Keep Your Seedlings Warm With A Holiday Light Heated Low Tunnel

Don’t put away your holiday lights away just yet!

Launch Gallery

In my never - cease quest to come up with right ways to amend my source starting success , I again take advantage of resource or tools available during a finical time of year . In this pillowcase , I am revisit using repurposed holiday light as a cagy mode to keep seedling and graft warm . In preceding labor , I work up a holiday rope light poweredheat mat , and used vacation light bulbs to wake the interior of acold frame . In this undertaking , I abuse further outside , crank it up a notch with more luminousness , and combine the project with an subsist humiliated tunnel . A great advantage of this project is that it can be customized to your specific need and useable blank space . In this case , it was plan to accommodate two 10″ x 20″ seed trays with extra room for wiring . The results , as you will see , are quite awesome .

What I Used :

Supplies• 1 – 16 - 18′ length ( approx . ) of heavy gauge oxen fencing wire ( 4″ mesh)• 16 - 18′ length ( approx . ) of hoar cloth• 2 – 1″ x 8″ x 6′ wood boards• 2 – 10 count C9 incandescent light bulb strings• 1 – 25 count C9 incandescent light bulb strings• 1 – 200 count mini string lights• 1 – 1″ x 2″ x 8′ hardwood wood furring strip• 1 Box – T50 3/8″ Arrow galvanized steel staples• 12 – # 6 x 1 1/2″ wood screwsTools• Bolt cutter or heavy duty conducting wire cutters• Circular saw• Drill and exercise bits• Pencil and magnetic tape measure• Square ( fast plastic type)• Staple and nail gun ( I love my Arrow Powershot)• 6′ General purpose 16/2 extension cord , with 3 outlets• overweight calibre lengthiness cord• On - off toggle switch• Outdoor thermometer ( with wireless remote control )

Low Tunnel Construction :

To make the depleted tunnel , I already had some laborious gauge cattle fence wire ( 4″ mesh ) that I made into two cylinders about 4′ tall and 2 1/2′ in diam . This is the method acting some of us have used to cage in gravid tomato plants . I just cut the cylinders in half lengthways , give me four mesh ‘ tunnels ’ that sat about 2 1/2′ high-pitched . I poke the sides of the tunnel wiring into the ground to secure it . I then overcompensate the burrow wiring with the frost textile ( PHOTO A).TIP : I slue old metallic element clothes hangers into 10 - 12″ lengths and bent them to make the pins that secured the cloth to the solid ground ( no need to buy any ) .

Lighted Wood Base building :

1 . I placed the two 1″ x 8″ x 6′ wood boards together lengthwise and measured the full breadth of both pieces . Using this mensuration , I cut three distance of the 1″ x 2″ wood furring strip strip . I then jazz the furring strip patch to the boards using 1 1/2″ wood screws ( PHOTO B).Again , I want to refer that this lighted bodily structure is designed around holding two received 10″ x 20″ seeded player trays , with an supernumerary area left over for holding special wiring . So I space the furring strip strips on the instrument panel with those measurements in nous .

2 . I hire the two 10 - count lengths of C9 light and place them around the margin of the board ( one length per side in this case ) . I could then figure out how many bulbs to have on each of the four side , and space them accordingly . Using the metallic element staple fibre , I anchored the wiring to the edge of the boards , about an inch from the international edge ( PHOTO C).Note : before you cast anchor your promiscuous strings down , have in judgement how you design to get in touch the length of the wanton strings together , as well as where on the dining table you will be link up the main extension cord going to the house .

3 . With one length of lights on the gameboard , it already looks moderately cool with the lights on ( PHOTO D ) . I know what you ’re intend … have bulbs around the circumference wo n’t really heat up the soil that ’s in the cells of the seed flats the way a standard heat mat would . Got ya covered ! That ’s where the smaller mini twine lights come in . I stapled these down in the privileged arena , creating four “ lines ” of warmth ( PHOTO E ) .

4 . I want to test the warming electrical capacity at this point to see if I needed to add any more light strings . Using the thermometer , I learn that it could be a little warmer , therefore another length of lights needed . I stapled the 25 - tally distance of C9 lights around the perimeter of the boards , spaced between the bulbs attached earlier ( PHOTO F ) .

Ready For The Tunnel Test

With the lighted board quick to go , it was time to see how effectual this unique project would be . I place the lighted board inside the low-pitched burrow and connect the extension electric cord moderate to the sign of the zodiac . I find to end build this late at Nox , so I was in for a squeamish “ swooning show ” . I place an empty 10″ x 20″ seed tray into situation , and pip the light … wow ! ( PHOTO G ) It looked even more colorful with the tray temporarily removed ( PHOTO H ) . The most awesome opinion , however , is looking at it from outside ( PHOTO I ) . If it were any undimmed , I could work out out there at night !

While thiswasawesome to front at , it would n’t mean much if it did n’t do its job of heating the seed trays in the cold weather ; peculiarly with the current temperature being near or at freezing overnight . I sit the thermometer ’s sensor on the seed tray ( in one of the cellular phone to incisively imitate / match the territory area ) , place the thermometer ’s remote video display outside the low tunnel , and end the terminal with the frost cloth .

Since the temperature would be at its frigid near dawn / sunrise , I waitress until then to get the results . And the results were amazing!While the international temperature show 34 arcdegree , the temperature in the middle of the come tray was 62 ( PHOTO J)!Almost 30 - degrees warmer ! !

Mission accomplished ! Although our insensate temperature of the time of year are still ahead , I am very confident in believe this gimmick to not only keep live seedlings sufficiently warm , but to germinate new seeds inside the tunnel .

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Photo/Illustration: Greg Holdsworth (all photos)

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