Seed House

[portiz]

Help, suggestions, what is the best way to build a house for seed germination, what should it have or not etc????

[Patrick]

you're talking for germinating, right?

[portiz]

Yes

[Patrick]

Well,

what I did that seems to work pretty well is that I went down to home depot and bought some of the sheets of styrofoam that they use to cover houses. Then............

[Patrick]

and then, I cut fom the sheets a 2 foot by 2 foot base. This size is the perfect size to fit a 2 flat heat mat inside- once the little project is completed, of course. Then, I made walls for this whole thing about 18" tall, I think. In order to put the whole thing together I had to go to the framing section and picl up some metal straps so that I could punch some machine screws through the styrofoam walls and straps to hold everything together. I think 8 or 6/32was the closest size. I think I had to ream out the holes a little bit with a drill. You'll see. Then, I seal everything up with silicone at all the seams. It stays very airtight. For the top, I use another 2x2 square, but once things start sprouting I use a piece of plexiglass instead to let the light in.

In summary, get the styrofoam from home depot. The parts to hold the styrofoam are at home depot, too, but It's more or less an improvisational thing there. The heat mat sets on the bottom of the box and I've cut a small notch in the top at allow the wires for the mat to run out. I've had pretty good success with the easy stuff, I know that some things require a bit more finessing than others in order to germinate. By the way, you can fit like 9 1 gallon pots in there or 5 2 gallons. I can explain more if you like. Good luck!

Pat

[Patrick]

the metal straps have hoes already in them for nails, were you to use it for it's intended purpose, by the way.

[MattyB]

That's a neat setup Patrick.  I have a very simple set up.  It's a small portable tool box with a nightlite bulb in the bottom and then I can set my baggies on top on the tray.  Close the lid, keep it in the garage, and it stays warm even on cold nights.  I'm actually starting to build another one (bigger) right now.  I think I'll use a string of

Christmas lights in the bottom to heat it up.  I'll put my high low thermometer in there for a couple of days and see what kind of readings I get.  They can be very simple to setup.

[JD in the OC]

OSH sells seed germinating pads that raise the temps quite a bit, but they only use a small wattage.  Just buy some under-bed plastic containers (usually buy two of the same size and place one on top of the other to make a small greenhouse) and put the heat pad underneath.  If you want more heat, place a few sheets of aluminum foil (maybe with a towel in between them) under the heat pad to direct all the heat upwards.

I don't know about using lights, as they may pose a fire hazzard?

JD

[Kris]

Dear Friends  

I have alloted my entire First floor of our

house for seed germination purpose ?

enough space is avaliable since iam a

bachelor till today.and before my wife

could come.i think they would have sprouted

& shifted to concreate pots ground floor.

love,

Kris(India).

[Kris]

Continued...

[Kris]

continued..