Soil Warming Cables

A Soil Heat Cable (also known as a Soil Warming Cable) can be used for a variety of applications within your greenhouse or cold frame. Using a Soil Warming Cable you can build your own propagator within your greenhouse - the simplest way is to use one of our Plunge / Propagating Trays - with the Cable being buried in a bed of horticultural sand. This type of traditional propagator will provide bottom heat that improves the germination of seedlings and rooting of cuttings by promoting healthy, vigorous root growth. You can also use the Soil Heat Cable in your greenhouse when growing direct from the ground, burying the cable to warm the soil so you can raise crops earlier than normal. Used in a cold frame, a Soil Warming Cable can be placed in a sand bed in the base of the frame, making the cold frame great for propagation or over-wintering tender plants.
For accurate temperature control it is recommended that you use a Thermostat to control the Soil Warming Cable, switching the cable on and off to maintain a set temperature. This is important when using Soil Cables to provide heat for propagation as you need to be able to control the temperature reached to suit the differing germination requirements of various varieties of seeds. Controlling the Soil Cable using a thermostat not only allows for accurate temperature control, it also makes it more cost effective as the Cable will only be on when the temperature required has not been reached.