Do-it-yourself mat for seedlings. Warm seedling mat made in China. Greenhouse from a container

Spring does not always please us with its warmth, so harvested seedlings cannot grow and develop quickly. And even if the seedling containers are on the windowsill, the plants may feel discomfort for the following reasons:

turning off the heating occurs early, sometimes the temperature in the room remains for a long time at a lower level than required, and is not sufficient for seedlings;
the temperature indicator on the windowsill is lower than indoors, so the growth of seedlings may stop, or it will die altogether.

For successful growth of seedlings, its root system must be warmed up. Craftsmen come up with many ways to ensure good sprout growth: there are various tricks and tricks, among which much can be borrowed for the conditions of a city apartment.

To create a comfortable environment, you can do do-it-yourself heater for seedlings. It can be both portable and stationary, that is, installed in one place, where it will be permanently. Especially stationary heaters are relevant when seedlings are constantly engaged and there is a permanently allocated place for it.

Making a heater for seedlings: an easy way

On the Internet, you can find numerous options for creating a favorable temperature that is optimal for the growth of seedlings on the windowsill:

with the help of chipboard and plywood, it is possible to provide access to warm air masses from heating batteries;
the use of foamed polyethylene, which is laid so that the heat from the radiators goes to the roots of the seedlings.

In the first case The disadvantages include the following:

a difficult process of construction work, thanks to which the flow of warm air will be directed in the right direction;
it is not recommended to place a lot of seedlings and plants on modern wide window sills, due to too much weight load, and if the window sill is too narrow, then there is too little space on it to accommodate a tray with seedlings;
cold from the window lowers the temperature in the window sill area.

The advantages include only the ease of arranging such a heating system and low cost, since chipboard or plywood can be found in almost any owner.

Considering second case, the following inconveniences can be noted:

closes a significant part of the window, which reduces the amount of light entering the room;
a small window sill will not be able to accommodate a lot of seedlings, and modern wide windowsills may not be able to withstand a large amount of seedlings;
is not a durable construction, since polyethylene foam is quite fragile.

The advantages include, as in the first case, the cheapness of materials and the ease of such a design.

We propose to consider such seedling heating method, which is more global, as it will provide a comfortable temperature for seedlings anywhere.

In order to warm the seedlings well on cool or even cold days, for the successful cultivation of seedlings, it is necessary to make a heater, its body can be made of tin. It is worth noting that if you plan to make a portable insulation, then you do not need to make it in large sizes, since in this case it will be difficult to lift or move it.

The walls of the case can be insulated with foam, for convenient transportation of the structure on the side walls, make handles for which it can be lifted.

The next question is the key one: how to heat seedlings? At this stage, we have a box made of tin, insulated with foam, but this is not enough to establish the desired temperature regime, for this there must be an additional heat source from the bottom of the box.

Everyone chooses for themselves the most acceptable and easily implemented method of heating: for example, hot water bottles can be a source of heat, or you can simply put a heater. We recommend the best option - a set of underfloor heating, with which the seedlings will be heated optimally, the heating process can be regulated.

A cut of the heating IR film is placed on the bottom of the designed tin box, connected to the film (on it you can set the exact temperature that you want to set for your plants, and the set temperature will be constantly maintained by the device).

Having considered all possible options for heating seedlings, we settled on the use of the "warm floor" system for several reasons:

the installed thermostat can be set to a certain temperature, which will be maintained at the desired level and, therefore, electricity will be used more economically;
the warm floor warms up the root system of seedlings well, which ensures its active growth, and the open part of the insulation provides not only the lighting necessary for the normal growth of seedlings, but also ventilation;
it is enough to turn on the thermostat and there will no longer be a need to worry about how the seedlings grow and whether the temperature is set to be comfortable enough for its growth;
during a period of time when there is no need to heat the seedlings, you can use the film for another purpose, for example, as a warm foot mat.

Seedlings that have received proper care and temperature conditions will give good shoots.

If you do not know how to make a heater for seedlings using a warm floor, call our managers, who will always give professional answers to all your questions.

Warm mats for heating seedlings

Also, if you do not have the necessary materials at hand, you can use a simpler and faster option for heating seedlings - warm mats. The versatility of this option lies in the possibility of using rugs not only for heating seedlings, but also for drying shoes, organizing a warm place for pets, for drying vegetables, fruits, etc.

