Advice about heat mats, please!

Grow your own
#1

I have a couple of small propagators which are great, but I’m thinking of buying a heat mat so I can put seed trays on them. Any advice / recommendations of what to buy? It’s for inside the house.

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#2

I bought a couple from Amazon last year… They weren’t very expensive (about £20 for the pair), and don’t have a thermostat or anything fancy. Given they only run at around 50W I just leave them on all the time when they’re in use.

They now live in my little greenhouse to help get seedlings started and we’re a real boon at the start of last year.

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#3

Thank you - useful, as I was wondering if one with a thermostat was necessary- sounds like it isn’t!

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#4

My old mat finally bit the dust last year. I’ve bought a new one from The Greenhouse People. Mine does have a thermostat which means I can decide the temperature I need. I use it as follow on from the propagator in April/May when we get very mixed weather. Without the thermostat I think it would a) waste energy b) overheat plants.

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#5

Really interesting thanks @ChairmanBen @LynneO and @RuthHenrietta for starting the discussion. I’ve been thinking about getting some for later in the year too so this is really helpful.

#6

Thanks - good to have that perspective too… decisions, decisions!

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#7

Hi Ruth, I’ve used heat mats a lot for propagation. My two don’t have thermostats in them, but you can buy them as an add-on later if you like (mine are BioGreen mats from Two Wests & Elliotts). To adjust the temperature and ensure it’s evenly spread, I place polystyrene sheets under the seed trays/pots, on top of the mat. Generally the mats run quite hot, so this allows you to cool things down a little, depending on what you are propagating. The mats roll up when not in use which makes storage simple. You can simply buy a cheap, unheated clear plastic propagating lid to sit on top of a seed tray. I used the mats this winter a lot, for growing hardy winter salads and pea shoots, which would otherwise struggle with no bottom heat. Hope this helps. Lx

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#8

Thanks so much Lucy, that’s useful advice to add to the mix!

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#9

@lucyc - I’ve bitten the bullet and bought a BioGreen mat without a thermostat… will see what happens!

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#10

Ah, brilliant Ruth - good luck! I’m sure you’ll love them :-))

#11

I put some seedlings in my grow house and the Frost froze the soil. Luckily I popped them in the house and now their starting to sprout.

Would a heat mat have prevented this