Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi, and a happy new year to all!
My daughter bought me a 7 tray leccy propagator for xmas. I use normal seed trays but this will help me start peppers,toms and chillies earlier. my question is---- Do I put water in the tray, or buy some matting and water that or some gravel?

Depends on the design I would have thought ,mine you can put water in the bottom check the bottom tray out if there are no screws or holes in it if the cable is not going through it then I think it should be ok , if you get stuck read the instructions something I very rarely do haha

I usually put capillary matting, under the seed containers, in mine - and keep it just damp.

My only advice regarding these propagators is Be very quick to catch the seedlings once they germinate. They can grow more quickly than you would imagine with some heat underneath and grow too leggy almost overnight. I had a large one with heated water underneath and everything I tried to germinate in it grew too quickly. I gave up using it after a year.

However, thanks for the reminder about an early start for growing peppers. Before too long I'll have to start mine off on my windowsill! I no longer bother with the propagator..

I used to have a propagator and always sat the seed trays and pots on a layer of damp sand. The reason I no longer use it is that it brought the seedlings on very quickly (see Primrose's comments above!) and there was not enough light for them to grow sturdily in January/February. Now I wait until it is later in the year, slightly heat the greenhouse with an oil filled electric tube and make jolly sure that the seedlings get all the available light. The plants always catch up.

Beware of damping off if too much moisture is the only thing I would add, I wet the compost then put in the propagator with it switched on for a day, then sow seeds. Only if the top of the compost is dry do I add any water, works for me.

I've never come across putting water in a propagator. Mine is home made with soil warming cables in damp sand. Like tigerburnie I sow in pre-heated damp compost and then mist to keep the surface moist. I use artificial light for my early seedlings.

I went a bit mad & bought an all singing, all dancing huge propagator with my Xmas money. It has proper grow lights with the right colour spectrum & temperature adjustment etc. (Not as expensive as anticipated as found a discount code on one of the review sites that was accepted when I popped it in at the checkout & that was 2yrs old). It should be in use but compost has only just been delivered but there will be no water & cables are encased. I learnt to adjust the non-temperature controlled one I inherited from the neighbour to suit, although did get a bit of damping off one year & I'm sure I'll adjust to this one as well. It will have it's faults as well I'm sure! I will feed back when Mr Westi takes the bags of compost upstairs to the back room so I can get started!