Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - necessity of uppotting and tray for manging starters?

DK2021 · March 24, 2022

Looks like shipping on any size order is free this week at www.greenhousemegastore.com. I have those "mega heavy duty" trays and love them! I have used 1020 trays that were comparatively flimsy and sometimes would crack when I was carrying a loaded tray and even more often develop leaks because the plastic was so thin...arrgh! The heavy-duty ones are more expensive but you know, sometimes you do get what you pay for! Though again, if you're lucky, you might get decent supplies free, or improvise with something like a cafeteria tray. As MrsJustice points out--anything you acquire that's already been used and that will contact your plants (pots, tray inserts, cells) should be disinfected to avoid disease.

I've used a lot of gerry-rigged set-ups in the past and I still do re-use things like plastic take-out containers. But 1020 trays are pretty standard and many things (heat mats, grow lights, tray inserts) are designed to fit them. I also like them as they fit my germination set-up well. I have a 30"-wide Metro 6-shelf unit on wheels fitted with 24" LED grow lights on four of the shelves. Two of the shelves also have a 10x20 heat mat. I have a surge-protected power strip that has a timer for half the outlets (for the lights) and constant power to half the outlets (for the heat mats). It's a tidy set up and easy to move as everything is on wheels., and it takes relatively little space (30" x 14").

March 24, 2022	#12
DK2021 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Coastal CT, zone 7a Posts: 163	Looks like shipping on any size order is free this week at www.greenhousemegastore.com. I have those "mega heavy duty" trays and love them! I have used 1020 trays that were comparatively flimsy and sometimes would crack when I was carrying a loaded tray and even more often develop leaks because the plastic was so thin...arrgh! The heavy-duty ones are more expensive but you know, sometimes you do get what you pay for! Though again, if you're lucky, you might get decent supplies free, or improvise with something like a cafeteria tray. As MrsJustice points out--anything you acquire that's already been used and that will contact your plants (pots, tray inserts, cells) should be disinfected to avoid disease. I've used a lot of gerry-rigged set-ups in the past and I still do re-use things like plastic take-out containers. But 1020 trays are pretty standard and many things (heat mats, grow lights, tray inserts) are designed to fit them. I also like them as they fit my germination set-up well. I have a 30"-wide Metro 6-shelf unit on wheels fitted with 24" LED grow lights on four of the shelves. Two of the shelves also have a 10x20 heat mat. I have a surge-protected power strip that has a timer for half the outlets (for the lights) and constant power to half the outlets (for the heat mats). It's a tidy set up and easy to move as everything is on wheels., and it takes relatively little space (30" x 14").