DoobieBrother
Well-Known Member
Test out how warm it gets your soil before relying on this method.Oh man. Grab a 75 watt regular old bulb, a clip on/ clamp on light fixture, and a small box. I'VE NEVER TRIED IT! But heard it works great. But you do know you can start seeds in an aerocloner, right?
I know soil rocks, but for starts/seeds, you can't beat it. Heat, moisture, air.
Put the seeds in a paper towel and into a zip lock back. Now duck tape it to your thigh. When it itches, those are the tap roots growing into your skin...jk
When I tried it with a 40watt incandescent bulb under a box half the size of a full-sized seed starter tray (the seed tray was also half-sized) and it was way too warm for good germing. The soil got up to 90f and while they did germinate, it was too hot for the little seedlings baby roots and they all perished.
I'm very happy with the seed starter mat and added thermostat plug-in.
Cost about $30 in a garden store for both of them.
Keeps the soil temperature to within 3-f of where you set it, if you make sure to put a doubled-up blanket between the heat mat and whatever you put it on so it's not fighting to stay warm.
The lightbulb-under-a-box method does work, just be careful about how warm your soil gets.