A lot of my friends have been asking me about the heat mats I use in my greenhouse. I took a few picks for them, and thought I would share them here as well. I use Agritape heat mats. Mine are 2' wide by 8' long. I place them on 4" thick reflectorized white foam, which happens to come 2' wide by 8' long. I also use 2 pieces of the foam behind the mats to hold in some heat, and help reflect sunshine. The wall of foam is on my North wall. Agri Tape by Organic sinse posted May 8, 2017 at 10:11 AM In the above pic I have the Agritape slid forward a little just so that the reflectorized foam is shown in the pic. I actually slide it flush to the north wall. Below is the agritape with a 'high' quality temp controller, as well as the protective metal screen over the agri tape. The screen is essentially just metal window screen, its purpose is to prevent damage to the agri tape. I don't have it shown in the pic, but the screen needs to be grounded to a ground rod or directly to the electric service itself (or both preferably). One trick I use on the screen is the use of clothespins to help hold the screen in place until it is covered in pots. Screen And Controller by Organic sinse posted May 8, 2017 at 10:11 AM I have laughed at the idea of the screen as protection but always used it. Low and behold last night I knocked over a cordless drill onto the agritape that would have stabbed it and ruined it, had the screen not been there. Anyway, there it is on agri tape. It also works great below raised beds and other applications. hth anyone who is interested, especially any folks who live in the colder climates. os
I also thought that I would add these mats use 20 watts a square foot, or 320 watts for my set up, and raise the soil temp about 20 degrees F. os
I wanted to show a little trick I use when germinating seeds in larger 10 gallon containers. I simple little saucer for 6" pots does the trick nicely as a humidity dome. I mound up a little dirt on the lips to make a better seal. IMG_0559[1] by Organic sinse posted May 14, 2017 at 2:19 PM I got 100% germination 6 autos in 4 1/2 days with 10 gallon containers. I did 2 no tills, and 4 recycles. The no tills, I chopped and replanted the same day. Replanting happened 2" from old stem, which I left poking out of the ground. The 2 no tills are the same strain as 2 of the recycles, all from same original soil mix. IMG_0560[1] by Organic sinse posted May 14, 2017 at 2:19 PM We will see which ones are the better plant. os
OS what if anything do you notice about the physical characteristics of your plants at maturity after them spending their whole life without transplant? It's not a trick question. I use transplanting as a means to help me control plant height which in my view helps tame even the most gangly of wild sativas. Thoughts?
@Possuum The plants definitely grow faster and mature earlier (faster harvest). Being autos they also grow the biggest not losing any time for transplant. I think its more important when recycling soil, as opposed to no till to start in the final container. According to Lowenfels in "Teaming..", it can take up to a month to get mycorhazae and the microherd up and running in new soil. This is part of the key to why I do it. I have 2 different strains I'm growing in no till and recycled soil, 4 plants, I will be curious to see the comparison. I do realize that 10 gal is a little small for no till, but I just want to see for myself. Also excited to see the 'Blue Amnesia xxl auto', and the 'Haze xxl auto', I am running with the other 4. I just finished a run of these and am very impressed with the results. (waiting on smoke test). Otherwise I really can't comment much on developmental differences due to the fact that I almost never transplant, most of my experience is starting seeds in 5s or 7s. I definitely end up with very sturdy healthy plants. os
thanks. I was just curious. I transplant 2-3 times normally and I think it's more of a habit or more of a ritual to my protocol. My goal is to produce a shorter or more easier to manage canopy. I agree that it does seem to add some time to growing to maturity due to the multiple transplants. thanks and thanks for sharing the good info. Cheers!
Dubi from ace seeds (they breed mostly landrace sativas) says to start flowering in smaller container and transplant after stretch to drastically reduce plant height. This is regarding very long flowering, lanky sats. Blasphemy I know, I haven't tried this myself (try at your own risk), just something to think about.
OS, I'm going to get a similar set up in preparation for next winter. I want the heat mats under each of my containers so your method looks pretty good. I've struggled with cold weather screwing up the soil chemistry and consistent warmth will definitely go a long way. I had previously considered heating cables but it wasn't too practical me thinks. RE: canopy management. Not intending to derail OS' thread but with multiple transplants the reason I plan the way I do is because at each transplant I bury the plant right up to the bottom set of leaves. IME this very much encourages short stature growth ~42" or so and with vigorous LST I'm able to train those wascally wabbit sativas. Ok. back on track now...
@Possuum no worries about derailing, I love to chat topics with you and scoob anytime. I actually used to practice the multi transplant with my toms and peppers exactly like you mention, to cover more stem. I don't find the need for that anymore, but I also top dress a lot more compost/ vmc than I ever did before. One thing I meant to mention in an earlier post was the outside temps while I germinated. Daytime highs were 50-55 F, lows at night around 35 F. My greenhouse low temps were 53-55 F. Morning lowest soil temp was 65 F. One thing that I like about starting in final pots is I don't have to worry about something getting root bound while I am busy doing other things. It really stresses me out, like I'm a bad parent or something. The only drawback is more space early on, but I have that covered. Overall, its really a time saver for me, even if its harder on the old back sometimes. @scoobiedoobie Its not always possible, but dropping humidity really low seems to reel in the stretch on the sat dom hybrids that I grow. Granted mine have some Rudi in them but I have found that relationship does exist. Cheers fellas os
Interesting about the low humidity, why do you think it effects it? I have some pretty hardcore sativa seeds (20-25 week finishers) I'm hoping to pop some day, when I feel confident enough to handle it, lol!
Scoob Through observation over the years, when I grow and the humidity drops super low, I observe very little stretch, and the nodes stay real tight. Often tighter than I want. Everytime we get long cold snaps in the winter, my rh drops real low, I look at it as a learning opportunity, and take good notes on my observations. The why part of limiting stretch, I haven't really put together. This is a relationship I will continue to study, (each and every winter ). os