Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I used two of these this last spring, and I was extremely happy. My previous year, I used another system for heat, and I had problems with overheating and heat retention. For those who reported problems with seedlings growing too fast or falling over and dying, I would like to know the larger picture--did you address the potential problem of damping off? And did you provide a grow light at the appropriate height? I researched several options to address damping off, since that was a huge problem for me last year. I microwaved all of my moistened starting mix, roughly 10 minutes per 2 quarts of moistened soil. If you bake this in an oven, I recommend 30 minutes at roughly 350 degrees. I also bleached and washed any pots that had been previously used. After the seedlings emerged, I sprinkled cinnamon on the surface, and I had no problems with damping off. I was particularly concerned about damping off since there was quite a bit of condensation inside the domes. However, I cleared the condensation at least twice daily, and I did not lose any seedlings out of roughly 150 starts. This was on top of 100% germination, so I gave away lots of starts this year! I used these for squash, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, eggplants, some flowers, soybeans, shiso, chard, and cucumbers. After transplanting starts into larger pots, I continued to use the heating pad and base for the larger pots. I also had simple fluorescent grow lights that I maintained at proper heights for the plants. You should keep the lights within 2" of the plants, or the plants will be reaching too far for light and will become spindly--a particular problem for tomatoes. For these units, you really need a 4-bulb grow light or the starts on the edges will not receive sufficient light. I had to search around but found a 4-bulb, 4' shop light for a grow light, and I was thrilled with the coverage over these units. No need to buy "grow lights", just alternate cool and warm wavelength fluorescent bulbs. Because of an unusually cold spring and early summer, I kept my peppers and eggplants inside until mid-June, and a few of them were already blooming and looking extremely healthy. The tallest were roughly 8" tall. The heating pads were wonderful for the peppers and eggplants in particular, but I know the squash also germinated much better because of the heat. I strongly recommend not using the seed starting mix that is designed for peat pots, unless you use the peat pots in your units. If you use the peat pot starting mix, it will fall all over the place and away from the roots when you pull out your seedlings to transplant them. Sure, you can make something similar to this with off-the-shelving parts, but I am not commenting on alternatives, just commenting on performance of this system. I highly recommend it but only if you provide appropriate grow lights and address potential damping off.