"Springtime" wrote in message
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I have recently bought a Sankey electric propagator & I have noticed that
the heat generated is much higher than my other propagators.
In my heated greenhouse which runs at approximately 62F the soil
temperature
in the Sankey can rise to nearly 95F.
This compared with my large Parasene propagator of 80F which is about the
same as two other small cheap propagators.
It is noticeable that the seeds germinate quicker in the Sankey but they
also look more leggy that the others.


What is the ideal temperature for a propagator.

SH


That would depend on what you're growing, but it appears a soil
temperature range of 65F to 80F is considered adequate for most
purposes. And there are plenty of seeds which would germinate in
an unheated propagator where the ambient temperature was already
62F. And others where even 62F would be too high.

The fact that the ambient temperature is already 62F may account for
the difference in the performance of the different makes. Possibly
Sankey design their propagators to reach an optimum temperature
in an unheated situation, however defined, whereas Parasene don't

If you raise the overheating Sankey off of the bench this may
dissipate some of the heat. Or run it on simple timeswitch.

But all other things being equal, 95F not only seems far too
high but a waste of electricity.


michael adams

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