"~misfit~" writes:

If I can't afford to heat my living space there's no way I can afford to
keep my tomato plant cosy and warm - even if it's in a very small space
(about 3' by 2' and 6' tall - but uninsulated). However after all the
trouble I've gone to I night try to heat the space to ~18º C for four or
five hours a day - *if* I can devise a small heat source for the job. (I
have a spare thermostat http://www.dx.com/p/234991 I just need a ~200w
small-footprint heater but for the life of me can't think of something I can
re-purpose for the job. It's not as if I can afford to buy anything more for
this experiment.

Consider one of those red/infra-red heat/flood lamps used to keep baby
chicks warm. I think they're 150W or 200W. One should heat that
small a space well enough that you'd need your thermostat to turn it
off occasionally. I suppose if you're way south on South Island and
your space has an outside wall below 0C, it might not be enough but if the
surrounding walls are somewhere around 5C and up, it should be enough.

You can just put it facing downward in a hanging socket, a foot or
more from the plants themselves. You can experiment with surfaces
that will absorb the IR and then warm the air by conduction --
black-painted chip board or sheet metal, maybe.

Anyway, maybe a bit off-topic for this forum but I thought I'd share. Wish
me luck!

Luck!

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada