Soil Thermometer

12 years ago

Here is a little device that could save your season. I purchased one of these a couple years ago as I use heat mats for my seeds. I was worried that even with a thermostat, that I might "cook" my seedlings. You just stick a probe into the soil of one of your seedling containers and it will continuously display the soil temp. What makes it really useful is that it measures the soil where the seeds are, in the top half, not down at the bottom where the heat mat is. Plus it also keeps tracks of highs and lows and best of all, you can set an alarm for extreme temps. It has two probes and two readouts so you can keep track of the temps in two separate containers in two separate areas. They run on batteries which have lasted me for over two years now on the original set. Someone who uses heat mats without thermostats or someone who uses DVR receivers, radiators, TV's, etc... should definitely have one as you really don't know how hot/cold your seedlings really are. This could be the reason some people post every year that none or only a few seeds germinated or that they all died shortly after germinating. Well worth the $20 (on sale now).
http://thermoworks.com/products/alarm/rt8100mat.html?utm_source=Nl-2013Nov28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=RT8100MAT&utm_content=inbox&utm_campaign=Nov2013-Black-Friday-cs#Specifications

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Comments (6)

ka0ttic
12 years ago
Not bad for $20. Thanks Bruce.

Since I will be starting a bunch of seeds for the first time here shortly, what is the optimum temp range for pepper seeds? I wasn't planning on using heat mats but I will if I need to. I'll be starting them in a spare bedroom and I am in FL so I was hoping heating mats wouldn't be necessary. Ambient temp will prob be in the 65-75deg range plus I'll have the little bit of heat from the lights.
scorpion_john
12 years ago
KaOttic... alot of people do it without the mats. So they aren't a must, but if you can afford it i recommend you buy one. It will make things so much easier for you. John
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seysonn
12 years ago
About THERMOMETER, I have couple of them. One is digital the other analog . They both have probes of about 10". I bought them from grocery store's kitchen ware section: COST : ~$8.
The digital one can tell within a one tenth of degree accuracy. These are, of course, for kitchen use but you can use it to soil test, mat rest
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
Original Author
12 years ago
Most would agree that an optimum soil temp would be in the mid 80's. I set my mats at 83 and with the thermometers, I can see they stay between 80 and 85 consistently. But you probably don't need them. Room temp is fine but I grow my seeds in the basement where the temps are probably in the low to mid 60's typically in the winter when I start seeds.
Bruce
seysonn
12 years ago
I agree with Bruce. Room temperature is fine . It might just take a few days longer than the optimum temperature. It also depends on the seeds.Some seeds like eggplants need a higher temperature than say tomatoes , to germinate but they will also eventually germinate. I am testing some pepper seeds. They germinate in about in 7 days at room temperature. So I have decided not to buy heating mat and control system.
sjetski
12 years ago
Every so often i'll hunt for new "warm spots" in the home using a simple thermometer. Any spot that roughly maintains 78f~90f temps gets my thumbs up. Often it's near a ceiling, top of the fridge, furnace room, etc etc.

My Numex Bhut seeds like it really warm and take a long time to sprout, if it's not 85f+ then they take weeks to sprout. I've seen fresh annuum seeds sprout in 2 days outside in 93f weather, presoaked.

Once most seeds in a tray have sprouted, then it's the opposite, i look to place them in the coolest part of the home, my basement, and under lights. The cooler temps keeps their growth steady, and prevents them from getting leggy, that's in addition to decent lighting.

Steve

This post was edited by sjetski on Sun, Dec 1, 13 at 14:14