Jump to content
The Corroboree
Sign in to follow this  
Marcel

Heat mats and cactus seedlings

Recommended Posts

Hi guys and gals

I've got a little heat mat thing I've made out of an aquarium heater, some cake shaped tupperware, and some silicon. It sits at a nice 22-26 degrees in Sydney's winter and has been a gift from God when it came to germinating some loph and astro seeds a few weeks ago.

My question is this: now that the seeds have germinated and are showing some healthy (if slightly etiolated) growth, can I place them in ambient (non heat mat) temperatures? That'd be about 16-20 in my grow/dining room. Is the heat just to germinate them, or do they need it to survive their first few weeks/months?

I have a whole bunch more seeds to get going, and I need the limited heat mat real estate, but obviously, I don't want to compromise the cactus seedlings.

What say ye, SAB sages?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Marcel, 16-20°C is absolutely sufficient as long as you dont water them too much. I´d say there are probably better uses for your heat mat right now. :wink: bye Eg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i have been using the heat mat just to germinate then putting then on a warm windowsil after a few weeks or first graphting them. not sure if this stunts them much i have a few heat mats in a couple of different boxes so ive started experimenting (ive left some in one box and im guna moniter the diffference in growth) :-) im in perth and im sure my warm window is a lot colder than 16 degress overnight too. id say they should be right just keep an eye on them. interested to see some of the other thouights on this.

noshie

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good news. Thanks for the info, people.

Time to germ some Boswellia!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

does anyone know if there will be detrimental effects from keeping cacti seedlings on the heat mat over couple of months?

i have noticed they are all very etiolated from not having much light.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

heat mat will help produce root growth by keeping the soil warm...ive ran into trouble with heatmats as they change with the atomosphere heat, so if your running a heater inside to heat yr home during winter, and the inside temp is say 30C then the root systems will be 40C these conditions can be to hot some species of seedlings, but cacti should be fine, a heat mat not themostat regulated usually only heats 10C above room temperature, a more expensive thermostat controlled one overcomes this as they keep a regulated heat but they are pricey.

I think this is how it works anyway! I dont have much experiance with thermostat controllled heatmats as they cost to much!

all these conditions would vary also according to soil depth and pot thickness etc...perhaps a fluoro would overcome etiolated growth also and enhance growth during these winter months! these lights are cheap & nasty but work well for cacti seeds, ive found the globes sometimes all of them work sometimes some dont, they come and go..LOL as there made in china and pretty shitty quality LED but cacti seed do fine under them.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/225-LED-Hydroponic-Lamp-Plant-Grow-Light-Red-Blue-/150613778135?pt=AU_Seed_Starting_Hydroponics&hash=item231147ded7

Edited by applesnail

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i have a box with reflective sides and two grow fluros at the top and a thermostat controlled heat mat it works a treat (that good i made another another bigger one a couple weeks ago) :-) the mats were a bit pricey but i love my plants they were bout 140 dollars i think, i use them to germinate all types of seed though even all our vegeis in the garden start inside and we clone all our plants except cacti of course in the boxes. in summer i dont use a heat mat but it just too cold in perth in winter

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×