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Post by Tel on Feb 14, 2014 20:07:25 GMT
They are nice Marky.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2014 11:11:32 GMT
Yes they're nice looking flowers, only hope I can do them justice. At the moment they're sitting on the heated bench while I wait impatiently watching  . I think I might of over engineered my propagator bench, or the fact that the tubers are in polystyrene boxes, as I'm only getting about 15c when the thermostat is set at 22c. Think I might take them out and put them in mushroom trays.. |
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Post by Tel on Feb 15, 2014 15:07:34 GMT
I have lost 6 cuttings, so turned the temperature down a little.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2014 17:59:30 GMT
Tel, I think I will take my tubers are out of the polystyrene boxes, as they're stopping the heat getting to through. Are yours on a heated bench, I can't quite make out from your greenhouse pictures. Made mine out of OSB board, 25mm insulation board, 5cm sharp sand, heating cable, with another 5cm of sharp sand on top. But on the forum, I've seen it done with plastic trays, which I wished I'd seen first, as that would have been a lot easier to do  . |
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Post by Tel on Feb 15, 2014 19:01:41 GMT
Mine are on a heat mat, covered with polythene, I put the polythene on then I do not have to bother rolling it up when I have finished with cuttings. The heat mat is 16 years old now, but still working ok.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2014 19:30:53 GMT
That's what I call value for money Tel. Don't suppose mine will last that long. When you put your tubers on to heat, do you do anything to them first, eg washing/rinsing/soaking. The reason I ask is because my stored tubers I've put on still look a bit dusty from the sulphur powder
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Post by snute2008 on Feb 16, 2014 0:11:03 GMT
Tel, I think I will take my tubers are out of the polystyrene boxes, as they're stopping the heat getting to through. Are yours on a heated bench, I can't quite make out from your greenhouse pictures. Made mine out of OSB board, 25mm insulation board, 5cm sharp sand, heating cable, with another 5cm of sharp sand on top. But on the forum, I've seen it done with plastic trays, which I wished I'd seen first, as that would have been a lot easier to do . I am interested to see you used Sharp Sand - I have silver sand in mine wonder if it makes any difference. I am getting about 20oC on the compost when the thermostat is set to 22oc so maybe that is fine. Tubers do seem to be taking a while though or it might just be me being impatient. |
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Post by Tel on Feb 16, 2014 6:55:57 GMT
That's what I call value for money Tel. Don't suppose mine will last that long. When you put your tubers on to heat, do you do anything to them first, eg washing/rinsing/soaking. The reason I ask is because my stored tubers I've put on still look a bit dusty from the sulphur powder I don't do any washing or anything like that. They will be ok with the sulphur powder. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 10:31:12 GMT
Tel, I think I will take my tubers are out of the polystyrene boxes, as they're stopping the heat getting to through. Are yours on a heated bench, I can't quite make out from your greenhouse pictures. Made mine out of OSB board, 25mm insulation board, 5cm sharp sand, heating cable, with another 5cm of sharp sand on top. But on the forum, I've seen it done with plastic trays, which I wished I'd seen first, as that would have been a lot easier to do . I am interested to see you used Sharp Sand - I have silver sand in mine wonder if it makes any difference. I am getting about 20oC on the compost when the thermostat is set to 22oc so maybe that is fine. Tubers do seem to be taking a while though or it might just be me being impatient. snute2008, when I was doing the research into building the bench, they all said, either horticutraul sharp sand or just sharp sand. Building and silver sand was not to be used as it did not conduct the heat as well as sharp. This was because they were to fine, but the silver seems to work just fine for you. I'm spending today taking the tubers out of the polystyrene boxes and into mushroom trays, as I think they're blocking the heat out. I will let you know if it works |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 10:39:56 GMT
That's what I call value for money Tel. Don't suppose mine will last that long. When you put your tubers on to heat, do you do anything to them first, eg washing/rinsing/soaking. The reason I ask is because my stored tubers I've put on still look a bit dusty from the sulphur powder I don't do any washing or anything like that. They will be ok with the sulphur powder. That's great, thanks Tel. Jill suggested that I put classical music on the radio to wake them up gently. Not very horticultural I know, but it's worth a try, mind, I can't stand classical music I'll leave it on when I'm out of the greenhouse.  |
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Post by Cherry on Feb 16, 2014 11:02:20 GMT
@markymate I am sure you will like some classical music. Don't dismiss it all. I like all sorts except rap and I am not too fond of jazz.
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Post by scrumpy on Feb 16, 2014 13:11:29 GMT
It has been scientifically proven that heavy rock music is best for plant growth. Classical music is a no no i'm afraid as it sends them to sleep. link |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 15:16:50 GMT
It has been scientifically proven that heavy rock music is best for plant growth. Classical music is a no no i'm afraid as it sends them to sleep. linkLOL. I know how they feel, it does the same to me.. Not to keen on heavy metal but a bit partial to a bit of Slade( just showing my age I'm afraid ). Sorry Cherry, about the classical music, but I do love Dahlias though!! Had a lovely day in the greenhouse, lots of sunshine. Put another 18 tubers on the heat, and although I was going to move some tubers out of the polystyrene boxes, after checking, they are all shooting roots, so I'll leave them where they are. Hope everybody's enjoying the sunshine today, makes a lovely change. Greenhouse got to 30'C, so they'll all nice and toastie
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 15:55:56 GMT
Tel, I think I will take my tubers are out of the polystyrene boxes, as they're stopping the heat getting to through. Are yours on a heated bench, I can't quite make out from your greenhouse pictures. Made mine out of OSB board, 25mm insulation board, 5cm sharp sand, heating cable, with another 5cm of sharp sand on top. But on the forum, I've seen it done with plastic trays, which I wished I'd seen first, as that would have been a lot easier to do . I am interested to see you used Sharp Sand - I have silver sand in mine wonder if it makes any difference. I am getting about 20oC on the compost when the thermostat is set to 22oc so maybe that is fine. Tubers do seem to be taking a while though or it might just be me being impatient. Normal sharp sand is fine on a heated bench as long as it is kept damp, this in turn helps conduct heat better. It may involve during warm spells resoaking it as it soon dries out. Silver sand and horticultural sand tend to be a bit pricey !! My trays of tubers are showing a soil temp of 20 - 25 degrees which is spot on. The temp of struck cuttings should only be 15 - 17 degrees at soil level, any more and they will fry or damp off. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 16:47:14 GMT
That's what all the research was saying, sharp sand conducts the hear well and is cheap. I keep it quite damp, but as I've said before, I think the fact they're in polystyrene boxes, is actually keeping the heat out. Still, you only learn through failure  . My next batch that went on today were put into mushroom trays, so I should be able to see the difference in timings. Is your bench made with the plastic tray method I've seen on this forum? |
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. I think I might of over engineered my propagator bench, or the fact that the tubers are in polystyrene boxes, as I'm only getting about 15c when the thermostat is set at 22c. Think I might take them out and put them in mushroom trays..
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Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT