Shower curtains sounds like something worth pursuing. And I'll look at heat lamps. Thanks.

I was thinking of mylar sheets ... shower curtains ...

=====

you are way over thinking this ... i used dollar store plastic paint tarps ... almost as thin as saran wrap ....

also ... use some lumber to make a smaller area ... couple 2 x 4s ... and some 2 x 2s ... etc ... dont try to heat the whole basement ...

you might want to use a heavier product for the one side.. where you would have to open it.. to work in there ...

do keep in mind.. some air movement is requisite ... so its not all that important to seal it hermetically ....

also ... common lights give off heat.. so once you enclose it.. you can add some lights just for that purpose ...

fluorescent light fixtures also give off heat ... i think its the transformer part ...

i used to get a lot of my gardening supplies at the dollar store.. lol ... especially large garden knives .... aluminum foils trays for rooting... etc ...

ken

Hi Ken, for the shower curtains, I (and maybe Paul) were just thinking of hanging them around the plant table, not the whole room. We don't even have rooms in our basement, it's just a big room. :) I was also thinking at least one shorter side would probably need to be open. I've read how hot those grow tents get.

Plastic paint tarps sounds like a good option too. Thanks for the help.

My basement is only a tad warmer (55-60) and I've grown coleus from seed without issue. Put them near the plants with heat mats and they should be fine.

tj

I have a light setup on a table in my cool basement and I have mylar sheets draped over them. I got them very cheap on Amazon. It doesn't raise the temperature by much but it keeps out cold drafts. However when I have the heating mats in there the temperature does go up more. I have discovered one thing though--cuttings root better on a heating mat in a cool basement. Once they show signs of growth I remove them from the mat

dowlinggram, I was thinking I was the only one who did this, and I was beginning to see why. I've been going back and forth and back in my mind all day on this. At one point I was thinking of scrapping the table, or putting shelves on the table, which might actually be good. Stacking things would provide warmth. I just can't afford all new shelves that are new. I can have my wife attack the used stuff. At this point, I don't know if I'd want to do anything more than the mylar draped over. After thinking about it, flipping up a mylar sheet might be easier than navigating inside a shower curtain or paint tarp, as light as that may be, even if it could be rolled up or held open somehow.

tsuga, for the first time this year, which has been the coldest ever, I've got some very stunted growth without much color at all for cuttings (which were previously rooted in warmer temps). I was reading an excellent paper on growing Coleuses in greenhouses and they were saying that things get difficult much below 60 degrees, as I remember. Who knows though, it could be something else. Temp is only one factor.

I think for now I might just get another heating mat and inexpensive LED light, and then procrastinate until the fall. :) I have some things to think about. Thanks.

If you keep plants on the heating mat it will burn the roots. I found a good deal on a 24x48 heating mat on Amazon. I do keep it on for warmth but I invert some trays that I have that are all holes at the bottom and set my plant trays on them. That way the heat can get to them but not enough to burn the roots. You are right the mylar is very easy to lift aside to get at the plants. I have 2 sheets on mine and clothes pinned at the light ends to hold them together. When I want to tend my plants I push each one towards the ends of the lights and that gives me good access. It does rip easy though so I'm careful when I move them. I bought 10 packages of mylar on Amazon for less than $10. The sheets only last for about 1 year. The second year they are held together with tape or I change them

dowling, I do the same as far as inverting trays and putting Coleus seedlings above that on the mat, partly to get them closer to the light relative to larger plants. I've never burned roots, but my basement is cold and my ancient heating mat came with a wire frame to hold plants above it for when it isn't so cold.

Do you happen to have links for the mat and mylar? Don't go to any trouble. Who knows if they're still there now.

thinking outside the box ...

get a large box.. say from a dishwasher .... and set it up on the table .. or beside the table .... use 3 sides ... cover open side with poly ... etc ...

perhaps part of the problem is that you are trying to turn a work area.. into a green or hot house.. when it might be simpler to bifurcate the processes ...

e..g. you like to work at the table .... understandable....

but why does the growing chamber have to be on the table ...

ken

i use search engine 'images' .... when i am brain storming .... see if anything triggers some new ideas at the link .. ken

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1&tbm=isch&q=basement+growing+chamber&chips=q:basement+growing+chamber,online_chips:homemade&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsz-rJ_q_ZAhVOhq0KHRmJCUgQ4lYIKCgC&biw=868&bih=716&dpr=0.9

Ken, about a day after I wrote this original post I was starting to think the same thing. The setup slowly evolved over time, but has now become a little difficult. The table is a large wood antique, so we'd be using up even more room in a crowded basement to store it if switching to shelves, but like you may have written, maybe something on top of the table to make another level.

I'm not sure what you mean by "use 3 sides ... cover open side with poly". I'm having a hard time picturing it.

Thanks for the images. Why didn't I think of that?

I bought both the mat and mylar from Amazon on line 3 years ago but I don't know if those particular ones are still available. Knowing Amazon though they probably have something similar and if you sift through what's there you might find a deal or check other places. Before I saw the larger mat I didn't realize that they made them in that size

Ken I use a table because that's what I had available and it works for me. My table is 30 x 50 My lights are suspended from the floor joists above. I have 2 larger shop lights with fins. There is an inch between them so the light covers just about the whole table top. It's easy and convenient to tend my plants from each side and I can raise and lower each light separately as needed. The mylar also reflects the light between the fixtures so I can use the whole table top for plants. It does just fine for me until I open my greenhouse and it's cheaper than running a heater for the greenhouse when outside temperatures are too cold.

dowling, nearly identical setup for me. I want to get another heating mat--not sure what size--and use something like the mylar. Then I'll be thinking about this whole thing over the next few months.

Thanks for all of the ideas.

Did you put a thermometer under the lights next to the plants to see if it really is too cold for them?

Deanna

Yeah, but not until after I wrote the original post. It's just under 60 degrees where the lights are highest, during the time the lights are on, which is a bit warmer than I thought. I'm not sure about at night, but it's at least 5 degrees colder. I'm pretty convinced that coleuses grow better above 60. But good question.

JeffO--- if you do get a heating mat you might want to think about getting something under it to reflect the heat upward and not have it absorbed by the table. I bought one of those windshield reflectors. The kind you use to reflect the sun from heating your car. It was cheap and fits perfectly under my mat. I use it with the shiny side up or you could cover cardboard or styrofoam packing with tin foil. It will give you more heat than using the mat alone

I never thought of that. Thanks. Even if I need to raise the seedlings up off the mat, it would still provide more general heat on the table. I was thinking of doing that under the larger plants to reflect light up under the leaves, but didn't know if it would make any difference. Anyone have an opinion on that?