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Propagator for outdoors in snowy conditions?

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  • #1

    Propagator for outdoors in snowy conditions?

    Hi,

    I am wondering if any of you have any advice for someone who would like to start a whole load of veggies from seed next season, starting in the winter, and preferably outdoors, as I don't have a lot of indoors space. To compound the difficulty, I live in a ski resort, where it can be very cold in the winter. Conversely, it can also get very hot in the sun - and the sun shines a lot. Think, people sunbathing in bikinis but when the sun goes behind a cloud, they don thermals and down jackets

    I have outdoors power, so is there such a thing as an electrically heated outdoor propagator?

    The one room I can use has very little natural light, so maybe there is a solution there, and I rig up some sort of light above the propagator? Outdoors would be preferable if possible, though.

    In April, I move to Spain for late spring to autumn, and I plan to take the things I've started with me. I'm specifically thinking chilli plants, tomatoes, courgettes, beans etc as well as some flowering plants to attract the pollinators; marigolds, dahlias, calendula etc

    Any advice? Thanks!
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  • #2
    All I can half suggest is that you get a shelf area constructed then have built on that some form of cover from clear perspex stuff and then put a heated propogator inside that.

    One of those situations where I can visualise what I mean as I already have a shelf and intend to construct similar but with unheated propogators to get a few items going early.

    Maybe think of the outer as a big propogator, small green house or elevated cold frame. But constructed on an external wooden shelf - try 2 lengths of decking side by side, easy to find.

    One concern will be the electricity and the external aspect. Moisture+electricity+people don't tend to mix well, and the person comes off worst.

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    • #3
      Not something i would personaly do,one year i had my electric prop in the shed,near the window,the bother was,as the air is cold in there,it extracted the heat away from the prop,so a waste of time and lecy,am sure you will find a place,like on the floor,under a table,on top of table,even if you use an extention,thinking cap on time,after all,it's manely only until germination.
      sigpicAnother nutter ,wife,mother, nan and nanan,love my growing places,seed collection and sharing,also one of these

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      • #4
        Yeah, I have an external power supply, but I'm thinking the volume of snow we can potentially get, it's not a good idea. I live in a small apartment in the winter, so space is tight (and two adult and one puppy Lab means that anything on the floor would be destroyed in a nanosecond ), but I'm sure I can find somewhere

        Thanks

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        • #5
          Can you access lots of fresh dung/manure?

          Build a hot box (minimum 1Mtr sq). with a glass top (old window frames) and make it draft proof. Fill with fresh manure about 800cm and place your seed trays on top of it each covered with individual plastic bags at first, and the glass top too. The composting bacteria creates enough heat for about 6 weeks to get seeds started, you can renew the manure after that for another hot period. The used manure just goes on the garden as mulch etc. there are no running costs, it functions 24 hours a day, takes a little effort to set up. Can work inside a greenhouse too. Just monitor the compost heat and be ready to renew the manure if the temp falls several days in a row. there are several youttob videos of people doing this and it was a victorian gardeners way of getting out of season fruit and veg for the kitchen gardens in big houses.

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