Our highly qualified employees are ready to promptly provide you with answers to even the most unexpected questions related to the creation of special heaters for heating seedlings, the choice of optimal warm mats. Do you want to ensure good growth of your seedlings and a comfortable temperature? In our company you will be provided with the highest quality assistance!

It is known that during the growth of plants, temperature is one of the key conditions. Both the ambient temperature and the soil. The latter is perhaps even more so. If we discard the very extreme temperatures for plants, when it comes to survival, then some interesting dependencies become clear, for example. An increase in soil temperature at a depth of 40 cm to 32 degrees Celsius gives an increase in yield by 2 ... 2.5 times and a reduction in its ripening period by 30 days. The eggplant harvest, under the same conditions, grows 4 times. In general, an increase in soil temperature, relative to air by 3 ... 4 degrees, gives an increase in yield, for example, tomatoes, by 43% and reduces the ripening period by 9 days. And yet, it has been proven that an increase in soil temperature from 12 to 16 degrees Celsius increases the absorption of phosphorus oxide (P2O5) by plant roots by 100%, and this is plant nutrition.

Or in a test tube, as in a garden,
grow new food
and use instead of the usual
or with the usual outfit.

Mikhail Shcherbakov "Fontanka".

On the other hand, there are still plants, in principle, thermophilic, for which somewhat elevated temperatures are generally native and comfortable. For instance. Having decided to experiment with growing tobacco in the Perm region, he immediately ran into the problem of low soil temperature.

Tobacco with our short summer, you can grow only more or less early-ripening varieties and only through seedlings. Otherwise, even the lower leaves do not have time to ripen.

The optimum temperature for germination of tobacco seeds is from plus 23 to plus 28. Ideally, it is plus 25. Tobacco is a southern plant, so if the room temperature is from plus 18 to plus 22, then this can delay the emergence of seedlings for several weeks. And at temperatures from plus 10 to plus 15, they may not sprout at all (they simply rot). Moreover, it is desirable that the optimum temperature be combined with good lighting - tobacco seeds are extremely small and are not embedded in the soil - they are distributed over the surface and are slightly trampled.

So, the task was to provide plus 25 degrees and decent lighting in a small volume. It was decided to organize the heating of the soil, and place the box itself on the windowsill. In principle, it was possible to go in an alternative way - to place a box with seedlings in a warm place (for example, on a stove) and organize additional lighting with electric light.

A relatively compact, inexpensive, sealed heater of low power was required. Several designs of self-made sealed heaters exist among aquarists, in fact - quite similar conditions. The old design of a U-shaped glass tube with saline was rejected as not very reliable and dangerous, moreover, a design was required, unlike the prototype, working in a horizontal position. And here is another one - from a vitrified wire resistor filled with oil, seemed already closer. The heating element is especially good, indeed - a powerful PEV wire resistor - like a heater - a high resistivity wire wound on a round ceramic tubular frame, the winding is vitrified. Charm.

Aquarium colleagues also have options with resistors as fuel elements, covered with dry sand. Here it is quite good. Yes, the use of wire resistances as small heaters is known. There is such a practice, and not only among craftsmen who, in general, see a dozen “undocumented possibilities” and alternative applications in any subject on the move. I met an industrial building for a video camera of "external", street surveillance. In it, near the sight glass, a miniature heater was installed from a ceramic resistor, theirs, bourgeois. To prevent the formation of condensate inside the housing and fogging of the glass.

What was used in the work.

Tools.
A set of tools for radio installation, of course - a soldering iron with accessories. Construction hair dryer for working with thermotubes, squeezer for sealant. For the manufacture of the box, a carpentry tool, a screwdriver was used. Styrofoam, it is convenient to cut with a sharp construction knife, with disposable blades, like a clerical one. Better under the ruler, better metal.

Materials.
In addition to the resistors themselves, several suitable glass bottles, silicone sealant, sand, a tin container for calcining it, and a fine sieve were needed. The electrical cord is flexible and double insulated. A few heat pipes. Pieces of thin boards for the box, self-tapping screws, "Penoplex" 20 mm thick.

