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Greenhouse heating advice

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Lokelani (U8896212) on Sunday, 27th March 2011

  I want to get an earlier start , my seedlings get too leggy on the windowsills once out of the propagator, so I think I need to heat my greenhouse slightly so I can get them in it earlier.
  
  Although we're in the south the greenhouse doesn't get sun all day sadly so I need to extend the season to actually get peppers, tomatoes & chillis.
  
  I'm thinking of just enough heat to keep temps above about 5 degrees c should be enough from now until last frost & maybe the same for a month in the autumn. Is this enough for seedlings if I give them maybe a week or so on a windowsill after the propagator, to harden them off slightly? Our house is very cold anyway.
  
  An electric tube heater appeals for being safe & nicely sealed & waterproof. With a thermostat. It's a very small lean to greenhouse against the house. It's about 1.8 metres high but only 65cm deep & 1.5 metres long. More like a very deep wood & glass shelving unit, with auto vent!
  
  A website selling them suggests I might need as much as 300 watts (4ft tube) for the 10 foot floor space, but I think that was to maintain 15 degrees c & I couldn't find another guide to compare. I was hoping to run a 2ft 160 watt one for the sake of my electricity bill, it seems plenty to me, but has anyone got any experience of this sort of heating?
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by daintiness (U3887838) on Sunday, 27th March 2011

  Have you got a minimum - maximum thermometer in there at the moment? If not I would invest in one.They are not very expensive esp if you consider the amount you want to spend on heating...I think I got mine from wilko a few years back. I'm also thinking that the temperature in your gh against a house wall should have enough residual heat in it to keep the temp above 5 at night.

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• Message 3

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  Posted by Lokelani (U8896212) on Monday, 28th March 2011

  Yes there's a min/max thermometer in there & it sees to get pretty much as cold as outside in there. I lost everything I tried to over winter in it.
  
  The whole reason for building it against the wall was that we also hoped it would keep it frost free. Sadly not. The house isn't kept very warm & maybe it's just so well insulated nothing gets through the wall!
  

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• Message 4

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  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Monday, 28th March 2011

  I don't know how many seedlings you're thinking about but I keep mine inside under a couple of desk lamps fitted with energy-saver bulbs producing the equivalent of about 75w each. With the lights no more than a foot above the seedlings, they provide ample light and warmth.
  
  I sometimes use them for germination too - the seed tray inside partly-open plastic bags under the lights. Works a treat.

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by davestevenson (U8534678) on Monday, 28th March 2011

  I also have an unheated greenhouse. What i do is use one of those 4 tier greenhouse things (that you build yourself) inside my greenhouse wrapped in fleece, with a sankey heated propagator in the bottom with the lid off.
  
  This seems to keep the frost at bay without being too warm for teh seedlings to get leggy.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Lokelani (U8896212) on Monday, 28th March 2011

  I've probably got too many already Italophile. The desk lamp idea is a great one though & I'll bear it in mind in future.
  
  I think I'm ready to invest in a small tube heater though, it's just working out how many tubes I need!

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