How to Make Heat Work for You
Taming heat in your greenhouse. Outdoor heaters are vital for anyone looking to grow into the colder months. Many plants require a specific temperature all year in order to survive. Without a greenhouse heater your plants will have little luck when the weather turns. Keeping your growing room at ideal conditions requires the right kind of greenhouse heater. Greenhouse heaters can use either gas or electricity depending upon your needs.

Posted Thursday, January 19, 2006

Outdoor heaters are vital for anyone looking to grow into the colder months. Many plants require a specific temperature all year in order to survive. Without a greenhouse heater your plants will have little luck when the weather turns. Keeping your growing room at ideal conditions requires the right kind of greenhouse heater. Greenhouse heaters can use either gas or electricity depending upon your needs.

Many growers prefer to use the Internet to browse for the heaters--there's a wide selection and competitive pricing. Stick with a recommended Internet vendor that offers lots of information. It's crucial to stay completely informed at every step no matter what you're trying to grow. As with all greenhouse supplies, it's best to stick with brand names--most plants are extremely sensitive to temperature and a generic brand may fail in maintaining its needs.

There are many accessories that go hand in hand with greenhouse heaters. Thermostats are a must-have; most growers need to keep their greenhouse kits at specific temperatures in order to see results. If you're trying to grow a rare type of plant with special needs, an adjustable thermostat with high sensitivity is definitely in order.

Heating cables can be a resourceful way to sprout stubborn seedlings. Plants tend to hatch better in warm soil but a space heater doesn't heat the soil to the indicated temperature quickly enough. For this reason, many growers use special heating cables to raise their soil temperature. Unlike most gardening equipment, which comes in great variety, there are very few types of cables to choose from. There are cheap ones, and then there are ones with thermostats that automatically regulate temperature--these are the best, and are still quite affordable. With a built-in thermostat the cables heat up every time the soil falls below optimum levels. Bottom-heating is used to maximize the potency of soil.

The right cables depend upon how much soil area you need to heat. Measure the area of the bottom part of the soil--multiply the length times the width. For areas of 1.5 square feet, a small six-foot cable should do fine--for three square feet, use a 12-foot cable. Anything over six square feet requires a cable at least 24 feet in length. They even make a four-foot long cable for heating soil bottom areas of 12 square feet. For anything greater than this, you'll probably want more than one cable, or try laying down several large heating mats.

Heating mats are a great resource for greenhouse gardeners. They are primarily used for soil and seedlings but shouldn’t be overlooked for smaller-sized plants. There are many options on the market for heat mats and heat mat accessories today. You can find heat mat thermostats to maintain proper temperatures and if you are using several mats you can find multi-outlet cords to keep wires tidy.

You need to consider how much area is heated by each product. A reliable vendor will share a chart showing how much area is heated by each of its products. This is vital information without which can spell disaster for your entire growing operation.