So, the selection of materials - having studied the assortment of the local radio store, I chose resistors with a power dissipation of 5 W, in a ceramic rectangular case. Offered a small, but the choice of denominations. As a body of the heater, I decided to use something at hand - a small pharmacy glass bottle fit perfectly.

Based on the available resistor values, I chose the heater power.
6200 + 3600 = 9800 Ohm - The resistance of a chain of two resistors.

I \u003d U / R \u003d 220/9800 \u003d 0.022 A - Current in the circuit.

P=U*I = 0.022*220 = 4.9 W - Power dissipated by two resistors.

U \u003d I * R \u003d 6200 * 0.022 \u003d 139 V - Voltage drop across the 6.2 kΩ resistor.

P \u003d U * I \u003d 139 * 0.022 \u003d 3.12 W - The power dissipated by the 6.2 kOhm resistor - fits into the allowable resistor (5 W) with a large margin, it makes no sense to count for a 3.6 kOhm resistor, and so it will be clear - it will be like cheese in butter to ride.

So, the heater power is about 5 watts. It was decided to make two pieces for more uniform heating. Make conclusions from a soft stranded "network" cord.

Of course, it was impossible to do without temperature control. Was involved. Temperature sensors, it is digital DS18V20, in a three-pin TO-92 package. The temperature sensor, in order to avoid local overheating of the soil due to limited heat transfer in it, was placed inside one of two identical heaters. In addition, this placement made it possible to avoid sealing a separate sensor. Structurally, the sensor in the heater housing is placed as far as possible from the heat-generating resistors. This allows you to get a small hysteresis.

Prepared and connected heat-generating resistors, after being placed in a glass bottle, are covered with pre-sifted and calcined sand. He fell asleep in small portions, tapping the bottom of the bottle on the table - for a more dense packing of sand. Not reaching 1.5 ... 2 cm to the top, fill the neck with silicone sealant and mold the protruding one with a soapy finger. Glass surfaces in contact with the sealant must be dry, preferably free of grease.

Silicone sealant, in this application, can probably be replaced with acrylic - it does not contain fungicides or silicone for aquariums. An alternative sealing option is epoxy adhesive.

During the curing of the sealant, the wires are laid approximately in the future working position.

Ready-made heaters, one of them with a temperature sensor.

The box for seedlings was thermally insulated - lined from the inside with thin construction foam (Penoplex 20mm). The heaters were distributed at the bottom of the box, the wires were bundled and fixed at the corner with a tin bracket. Self-tapping screw. In order not to pull out the heaters along with the seedlings at the height of the experiment, tripping over the wires.

The working days of an amateur vegetable grower come when frost is still fierce outside the window and snowstorms are sweeping. It is in these last days of the outgoing winter that the time comes to sow seeds and forcing seedlings, and summer residents begin to build a mini greenhouse on the windowsill, in which young plants will be warm and comfortable.

Whatever the design of the home greenhouse, it must meet certain requirements:

To create comfortable conditions for the cultivated crop, to provide it with the most favorable microclimate;
Be easily accessible for plant care: inspection, watering, loosening, etc.;
Look aesthetically pleasing, fit into the interior of the room as much as possible;
Have sufficient strength and reliability. Ideally, a greenhouse should be made with the expectation of repeated use.

It is also desirable that the "nurseries" for your plants do not obscure the room and do not create discomfort for those who are in it. Therefore, it is best to arrange in underused rooms.
But it can be difficult to do this in a small city apartment, so you either have to put up with temporary inconveniences, or design a greenhouse without being tied to a natural light source.

We will discuss the most popular and convenient designs below. Among them there are both finished products offered by well-known domestic and foreign manufacturers, as well as greenhouses that are easy to build with your own hands.

Home greenhouses

Anyone who has been engaged in gardening and home floriculture for a very long time remembers the times when for seedlings it was necessary to manually knock together wooden boxes and cover them with glass or plastic wrap. Bulky, heavy and uncomfortable, they also served for a very short time, as the tree quickly rots due to contact with wet ground.
Today, under mini greenhouses, you can adapt a variety of plastic containers or packaging - light, transparent and absolutely not affected by moisture, it is used with pleasure by those who like to plant a garden on the windowsill.
And for those who approach any business thoroughly, manufacturers offer ready-made designs of varying degrees of complexity - from simple containers with a translucent lid to automated devices that can independently maintain the specified growing conditions.

