Watering seedlings in the heated propagator

RHYSDAD

Quick query, how much and when? At the moment i have three types of chilli and strawberry plants sown into individual modules in the heated props. One prop has seeds sown in multi purpose compost and is staying nice and damp, just right i'd say. The other is Arthur bowers seed compost with loam, grit etc and is drying out severely, i watered it earlier this afternoon and having just checked again, the soil is bone dry...!

I'm guessing those seeds may just fail? How should i be watering them properly? At the moment i am using a spray gun and just damping the compost nicely. I don't fill the base of the prop do i and let capilliary action take over? Help!!

valk_scot

I put capillary action matting in the bottom of my heated propagator and keep it just on the wet side of damp. The soil and plant roots then just sook up what they want. There's no point in just damping the surface of soil. It has to be moist right through. On the other hand you don't want them sitting in a waterlogged puddle, which is where the capillary action matting comes in.

A._Badger

If you haven't got any matting (I agree with Val that's it's the ideal thing to use) then water, carefully, making sure that the water you use is close to the temperature of the warm compost - ie not straight from the cold tap, or you will shock the plants. That said, do use tap water at this stage - seedlings can be very vulnerable to fungal diseases.

They shouldn't have dried out as fast as you suggest, however, so either you under watered them the first time, the heat is set too high or (possibly) the nature of the compost is fooling you and it's damper than you think. My guess is the first - so I'd water them thoroughly.

Jake'sGran

I did just two of the containers the other day after scrubbing them clean first. The compost I used was a bit iffy so I am not confident the seeds will germinate.Last year I bought some real seed growing compost and it dried out rapidly like yours so I won't be using it again. I sat the two containers in a shallow amount of water then put them straight in the propogator after draining. It contains six, each with an individual lid.

To be honest I did a lot better with seeds sown in small plant pots and put inside a polythene bag unless they needed light. There was a perfect spot in the house on top of the boiler housing where the heat was just right. Last year I found the propogator became too hot. Every year I say I will do everything perfectly but never do. The one plant that grows no matter what you do is Marigold. I even won a prize with one.

valk_scot

Just a comment on capillary matting...it might look like just another possibly unnecessary expense but it is reusable. Mine is ten years old! I bought enough back then (you buy it by the metre in garden centres) to line the bases of my two heated and two unheated propagators, plus some other trays for the greenhouse. At the end of the growing season I wash it in the washing machine, low temp, minimal non-bio powder, two rinses to get any residues out then it's ready to use the next spring. Well worth every penny.

katskorner

Aldi are doing a good size roll of capilliary matting for just £4.99 if anyone wants to grab a bargain. Saw it today in our local one.

kirsty822001

thankyou Valk-scot and katskorner, brilliant information for me who also hasn't really any idea what i am doing with my new propagators and although hooked on gardening and forever buying something It will be nice to buy something that i can use over and over and know how to look after it ,,thankyou much appreciated :-) off to aldis now :-)

RHYSDAD

Yay1 I now have 9 chilli seedlings on the windowsill with aluminum foil behind to reflect as much light as possible on to them. They are doing great!

Won't bother with strawberries again though.....they were in the same propagator but look sick....:whistle:

lunar

I have not heard of using foil to increase the light before, but I will be borrowing it for my seedlings. My OH will think I have joined the tin foil hat brigade when he gets home! He never goes in our back bedroom so I am hiding some seedlings in there too.

Have you noticed much difference using the foil?

RHYSDAD

lunar wrote: »

I have not heard of using foil to increase the light before, but I will be borrowing it for my seedlings. My OH will think I have joined the tin foil hat brigade when he gets home! He never goes in our back bedroom so I am hiding some seedlings in there too.

Have you noticed much difference using the foil?

Not sure as it's my first year having a go but allotment.org.uk has quite a bit on there about it....

Aluminium Foil

lunar

Thank you for the link, I amgoing to give it ago. not quite sure how I will get it to stay in place as my window is full. Im off to experiment.