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Partlow,Va

I have been playing in my basement this fall building a little grow room for starting seedlings. My heat sources are the heat mat, a ceramic foot heater, and the grow light.After much trial and error I have been able to maintain the room(8x7')fairly well 80-83 day and 68-75 night. I germed at 91 then now have the mat on 74 with 3/4" spacer under the flat. I was wanting to know the target temperatures esp. for night. Will cooler at nighttime help with keeping the seedling more stocky?

11/26/2023 8:40:38 AM

Hadley Ny

As with most veggies started indoors a fan is one of your best bets to make your seedling stocky. Have just enough breeze to wiggle your seedlings. This strengthens your plant. Don't believe temp will make as much of a difference as a fan will.

11/26/2023 11:18:10 AM

Syracuse, NY

I won't be too elaborate here butt ANY means by which you can START the seeds at like 87-92 F in Seed Starting Mix (SS Mix) in my case with Mycorrhizae already incorporated INTO the mix when you create it is very beneficial, in my opinion (Joel Holland's Bio Grow Endo Plus, 1/2 cup per 12 quarts dry SS Mix, Jiffy Mix Natural and Organic with 1/3 (no more) gallon of H2O to mix it with and that is just right). Usually, 72 hours before soil disturbance. DO get a soil-probe-type thermometer for fun. Stick a few in front of the heater fan.

If you go with the paper towel in a ZipLoc method, fold the PT in half twice or more, wet really wet and then with a can, jar, plate or anything, compress the water out as MUCH as possible on the SIDE of the sink, unfold to the right size and place in ZL, label seeds with a ball-point pen (Sharpies I'm losing faith in for the seeds!) and the ZL with a Sharpie Black Magic Marker; There is NO need to fold the seeds within the paper towel and you can then see the germination right away. Prolly shorter times to see the seed sprouting. No - definitely. MUCH more fun! I found that seeds sprout a little faster in a ZL with the air squeezed out. See and read, word-for-word ALL of my diaries to see the one spot where I showed this, lol!

I do have a small Wal-Mart 'True Living'? 2-speed oscillating fan that breezes my seedlings from about 6 feet away - the original use was to keep fungus away butt the strengthening effect is true as well.
The breeze also flows through and under my 2 (by 4-foot X 2 bulbs) (one is aquarium, the other full-spectrum/daylight) 40-watts each tube shop lights
THAT ARE SUSPENDED AT NO MORE THAN 1 INCH ABOVE THE SEEDLINGS TO PREVENT LEGGINESS. Yes, the caps are necessary. This is the OPPOSITE of window light = leggy!

11/26/2023 2:02:16 PM

Syracuse, NY

Also - 24/7 - on all the time. There are beliefs in that it messes up the plants' day and night cycle. I say I'd rather have non-leggy plants!
If they are gonna be there more than a week you will see the difference. The combination (and even just the light-height, lol) of the 50 F
usual temperature in my basement and the 1-inch spec result in seedlings that do NOT get leggy and grow slowly enough that they do not get out of control.

I cannot walk away and NOT have the fan running. It is part of the scene, now. For 10 years+. Must be a good fan! For several WEEKS every year...
Keep in mind that seedlings are supposed to be in the sprouting environment for ONLY as long as it takes to see the first true leaf's direction,
and only plus 'grower readiness' to plant out. I'm one to talk, butt if the roots are hitting the sides of the container, you're behind schedule!

I never transplant my seedlings to larger pots. If I need to do that - I'm just prolonging the inevitable. If it says 'This way, please'..plant it! eg
PS---Once they are sprouted, they are all right in any temperature - save your money on electricity and they'll grow just fine in a lot lesser of a heat range.
Off of whatever adjoining room is perfect, I'm sure. Good Luck!

11/26/2023 2:02:27 PM

Syracuse, NY

Y'all - This'll be easier:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=337498
eg

11/26/2023 2:41:26 PM

Syracuse, NY

Oops - I meant to show the diary where I had sprouts in an airless environment - I did not mean to depict that 'This'll be easier than your accomplishments thus far' I shoulda had a nap, instead of elaborating.
Here is 'airy or not':
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=301530
Sawweee! eg out

11/26/2023 2:46:43 PM

Bethlehem CT

Hank That is an interesting question about the temp and stockiness of the seedling. I bet you really get some nice seedling germination with those temps. Albeit they will germinate slower but you will be less likely to get those half rotted cotyledon leaves which come from high heat and high moisture. Over the years I have dialed down my germination temps and am now germinating seeds at lower temps than I did when I first started with good results. THe temperatures in your germination room are much closer to what the seed might experience in a natural environment.

11/27/2023 7:55:42 AM

Western NY

Yes Hank, I have noticed in the past that warmer night temps can make them stretch a bit more.

11/27/2023 8:06:21 AM

Partlow,Va

Thanks to all for the great advice. I changed my little fan to hit the seedlings more, which lowered temp so I could cheat my light down a half inch for heat and be closer. win,win. Still running a little cooler but it may work out alright. I have the fan on the timer with the light. Is this correct to have the fan off at night? John great idea on the germ temps. I am going to do my next batch at 84,85 ? or so. White melon seeds are terrible for cot rot so I am excited to see the results. I have been testing out no soak on them which did make a big difference.

11/28/2023 10:17:42 AM

Hadley Ny

Hank I run my fan with the light cycle...16 on 8 off. Mother Nature normally has calmer winds at night so I'm siding with her.

11/28/2023 12:14:25 PM

Hadley Ny

Hank I also run my nighttime temp at 66-68.

11/28/2023 12:17:26 PM

Syracuse, NY

Well, since I typed it out:
My belief is that if a seed is in a rotting environment from the fruit it was IN, those bacteria and pathogens will carry over to when the seed gets planted, so, if you're having a particular seed that exhibits 'cot rot', lol, I would soak them between two shot glasses in Hydrogen Peroxide 3% NOT diluted, like what's the point, then, and for at least 2-3 hours but certainly longer, up to say 6-12 hours will help with that. Pick out and plant, then...Hey, if yer experimenting, why not?

PS---If you have the fan and light on a timer...leggy, IMHO.
In my case about the fan, if it broke down, I'd be okay, butt the lights? Oh, emergency Home Depot run, or my plants will be an inch taller in one night, lol. Depending on what you want from this, if you give the plants exactly what they'd get outside - well, you want them to grow fast and leggy outside...That may be what you'll get.

You can direct-seed (hmmm...direct-sow a seed) direct-sow any seed outdoors and it will take longer to sprout. Or, you can sprout them indoors and get them out there in 10-14 days, when the weather might be more appropriate. In the meantime, a warm environment but a consistently-close, bright-as-heck environment will cause them to grow OUTward but not AS-upward. Anything will grow in order to simply grow - how fast and how big is up to us, in our case.

PS2---Y'all, when I make these rants, complete with caps and excessive punctuation for emphasis, I am not yelling nor trying to be bossy at all, just informative and so that I can refer back to what I said and when for the benefit of all whom may read my comments, even myself.
I need to create my Seed-Starting Mix and will experiment soon. Please stand by, lol---eg

11/28/2023 1:11:45 PM

Syracuse, NY

Big T Hoff - Hi, and your comments appeared during my typing the Bible, lol---No intent to dissuade or disagree, and the nighttime winds observation I had not ever thought of. Cool! eg

11/28/2023 1:16:02 PM

Partlow,Va

Thanks BigT

11/30/2023 8:08:26 AM