Homemade greenhouses

Home craftsmen make indoor greenhouses for seedlings from a variety of materials. Their size and design depend both on the type and number of plants grown, and on the area of the window sills, the capabilities of the master, the availability of tools and materials.
So:

The easiest and most affordable option is a transparent plastic container, as in the first photo. Soil is poured into a deep pan, and a high cover provides seedlings with comfortable conditions for quite a long time.

Attention!
This type of greenhouse has one drawback - water stagnates in them after watering. Therefore, it is necessary to make drainage holes in the bottom and place the containers on the pallet in such a way that excess moisture flows down freely.

Mini greenhouses made of plastic bottles are very diverse. For sowing seeds, the bottle is laid on its side and a folding lid is cut out from above.
And the grown plants are transplanted into the structure shown in the following picture.

Advice. Before assembling the structure, slightly unscrew the cap of the bottle to ensure that excess moisture drains into the pan.

To save space, which is quite a lot for the structures described above, you can build a rack with plexiglass shelves in the window opening. If you equip this impromptu showcase with a phytolamp and close it from the side of the room with a film or glass doors, seedlings can be grown in open boxes without covering each with an individual cap.
The rack equipped with lamps can be installed not only on the windowsill, but also in any other place, closing it on all sides with a translucent material and making the front part open.

When arranging mini greenhouses and shkolki for forcing seedlings on the windowsill, you need to remember that plants can suffer from direct sunlight, so it is advisable to equip the window with blinds located along the frame.
On the other hand, the lack of sunlight during the period of seedling growth makes it weak and painful, so a makeshift garden needs additional illumination up to 12-14 hours a day. It is best to use special phytolamps or fluorescent lamps for this purpose.
They can be placed close to plants as they do not heat up or cause leaf burns.

Note! Different crops at different periods of growth have their own requirements for the intensity and duration of lighting, which must be taken into account.

Ready greenhouses

So:

Among the simplest ready-made structures, you can find metal racks with a polyethylene cover, which are installed in any convenient place - on the windowsill (if it is wide enough), on the loggia, in a free corner of the room, etc.
The cover is removable, equipped with a zipper or Velcro in the front part for the convenience of caring for plants. The price of products depends on the size and number of tiers.

There are also smaller copies of ordinary garden greenhouses on sale, made of plexiglass, transparent plastic or a film stretched over a frame.
The simplest and cheapest products are mini greenhouses with transparent lids and cells for soil or. Unlike plastic containers, they are made of more durable and reliable materials, so they last longer without losing their original appearance.

When using such indoor plants, you should also take care of additional lighting and creating comfortable conditions for plants.

Automated devices

All home-made and ready-made greenhouses can provide plants with only a favorable temperature regime, and even then under certain external conditions. You have to deal with airing, watering, fertilizing seedlings, and arrange additional lighting for them yourself.
But today you can also purchase a mini greenhouse that performs all or part of these actions itself. Modern designs amaze with their abilities: some of them are equipped with automatic watering, equipped with phytolamps programmed to turn on at a certain time, and therefore free you from any effort and do not require constant attention.
The simplest greenhouses are a regular container with cells and a transparent cap, which has a built-in temperature sensor. It is connected to the electrical network and when the temperature drops, the soil is automatically heated.

Such devices must be equipped with ventilation valves, manually or automatically regulated. Plants in them need additional illumination and timely watering.
But the Growbox and Thermobox mini-greenhouses are fully automated closed systems that are equipped with everything necessary to create a favorable microclimate. They are good because they can be installed even in a cold and dark room - regardless of external factors, the system will automatically maintain the desired level of temperature, humidity and lighting inside.

For reference. With some knowledge, such a design can be assembled independently. Watch a video that shows how to make a grow box from a computer system unit case.

But perhaps the most “advanced” are AeroGarden desktop mini greenhouses, which use aeroponics as a nutrient medium. Plant roots are in a mist of fine droplets of nutrient solution, the composition of which is constantly monitored by an automatic system.
It also maintains the desired temperature and generally creates ideal conditions for plants.

