Does anyone have particular recommendations for heating mats and grow lights for seed starting?
I’d like to get some soon and get both some warm-season (e.g., peppers, since they grow slowly)and cool-season (e.g., lettuce) plants started.
If the heating mat is temperature adjustable or if they come in several versions with different fixed temperatures, it might not hurt to have two since germination temps for peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, etc, will be higher than for lettuce and suchlike.
Cost is a consideration so something that works well and is affordable is better than something that works terrifically but is expensive.
I remember reading somewhere that someone’s experience is that quality can vary significantly between different brands and models, so I thought I’d see what you all think.
Input on grow lights for garden seedlings would also be appreciated, as would any ideas for maximizing efficiency. (I was thinking maybe have the plants in a kind of box with light reflective material on the inside walls.)
(Also, if I am slow to reply, please don’t mind me. I was horribly sick for years and was gone from here for a very long time. Although significantly improved compared to where I was, I am still quite unwell, so I may be slow to respond.)
Amazon sells setups for around 30 bucks last time I checked. They’re all about the same, approximately 9"x24" all made in DRC with different brand names for the same product.
Amazon.com is a 2’ X 4’ heat mat which has worked very well for me.
I have used shop lights for years. I highly recommend an LED type panel light instead. If only growing seedlings, you can use 7800 lumen 2’ X 4’ panels. If you want to grow indoor plants year round, you will need higher light levels.
How many seedlings do you wanna start? I’ve never used a heat mat before but I start stuff in a closet indoors so it never goes below 65. I’ve done a bunch of peppers/tomatoes in paper towels in bags on warm spots when seeds are scarce though. My T5 fixtures heat up to 91F on top- I put a thin piece of insulation on between them and the paper towel/ziplock and use that instead of a heat mat.
As for lights theres a lot out there. You might even want to look on craigslist/facebook marketplace for stuff? I’m real frugal but I got both my lights locally from separate folks and theyve been phenomenal. I picked up a agrobrite T5 2ft 48W fluorescent for $20 a couple years ago still running great. Last month bought a mint condition HLG 100 Rspec quantum panel for $30. Any state with rec/med cannabis theyres usually a glut of people who just want to get rid of lights.
You dont need that much power just to start seeds, LEDs are nice because theyre better and you dont have to buy bulbs. Depends on your budget but you can buy one of the lower end Mars Hydro/Spider Farmer/HLG units and easily start 100-200 seedlings for at least a month (60-100$). The cheaper amazon stuff is chinese white label stuff but they can be good. The savings arent always enormous either and they always have outrageous claims about wattage so it can be hard to accurately compare them. But if you monitor classified postings online you can usually find something for even cheaper- these arent amazing lights but this is a decent lighting set up to do several hundred seedlings in small pots 2 INDOOR GROW ROOM LED GROW LIGHTS - farm & garden - by owner - sale - craigslist
BTW these arent 1000watts- the bloom plus is 100W im sure you can use this to haggle to your advantage if you want.
Good luck- seed starting is the most fun part in my opinion.
Vivo sun heat mats have worked well for last 3 seasons. My wife also use them for fermenting foods, dough, yogurt etc. I also have a Sun pad lite 2’x4’ at 100W it’s more efficient when you can pool all the seed trays in one rack. Shop lights work really well and inexpensive.
I’ve got a couple like the ones above, but I cannot recommend them as much as the Gro-Mat, which works really well, seems like it will last decades, and I like the metal cage that keeps the bottom of the pots from being in direct contact with the mat. Also the switch with high/low modes so I can crank it up in cold weather or dial it back for rooting things later in spring when the greenhouse is warmer already.
I believe I got mine at the Greenhouse Megastore when they had a free shipping deal at some point.
That’s the smaller one (90W), there’s one that’s a bit larger (135W), which is what I have for starting avocados:
