It’s been close to a week since I planted the container garden starter pots. So far, I’ve relied on the windowsill and clam-shell greenhouses to support germination. As of this morning, the only things that have sprouted was one tomato, two of the herb planters, and some of the lettuce mix.
To help kick-start the seedlings, I placed the mini-greenhouses on a heating pad in front of a larger South-East windows. Within two hours three more tomato seeds sprouted.
Happy with this success, I’ve since moved the heating pad setup into a spare (unused) refridgerator we keep in the garage. This unused fridge will provide an environment where it will be easy to regulate and maintain temperature, light and humidity.
I used a couple of old flurescent lite fixtures to provide the light. They aren’t grow lights, but they put out a lot of light. These simply rest on the adjustable metal shelf. I placed the heating pad, wrapped in a towel, on the bottom.
The digital thermometer I keep in the garage was reading 48degrees F. I put this in the fridge and will monitor the temp throughout the day.
This setup looks like it is going to work great!
Update:20100301- The heating pad did not generate enough heat to raise the temp in the fridge. I have since added a hanging shoplight (with a 100w light bulb) inside the fridge. This provides more light and generates the required heat. The temp is now nearing 60 degrees F and rising.
Since last night, a second variety of tomato has sprouted.
