Refrigerator Seed Starter

Refrigerator Seed Starter CROPS Miscellaneous Michael Kilpatrick made a seed starter using an old refrigerator and a couple of Crockpots When the water-filled Crockpots heat up they release heat and humidity into the fridge chamber giving the seeds what they need to germinate Kilpatrick is a market gardener and consultant who offers online video courses on a multitude of market gardening ideas including his germination chamber idea Kilpatrick suggests Crockpots for simple and low-cost heat and humidity sources In his video on germination chambers he puts Crockpots in a bottom freezer compartment He cuts a hole in the refrigerator floor to let the heat and humidity through He uses a 6-quart crockpot to provide humidity and a 4-quart one to provide heat “Pour a layer of vegetable oil over the water in the Crockpot used for heat or leave the cover on to reduce water loss ” says Kilpatrick Preparing the chamber is easy Kilpatrick uses a knife to slice away the plastic shelving in the door creating more room for trays He also drills holes for each of the Crockpot cords “Be careful not to damage the rubber seal around the door ” he warns “Drill holes in the side wall for the cords but be careful to avoid puncturing any coolant lines ” Existing shelving can be used but that will limit the number of seedling trays Kilpatrick suggests removing them cutting away the supports and putting in a racking system with cross arms to hold the trays The final step in setting up the germination chamber is humidity and temperature controls Available options include dual sensors in one device or separate temperature and humidity sensors His video is available for $47 on his website It includes detailed instructions on the build as well as a review of 3 different monitoring tools a germination guide for common vegetables and an unreleased Cornell University study on larger scale stand-alone germination chambers “We will be adding a new one shortly on building a barrel washer for potatoes and other root crops ” say Kirkpatrick Kirkpatrick consults with a large number of farms and organizations His Thriving Farmer Podcast and Thriving Farmer Summit series has had more than 50 000 views Contact is preferred through the website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael Kilpatrick Growing Farmers www growingfarmers com; www farmsummits com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.