Starting Growing - Tomatoes etc

[Mr Gus]

George, have you not wrapped your propogation unit with off-cuts of insulation then?
These days more than ever it should be deemed a necessity not a frippery.

[richbee]

Will check them out, thanks richbee.

And here we go...

https://www.homefortheharvest.com/sungold-tomato/

I didn't realise there was a range of 'sun' tomatoes
"The SunGold Tomato was bred by the Tokita Seed Company in Japan (founded in 1917 by Mr. Taisuke Tokita). The SunGold is the most popular cultivar from the company’s “Sun Series” of cherry tomatoes. Other cherry tomatoes in Tokita’s SunSeries include SunLemon, SunPeach, SunChocolate, and SunGreen."

[Mr Gus]

Absolutely, the chocolate one!? ..screwed with my head. (this thread prompted my grey matter back to the seeds sown in the late 80's)

It just looks wrong (those brown hues) alongside red & yellow cherry tomato types,

[ecogeorge]

and already they are sprouting......
George

[ecogeorge]

George, have you not wrapped your propogation unit with off-cuts of insulation then?
These days more than ever it should be deemed a necessity not a frippery.

Thanks for the idea , will look for a box and insulation off cuts to lag propagator.
George

[Mr Gus]

Just to labour the point of insulation.
When I was a kid I used to grow venus fly traps, it was a cold house, single glazing, late victorian.

A simple clear plastic bag was a good enough addition to successfully flower the slow growing buggers, they rapidly accelerated as soon as it was used.
warmer air from the natural decay & activity within the plant pot. greenhouse effect on the sill, less draughts.
As a teen our mister planter was wood, with sand & polystyrene insulation layers. it worked well, on the roller benches we utilised fleece matting for both heating & cooling purposes via soaking & white reflectivity, far less water wastage & warm to the touch regardless of the weather.

It looks like a small stewarts & lloyd plastic covered unit?? ..just stick some layers of corrugated card under / around it for now & maybe bag it before sticking the seed tray back in place.

My preference is skip diving for PIR offcuts but that isn't as likely to be to hand as cardboard boxes you can cut uniform packer strips under & around the side.

[Paul_F]

Had a fridge with a heater panel + temperature control already (for making homebrew beer), so added a cheap 30W LED light and it's currently got Peppers (both types), Aubergines and Tomatoes in it.

[Krill]

Had a fridge with a heater panel + temperature control already (for making homebrew beer), so added a cheap 30W LED light and it's currently got Peppers (both types), Aubergines and Tomatoes in it.

Do you have a link to the adapted fridge? Might be something I can have a go at...

[Mr Gus]

Krill.
Redundant Fridges & freezers are often used as brew chambers incorporating a simple heat mat / heat belt through to an "inkbird" branded device with a plug socket & sensor for a small metal tube heater (mountable)

They are also useful for cold smoking foodstuffs in a more regulated manner., so plenty of fridge projects on the net, some paying more heed to where to cut & drill through (if necessary) so no surprise to see a seedling chamber uv optimised to seedlings / sprouting stuff.

Safer than a bulb holder & led screw in bulb cut through styrene foam wall box cooler (which is also an option on a smaller scale) but budget/ space / needs.

Nb if you use a small cooler, save the insulation "plug" you cut out, plan to make it resealble so it can still be used for the original purpose ..my big coleman coolers are well insulated all round except for the drinks holders which are nigh on the same diameter as a typical peanut butter type jsolid plastic jar lid, use 2, fill with foam & seal form a tight but removable bung with improved insulation to that previous area of crap thermal loss (seen by shining an led torch through)

Scale dependent I can fit a heat mat (small pet type) for several seedling trays & connect a gro-bulb to it (angled from inside) ..not as posh as the lovely fridge but low tech useable ..& use it out of season as a seat, for ice pack cooled schmutter or for my sous vide (bleach or isoprop medical grade to clean with & air.dry)

Optionally, nscrew & remove the lid on a decent ber cooler (gently, screws set within foam & plastic) drop in IP rated heat mat & a layer of something to stop any greenhouse sharp material abrasion exposing wiring within, place your seedlings in & spray mist as required, use a sturdy light stopping top sheet through which you connect your led,power cables organised accordingly. (safely) ...eg adhesive hook & loop material.

fyi. I have a large coleman "xtreme" cooler (48 litres i think) & a smaller unit from the council tip also coleman depending on what you grow, how much & how often visit a multi purpose garden centre & grab a new seed tray for context as to putting kit together on the cheap, dedicated seedling chambers can up the ante just be aware of hardening off (don't extreme shock them once out of a chamber)

[Krill]

Thanks, really appreciate that. I have a family member throwing out what used to be a usable fridge but think it might be knackered now, but very suitable for seed propagating.