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seeds Using a dehydrator for sprouting seedlings

MiLK_MaN

MiLK_MaN

Hello,

I plan on buying a dehydrator, and found something on ebay of interest. It claims the following:

THIS DEHYDRATOR HAS ENDLESS USES, FROM MAKING ROLLUPS, DRYING FRUIT AND VEGIES(EG.APRICOTS, PINEAPPLE, PEARS, CARROTS, CELERY, TOMATOES, ETC. ETC.), MAKING JERKY, DRYING FLOWERS (POT POURRI, BOUQUETS ETC.) NUTS, FISH, HERBS AND SPICES, SPROUTING SEEDLINGS AND THE LIST JUST GOES ON AND ON.
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The listing on ebay is http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=110241704916

The lowest temperature setting is 36 degrees centigrade, surely that would be too hot for sprouting seedlings?

Perhaps I need to invest in a heat mat since I already have a mini greenhouse that I usually put my coco peat pellets in to germinate.
 
But why would you grow seedlings inside a dehydrator? eBay sellers are stupid.
Get a heating mat. problem solved.
 
36 sounds kind of high...if you're just talking about germination you could just find random warm places around your house, the seeds don't need light until they sprout... also the paper towel method is really handy for this type of thing b/c a little baggy can have as many or as few seeds as you like in a tiny amount of space, then you just pop them into a pellet when you see a little root.
 
This is a quote from the fieryfoods forum...

During the winter of 1934-35, H.L. Cochran of the Georgia Experiment Station conducted a classic study of the effects of temperature and irrigation on the germination of bell pepper seed. Two flats of seeds were placed in each of five greenhouses which were kept at the following temperature ranges (degrees F.): 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, and 90 to 100. In each greenhouse, one of the flats was surface irrigated by a simple watering can, and the other was sub-irrigated by placing it in an inch of water in a large tank until the soil had taken up enough water to dampen the surface.

Both the percentage and speed of germination increased dramatically as the temperature increased. No seeds germinated at 40 to 50 degrees, and the percentage increased from 59 percent at 50 to 60 degrees to 74 percent at 90 to 100 degrees. The rate of seedling emergence also dropped from 30 days to 6 days at those same temperature ranges. Also interesting was the fact that seeds which did not germinate after 45 days at 40 to 50 degrees sprouted in 6 days when transferred to the 90 to 100 degree greenhouse.

The highest germination percentage occurred at 70 to 80 degrees (79.5 percent), and the quickest germination occurred at 90 to 100 degrees (6 days, 73 percent). Watering by sub-irrigation reduced the germination percentage at all temperatures, probably because that procedure reduced the soil temperature more than surface irrigation.

The inescapable conclusion from Cochran's experiment, and many subsequent ones, is that for optimum germination, pepper seed should be grown at 70 degrees or more and should be watered with warm water from the top

Whats funny about this quote is they don't address 80-90F.

I read a study that was performed by NMSU CPI and addressed optimum temperatures for a Anaheim type pepper...seems there was a drop off in germination percentage above 95F (35C), but the study said the optimum Temp for germination was 86F (30C)

Here is a link to a guideline for a lot of different veggie including peppers...

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/germination.html
 
Its a dehydrator It removes moisture and drys things I can see drying your seeds maybe but for sprouting I can testify that paper towel and a cable box works good. And the heat mat is best good luck
 
problem with this unit is that it has alot of air flow and this is good for drying but anything other than that I am not sure will get good results.
but hey ... what the hell do I know ..
try it and see what happens.
 
okie joe said:
Its a dehydrator It removes moisture and drys things I can see drying your seeds maybe but for sprouting I can testify that paper towel and a cable box works good. And the heat mat is best good luck
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yeah what okie joe said i have a dehydrator and while it is great for drying chile's the whole point is removing the moisture from the objects placed in it while I am a newbie to growing chile's i have used my dehydrator for many things and have read it may help dry seeds for future germination i cant see it used for seed starting while i am new isnt moisture needed (not a ton of it but) to help seeds start? a dehydrator defeats that purpose right??
 
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