From

Location

Message

Date Posted

wilmington,ma.

Anyone have a thought about using roof type heating cables.for in the ground??

1/30/2005 10:01:12 PM

Rhode Island

soil heating cables are fairly cheap ( under $20.00 ) so why bother with the unknown when theres a product out there that was made to do the job right?

1/30/2005 11:02:01 PM

Ohio

its like why bother with unknown seed that only grows 500 pounders,instead grow a 1068 Wallace for world records that was made to do the job right.





Right pap?,LOL

1/30/2005 11:57:13 PM

White Bear Lake, Minnesota

where do you get enough soil heating cables for under $20.00?

1/31/2005 12:54:37 PM

C N Y

oh, i am sure they're on an "each" basis.
i've never tried them myself...maybe this year.....eric

1/31/2005 1:43:22 PM

C N Y

consider how much you might be spending on growing that
one pumpkin plant or however many---seems if you win something, the cost will be offset easily.

1/31/2005 1:44:20 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Roof heating cables are automatically controlled to heat when temps are below freezing. I do not think they would even work in soil unless the outside temp is cold.

1/31/2005 1:53:36 PM

wilmington,ma.

Thanks for the replys,someone mentioned it to me,you never know till you ask!

1/31/2005 4:46:24 PM

Eau Claire, WI

I gave up on heating cables years ago. The problem in the spring is not cold soil but cold air around the plants on cool nights. You can have heating cables all set on a thermostat to keep the soil at 70 degrees but if the air temp drops below freezing at night, the plants will not be protected.

Keep the air above the plants warm and the soil temp will take care of itself.

1/31/2005 5:54:06 PM

Honesdale, Pennsylvania

I tried heating cables last year. I discovered after the soil had heated up the mice or moles moved in to enjoy the warm soil. I ripped them out right away as I did not want the young roots being disturbed.

2/1/2005 7:15:55 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

soil heating cables can be bought from charley's greenhouse supplies $19.95 - $84.95 depending on length
or from Gurneys $22.45 for 12 feet $27.95 for 24 feet.

Glenn

http://gurneys.com/
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/

2/1/2005 8:16:28 AM

Phoenix, AZ

Make sure and use cables designed for soil. They have built in thermostats so they turn off above 71 F or so. You would just adjust this by how far the thermostat is from the rest of the heating cable. Since the cost was similar, I just went with a 48 FT.

2/1/2005 9:50:19 AM

Ontario

have used heating cables for 5 years now on all plants. for air temp use ceramic heater inside cold frame. i would not try another method this has worked for dueck and me for years.

drew

2/1/2005 10:57:42 AM

New Brunswick, Canada

In earlier years I've used heat tracing tape for soil warming but have found that soil warms just as deeply from the clear plastic on a mini greenhouse. The secret is having two sets of greenhouses and changing as the plant grows. The mini being no more than 2 feet tall and the second set about 4 or 5 feet tall. As in many greenhouses the north wall is insulated to reflect more heat while not affecting plant growth. My heating tapes were never more than a foot deep and clear plastic allows heat from the sun to travel that depth. But I still use my "surround heat" which consists of 3 100 watt light bulbs positioned around the plant and connected together to a standard wall thermostat. Each bulb is loosely enclosed, but not completely in a "tinfoil" pie plate making it act as a heater. I also throw a blanket over the mini greenhouse at nite, this helps to keep soil temperatures up while the plant itself is comfortable under the watchful eye of the thermostat. I've been using this set up for 13 years and see no reason to change.....Ken

2/2/2005 10:09:08 PM