Such devices are used not only for growing seedlings. They will allow you to have fresh greens, vegetables and berries on your table all year round (see).
And the device itself will not only not spoil, but also decorate the interior of any modern room. It is very easy to use, detailed instructions are attached to the greenhouse.

Conclusion

If in the past you managed to grow excellent seedlings or even get fresh vegetables in the winter in a city apartment, now it has become much easier to do this. The appearance of all kinds of devices and devices facilitates the work of vegetable growers and helps to create the most favorable conditions for their pets.
Mini-greenhouse, depending on the task, can be used for germinating seeds, and for obtaining your own seedlings, and for propagating indoor plants.

Soil heating as a stimulator of root formation in cuttings and seedlings.

You can request a price list by email: [email protected]

cuttings, as one of the methods of vegetative propagation of plants, allows you to grow your favorite plant at no special cost and in a relatively short time, if you are lucky enough to acquire its shoot. Plants obtained by cuttings already in the second, third year bear fruit. Cuttings of many woody plants root with difficulty, so it is necessary to maintain optimal rooting conditions: high humidity, lighting and a certain soil temperature (phytohormones are also often used, which increases the chances of successful rooting).

The use of heated soil accelerates the process of root formation (on average by 7-12 days), and increases the percentage of survival rate of cuttings.

If humidity and illumination are easy to maintain with the help of the means available to an ordinary gardener, then the situation with soil temperature is more complicated.

Heaters of our production, complete with thermostats, are perfect for this.

What is their advantage?

Heaters:

The heaters are ideally placed in standard seedling boxes (2 each) or in smaller boxes.

Temperature controllers:

Take a plastic box (for example, from mushrooms, or use a special box for seedlings);

Pour a small layer of soil into the box, 1-2 cm. This is for thermal insulation. You can put polyethylene on the bottom, you can not put anything. In this case, the power consumption will be a little more - and you will spend 3-5 rubles more on the whole process.

Put a heater on a layer of soil, bring the wires from it out: either through the top or through the holes in the box.

Pour a layer of soil (substrate) 3-10 cm thick over the heater. The thicker the soil layer, the less often watering.

Plant the cuttings of the required culture at a depth of 1-4 cm. Pre-treat the cuttings with phytohormones, leave the required number of internodes, shorten or completely cut the leaves. The list of these actions depends on the culture that needs to be cut.

Place the temperature sensor from the thermostat into the ground to the depth of the cutting (1-4 cm).

Close the box from above with foil, translucent material, etc. to maintain the required humidity.

Connect the thermostat, heaters to a step-down transformer 220\12V. IMPORTANT: Use only recommended transformers. NEVER plug heaters into a regular outlet or attempt to do so. STRICTLY FOLLOW the wiring diagram supplied with the heaters.

Set the desired temperature. Typically 25-27°C for citrus fruits; 21-23°C for shrubs; 18-21°C - conifers. Enable the assembled schema.

After a few (2-3) hours, depending on where and how the boxes are located, the soil will warm up to the set temperature and then the temperature will be maintained automatically. It is necessary to regularly check, by slightly lifting the film, the need for watering. When cuttings in the hot season, ventilation is necessary.

The whole set: heaters, thermostat, connecting terminals, the transformer is assembled without soldering irons and insulating tape, on special terminal connectors. From the tools you will need pliers (they are easy to open and close the terminals) and a narrow screwdriver, which will need to screw the wires from the temperature sensor to the thermostat.

The transformer and thermostat can be placed up to 40 meters away from the plant boxes. The whole circuit is easy to assemble and also easy to disassemble. A standard set of 10 heaters weighs 250 g, a thermostat 300 g. In winter, the set can be easily disassembled and taken home.

For growing seedlings repeat steps 1-9.

You can put pots with plants, pots with seedlings in boxes.

As a result, you will get healthy plants with a powerful horse system.

You can use heaters all year round:

In spring - for cuttings and growing seedlings;

In summer - for cuttings, drying mushrooms, vegetables and berries;

In beekeeping - for kindling honey and wax;

In animal husbandry - for keeping rabbits, birds, pigs ...

