Heated window sill propagator

budgetboo

T&M and lots of other sites sell a 7 section windowsill heated propagator. The cheapest I've seen it is £25 on amazon.

How useful are these devices REALLY? I've never used one but am keen to get my peppers and herbs, (strawberries too?) off to a quick start this year. How much use would I be likely to get out of my purchase? I have a mini size allotment of just 2 2x0.5m raised veg beds. I just can't decide if they are an incredibly useful invention or a sheer waste of money. For £25 I could get an awful lot of seeds If you have one - do you think it was a good investment?


I've also aquired some unusual yellow strawberry seeds. When should I plant these to get them started indoors? I've only ever grown strawberrys from cuttings of bare roots before and never from seed. I'm keen not to mess up as I only have 20 and I have no idea what the germination rate will be, or a way to get more, (did a seed swap).

BOGOF_Queen

To be honest, I think you can get seeds to germinate without one. I though about buying one but then thought it was a lot of money for what it is. I have started off my chiilis and peppers in seed trays (plastic mushroom containers) with a plastic bag over the top and then placed near a radiator to germinate. Once germinated, place on a window ledge to get as much light as possible - remove before closing the curtains at night as will be too cold for them. I have now got to the stage where I potted on some of them last weekend into individual pots and they seem to be doing ok so far. Personally, I am glad that I didn't spend the money on one.

BOGOF_Queen

Just to add, I have already had herbs - coriander, basil and chives started off on my kitchen table without any additional heat - come through fine this last couple of weeks.

budgetboo

Thanks. I've since seen Wilkos does a simple one for £16. I think I'll skip buying one this year and just sew stuff as per normal on the kitchen window sill with sandwich bags or clingfilm over.

They do seem pricey.

A._Badger

I have one and it's excellent. BUT - I keep it on a North-facing windowsill, so that the germination temperature is even. As soon as the seeds have germinated, I move them to a frost-free greenhouse in maximum light.

The reason for this two-stage procedure is that the temperature fluctuations in a greenhouse are so great that you can literally cook seedlings in a propagator if it gets full sunlight, however your thermostat is set. On the other hand, seedlings need far more light, from all around, than they will get on the average windowsill.

A case in point. Because I sow so many, my onion seeds went into a conventional propagator in my greenhouse, last Sunday at a steady 55 F. All went well till yesterday morning, when the sun boosted the temperature up to around 85F.

I'll probably get away with this (the seed tray was covered with newspapers to offset the effects of full sun) but it can be a problem as the season moves on, causing the max/min swings to increase wildly.

On the debit side, windowsills are rotten places for geminating seedlings. They will lean towards the light and rapidly become etiolated unless you are on hand to turn them every few hours.

On balance, used carefully, they are very useful. But if you want to use one for all your seed germination, you are likely to be in for a trying time. Windowsills just don't provide enough light - though you can rig-up silver foil reflectors to assist.

Hope that's some help.

valk_scot

I have a B&Q heated propagator which holds two and a bit standard seed trays and which I bought in a sale about ten years ago. I can honestly say it's one of the best bits of kit I own and it has paid for itself many times over.

It lives on a windowsill in my utility room...this room is not heated but keeps a steady temperature which assists in keeping the propagator temperature stable. Don't keep one on a windowsill above a radiator (cook!) between glass and curtains (temp then plummets at night) or on a very sunny windowsill (cook again!). My utility room windowsill gets a good strong light all through the day, but very little direct sunlight. Also I've rigged a reflector (three sided box covered in space blanket) round it to maximumise light.

Next to it is a similarly sized but unheated propagator and as soon as a seed pops its head up above the compost it gets moved into the unheated area and then as soon as it looks established it goes into a frost free area in the greenhouse. It's all about providing the correct balance of even heat and even, optimal illumination. A heated propagator assists greatly with this but you've got to use it wisely and be very much on the ball with shading, turning and watering. It's not a shortcut or a lazy method. Having said all that if mine went wrong tomorrow I'd replace it instantly, and probably with a bigger one.

Lotus-eater

I also have one and I also love it.

Funnily enough, I also use mine on a north facing windowsill, it's perfect there for me. Out of the way of everything, yet still inside and out of the sun.

I use mine for tomatoes, chillies, peppers and cucurbits.

tangojulie

Last year I actually read the back of the seed packets for once and it dawned on me that seeds have separate needs for heat and light. Lots of them need heat (but not light) to germinate and less heat to grow on.

So I started them off in my always warm bathroom - no light but usually pretty cosy because of the heated towel rail - and moved them to the kitchen windowsill as soon as they came through. My success rate went up by about 500%.

So my suggestion would be that before you buy another piece of specialist kit you go round the house with a thermometer and see if you already have anywhere that will do the job.

maryb

Hello,

I hope this is the right thread and that someone can help. I'm a newbie when it comes to starting things from seed

I'm trying to start off some seeds but I'm a bit confused about using the propagator. Do I take the seed tray out as soon as a few seeds have germinated ot do I wait until the majority have shown their heads? What I am finding is that it can take 2-3 days after the first ones come through before the majority have germinated.

I am starting the seeds in seed compost and I will pot them on once they get 2 true leaves. Can I use the trays of seed compost again to start some more seeds? From what I have read, seed compost is deliberately low in nutrients but it is the right structure for encouraging germination (free draining). So if it has only had some tiny seedlings in, presumably it would be OK to use again as long as none of the previous lot had keeled over with damping off disease?

Lotus-eater

Normally after the first couple have germinated I would remove it. The other ones have probably already germinated under the compost anyway, just haven't broken the surface yet.

Yes you can reuse the compost if you so wish. But I don't, it's hardly any anyway, not worth mucking about with.

cootambear

just buy some cheap strawberry plants