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Check out my proper whopper of a propa(gator)! ;)

Posted by on Wednesday 16 February 2011 in growing | 7 comments

Yesterday I got a bit over-excited on Twitter because my heated propagator arrived.

I’d been thinking about getting on for a while but Fiona, the Cottage Smallholder, gave me the final push at the weekend. I got one on eBay on Saturday for £19.99 + £3.95p&p – and was quite surprised how quickly it arrived.

I was also rather surprised at the size – I had chosen one that looked a bit bigger than standard because it didn’t cost that much more and I had a feeling I’d appreciate the extra space – but it turns out that 52cm by 42cm is really pretty big! Thankfully it fits quite neatly onto the shelf in our porch – and conveniently right next to an electric socket too. One of the reasons I was resisting was a worry about the running cost. The heating element in this one is 18W, which, if my calculations are correct, will cost us 3.4p a day to run – I imagine I’ll run it for a week or so at a time, for a few months so not too much overall.

This morning I filled it with its first batch of seeds to nurse – plugs of tomatoes, chillis & cucumbers. (I told myself that I wouldn’t use plugs this year because it means more work but apparently I’m not very good at sticking to my word. The pots are more tomatoes that I sowed the other day, before I’d done a u-turn on my no-plugs rule.) I’m looking forward to seeing them get started.

It was nice to be preparing the plugs in the greenhouse – the sun had been on it for a couple of hours so it was pleasantly warm. Carla-cat followed me inside and stretched out on the warm aluminium staging for the duration. While I was in there, I also started some broad beans in pots – the end of my bought packet & some saved seeds from last year. Possibly a little early but we’ll see.

Other posts you might like:

Experimenting in the garden: leeks & tomatoes Lettuce begin – the 2011 growing season is underway! Next year’s growing plans Lessons from our garden so far

7 Comments

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  1. Chiot's Run
    16 February, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    Very nice, can’t wait to see how it works for you. I have a big heating mat and just put flats on it, rotating new ones in as germination happens.

    Reply
  2. Shoestring
    16 February, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Ooh, I hope you get good results! Have you started on Mariana yet by the way? I only have three pages left and I am saving them for later!

    Reply
  3. louisa
    17 February, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Hi Chiot’s Run – I did look at getting a heating mat too for the extra flexibility but I just *know* I’d find all my pots pushed to one side and a cat asleep on there ;)

    Shoestring: Hi! No, I haven’t started on Mariana yet – I went to the library last week and getting through that stash is currently trumping my “read any time” pile – but it’s definitely next on my list after I’ve got through those. We’ll have to have a mini informal book club when I’m done :)

    Reply
  4. Su
    17 February, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    Since I have so little space, my heated propagator is tiny, about 6″ x 18″, so I have to be ruthless in my use of it. As soon as something germinates, out it comes and in goes something else. Works a treat though.

    Reply
  5. Albedo
    21 February, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    I can’t see a thermostat on your new propagator. If it doesn’t have one you must keep an eye on the temperature inside it or your poor plants will get very thirsty. Ours came with a separate controller which I was so impressed with that I got another one to use for my brewing! Love the blog, Louisa, your chatty style is easy to read and the pictures are good too.

    Reply
    • louisa
      21 February, 2011 at 3:36 pm

      Hi Albedo,

      Thanks for your comment – it’s just a cheapy one so it doesn’t have a thermostat. I’ve been keeping a close eye on it instead – but I guess there is a worry that I might not be so observant when the thrill of it wears off. What make/model is yours?

      Thanks also for the kind words about the blog :) I have lots of fun writing it and taking the photos too :)

      Reply
      • Albedo
        21 February, 2011 at 4:29 pm

        Hi, the controller is called BioGreen, the propagator is in the loft as our season hasn’t started yet. :-( As far as I can remember we got it from either Harrod Horticultural or Two Wests and Elliot.

        Reply

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