to thermostats and the max temperature isn’t wild. I used to keep reptiles and has the same thought. These are not like the max temp heat mats of 20 years ago. Worth a look if you haven’t in a while.
@@lordvalspeir2721 I have not looked in a long while, but back in the 80's-90's heat mats burnt houses to the ground because the silicone would fail and create a high-resistant short capable of producing extreme, focused, heat before tripping the circuit breaker feeding them.
Thank you!
Thanks for your comments about this. Do you have any suggestions to make usage safer?
@@lindam9018 Yes, don't use them and feel safe while struggling with longer/later germination times if heating the soil naturally a bit is hard to do.
Foil under a tray in a sunny window will heat the tray and the soil.
Best, and thank you!
My brother had a reptile one and it definitely burned his dresser haha
These heat mats get hot
At 20c ambient room temperature they will hit 30c without a $40 thermostat probe controller
You can lower the temperature by raising the flat with wood strips or with cardboard (or layers) - you just need a thermometer to check the temperature not a $40 controller!
I bought them but don’t use them anymore. I have a surface thermometer (handy for a lot of things - outside and inside) and have found that the surface temp of the heat mat was about 30°c but at the soil surface where the seeds are germinating it ranges from 20 to 22 max. Of course, if you leave the tray on the mat after the seeds have germinated, might harm the delicate roots. I tend to remove from the heat mat when about 50% have germinated. The slower ones seem to be primed and on their way at that point and do pop up in a couple of days.
Btw, are you a fan of fans to prevent seedlings from getting leggy?
I used them for the first couple of years but have found they don’t make much difference except to dry things out. One exception - I left a tray of tiny dicentra exima seedlings on a self watering mat under timed lights when we went to the cottage for twelve days. They were 10” tall and very weak when we got home. A fan seems to have strengthened them up.
Interesting!
Leggy seedlings/plants is caused by insufficient light.
Always use a thermostat with your heat mat. These things will hit 50C or even hotter, without a thermostat.
Creepy! I just bought my mats yesterday and the timing of this video is perfect!! Thanks :)
That is creepy haha
Digital temperature controller heat mats are cheap now
That’s interesting!
💚💚