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I have just sown trays of seeds in the greenhouse. The weather has obviously been warm and as I am out at work all day I find the soil is dry when I return.Will this affect their germination and if so has anybody got any tips on how to prevent them drying. I do have net shading on the roof.

Two or three things come to mind and they are capillary matting under the trays will supply moisture, propagator lids to raise the humidity within, and fleece or newspaper over the trays to shade the trays

Quote from: ber77tie on April 06, 2017, 19:45:25
I have just sown trays of seeds in the greenhouse. The weather has obviously been warm and as I am out at work all day I find the soil is dry when I return.Will this affect their germination and if so has anybody got any tips on how to prevent them drying. I do have net shading on the roof.

Does that mean 'on greenhouse staging'?  If on the greenhouse soil, then a really good watering of the soil and good contact of the seed tray with the soil should help too.

Yes, they should be kept moist for germination.  And TeeGees suggestions are what I use and I water the capillary matting daily.  Failing this, if you have something like large gravel trays or cat litter trays, you can put the seedlings in pots into those and have a little 'standing water' at the bottom of the tray, which evaporates during the day, to be topped up the next morning. 

Quote from: galina on April 07, 2017, 07:59:12
Yes, they should be kept moist for germination.  And TeeGees suggestions are what I use and I water the capillary matting daily. 

Or you could use:
Top Tips / Re: Self-regulating capillary mat watering (with budgie waterer).

- and refresh the water bottles every 2 or 3 weeks.

Cheers.

PS. capillary systems do a better job - but the biggest advantage is what they do better than any other system - actually taking excess water OUT of the pots on the mat. This is at its most significant when overwintering Citrus, when a knife-edge level of dampness is critical.

Incidentally, when you plant into the soil - well, that's a capillary system too.

Many thanks as usual for the tips and suggestions. Funny how they all make sense and makes me think .....why didn't I think of that. Anyway first step is to try some white fleece before I can get matting set up on the staging.