That is, by purchasing heaters, you get a universal tool for your work in the garden, at home and on the farm.

The heaters have been tested for efficiency in one of the largest greenhouses in the Kaluga region.

Germination temperature

No matter how different the advice on the composition of the land mixture, the depth of embedding or the expediency of pre-sowing soaking, there is one prerequisite for the germination of adenium seeds - this is temperature. It should be 30-35 0 C. At a lower temperature, the probability of seed rotting is very high.

There are heated greenhouses, but in Russia I did not come across such ones, although I was looking for them. If you live in a southern climate, natural temperatures will suffice in summer. The rest were less fortunate in this sense, but winter will equalize the sowing conditions for everyone. So adenium growers have come up with different ways to increase the temperature for any season.

So how do you get the right temperature?

1. CH batteries.
Salvation was found in what indoor plants usually suffer greatly - central heating batteries. For the first time, they may serve us well.

Organized elementary: take a greenhouse and put it on the battery.
Just keep in mind that overheating, as well as cold, can adversely affect germination. In order not to "cook" the seeds, the temperature must first be adjusted. To do this, you will need a thermometer, towels / books. It is not enough just to put a container of seeds on the battery, you need to monitor the temperature with a thermometer. Otherwise, everything may end in failure, because. "by eye" the correctness of the temperature can not be determined. For a person and +35 degrees warm and +40 warm, and for seeds - that's already a big difference.

Put the thermometer in the place where the greenhouse will stand, measure the temperature. It will almost certainly be above the required limit. Here, to regulate the temperature, we use towels / books, laying them on the battery. When the layer lowers the temperature to the desired one, put a greenhouse on it. Everything.

2. Towel dryer in the bathroom.
The advantage is that it is available all year round. The disadvantage is that there is absolutely no light, so do not delay the transfer of seedlings to a lighted place.
Otherwise, everything is the same as with CH batteries.

3. Incandescent lamp (LN).
For a long time it has been used in the household not only as a source of light, but also as a source of heat. For our purposes, a 40W lamp is suitable, it can be more, but then it is more difficult to “extinguish” excess heat, and electricity consumption is higher.
The disadvantage of using LN is round-the-clock lighting.
With the help of LN, you can organize the lower or upper heating, depending on which one is more convenient for you.

Consider both:

bottom heating : lamp below, greenhouse above.

Simple construction: put 2 supports on the table (from books, pots, etc.), identify a greenhouse on them. Between the supports, under the greenhouse is a lamp. The temperature is measured with a thermometer and is regulated by the height of the supports.

Please note that the lamp emits heat not only upwards, but also downwards. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the table surface from it, for example, using a ceramic plate / tray.

Complex design: involves the use of a ceramic pot. It is difficult to explain in words, it is easier to depict in a picture.

To regulate the temperature, you can also use books as a layer between the pot and the greenhouse. The advantage of the design: the surface on which the structure stands does not overheat.

Top heating: lamp above, greenhouse below.

The disadvantage of the upper heating is that the lower one is more effective - the heat is directed primarily to the seeds, and not to the crown of the seedlings. Plus - the lamp still gives light, although it is definitely not enough for full growth, but it's better than nothing. But the main thing is that, having replaced the LN with a CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) in one or two weeks, we can easily convert the greenhouse for seed germination into a greenhouse for growing seedlings (a small amount).

It makes no sense to list all possible design options, there are too many of them (someone even manages to hang greenhouses from lamps).

I will note only the most simple:

Desk lamp. There's not even anything to talk about - a greenhouse on the table, under the lamp, and that's it. And if you do it on a bright windowsill ...

Measure the temperature, if it is too high, put a lamp on all the same books. The lamp comes with a crocodile clip, then it can be re-hung.

Carrier and bucket. A greenhouse is placed at the bottom of the bucket. A rail (ruler, stick, etc.) is placed on top of the walls, to which a cartridge with a lamp is attached.

Instead of a bucket, you can use an aquarium or some other object as a support (box, box), the meaning of this will not change.

If you wish, you can use the designs of the upper and lower heating and build a combined greenhouse, suitable for both seed germination and seedling cultivation. The bottom line: at the bottom of the LN, at the top of the CFL, in the middle of the greenhouse.

4. Heated rug.