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Best way to use a heated propagator

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Paul Hodder (U14288973) on Thursday, 31st March 2011

  Hello, I've just bought a heated propagator. Do I have to grow the seeds in a layer of compost, and thus seperating them some how, or can I grow the seeds in little pots? Also how much extra watering is required? I'm going to grow chllies (hopefully not too late, toms and venus fly trap. Many thanks.

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Engineer (U3135859) on Thursday, 31st March 2011

  Hi Paul,
  You can certainly start tomatoes and chillies off in small pots in your propogator, and I reckon this is possibly the best way of growing them. If you look around, you should be able to find small peat pots which you can pack together in a small tray. Fill them with seed compostr, put one seed in each and when they have germinated and produced a few true leaves, you can then just plonk the peat pot into a larger (eg 3") pot (outside the propogator at this stage.) Chillies in particular will benefit from several re-pots into slightly larger ones, so when the plants grow a bit larger, move them from 3" pots to 4-5" ones for a few weeks before planting them into their final pots.
  You don't normally have to keep watering things in propogators - the moisture condenses on the lid and runs back down. It's not too late at all to get started.
  Good luck -- Bob

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  Posted by crouchee (U13371975) on Thursday, 31st March 2011

  A three inch pot of seeds sown very thinly will be plenty to fill a seed tray when pricking out. I tamp and water the compost THEN sow seeds and cover or not as the seed packet suggests.
  
  Remove the pots to the kitchen window sill then to greenhouse the very minute the first seedlings appear or they will get very leggy. Prick out when big enough to handle. Do swapsies at your local garden club.
  
  There is such a thrill when you see that first pale green knuckle pushing up through the compost! Two days only for my zinnias last year, a couple of weeks for parsley, and never for an extremely expensive packet of six seeds of something rare and choice....

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  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Thursday, 31st March 2011

  Hi paul,
  nice to hear your getting into the world of propagator's,
  The idea of this bit of gardening kit is to give the seeds or small plants a good place to grow and to keep the temp to between 55 upwards but also a good humidity and the less you open the space ie lift the lid to water or spray the better and the best way to keep this regular temp is to firstly line the bottom of your propagator with a heat retaining material but also one that will retain moisture,
  vermiculite, is a very good material, I use this myself and it can be bought from most garden centre's,
  
  All you do is lay a few inch of this vermiculite onto the bottom inside of the propagator and then spray it with warm water, once you've sown or potted on the plants you wish to grow and watered the compost they are sown in,
  just place the pots into the propagator and keep the vents closed until you see signs of life pocking through the compost and then open the vents a little.
  
  If you do your sowing using the vermiculite in this way you'll see the propagator will mist up but retain a nice moist condition & keep the temp, up .
  get hold of tempiture guide to put into your propagator and you can see what temp your working from.
  Regards PunPun

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