How to Choose a Propagator and What to Equip It With?

In the world of indoor gardening we are often faced at the start with the question: What are propagators? How do they differ from other grow tents and what are they actually used for? The biggest difference lies in size, which determines their practical use. That is why today we will focus specifically on the smallest grow tents, which are mainly used when growing plants at home for seed germination, seedling pre-cultivation and plant propagation.

Using propagators to safely cultivate plants in the early stages of development — in other words before you transplant them into a classic grow tent (indoor) or into a garden bed (outdoor), will in any case help you achieve excellent results, so that the reward for your care is nothing less than a rich harvest full of colour, flavour and scent. Why?

It’s simple. Propagators, such as the new model from the legendary Dutch grow tent manufacturer Mammoth, which we selected for the cover image, provide young plants with an optimal and controlled growing environment precisely at the time when things can most easily become complicated from the grower’s perspective. Even more so if you are just starting to grow, whether at home or outdoors. It is no secret that the youngest plants are still very vulnerable to diseases and pests. That’s why an experienced grower knows that at the beginning of the cultivation cycle — which can be several times a year in indoor growing — there is nothing better than a well-equipped propagator.

OUR TIP: Every home grower who likes to save time and money will appreciate a popular small propagation kit. It already includes everything you need to get it up and running. The product description also lists other recommended equipment for growing in a propagator to maximize success when germinating seeds and quickly rooting young plants so they gain a perfect foundation for further stages of development and are sufficiently developed and vigorous before transplanting. Propagation kits, like the one in the picture, can also be custom adapted to your needs.

This brings us smoothly to the question of what to equip a propagator with:

1. Source of artificial lighting for propagators

• As a grow light for a propagator most growers choose TLED lamps — grow lights with a growth spectrum operating on LED technology, but you can also use energy-saving lamps (CFL).
• High-quality TLED lighting or a CFL lamp in a propagator — as a small, enclosed growing space — emits enough light with a bluish-white spectrum to stimulate plant growth while featuring minimal electricity consumption and heat output.
• The fact that so-called energy-saving lamps and especially TLED lamps for seedling lighting emit only a minimum of heat is crucial so that temperatures inside a small propagator without a fan do not rise too high and negatively affect the development of young plants.
• Proper seedling lighting, or cloning lighting, must have a higher colour temperature. This type of plant lighting can later also be used during the vegetative phase as a main light source if, for home herb growing, a small grow tent is sufficient, or for supplementing light in shaded spots if you use a large growbox or a medium growbox. Additional uses beyond germination, cloning or cuttings include use for houseplants placed in darker spots or for overwintering plants.
• Growers have excellent experience with TLED lighting from the brand Secret Jardin or try VF TLED lighting. The 20W Secret Jardin Cosmorrow LED, besides providing the required light spectrum, also offers extreme resistance to shocks and water.

OUR TIP: 100W full-spectrum supplementary Lumatek BAR 2.9. This LED lamp with an integrated driver from the British brand Lumatek is one of the new options for supplementary lighting or direct seedling lighting. It is suitable wherever a universal standalone LED bar is needed. At the same time it serves as an excellent primary light source in small growing spaces, making it very suitable for propagators, which makes it a modern LED seedling light with high real efficiency even for the most demanding customers. We recommend it!

2. Timers for propagators

• Turning the propagator lighting on and off can be reliably handled by mechanical timers.

• Digital timers, which you will later use in indoor setups for reliable and convenient switching of multiple grow lights in a classic growbox or grow room.

OUR TIP: TechGrow timers: a different league of switching!

3. Seeding medium and mini greenhouse (propagation dome)

• You may already know that seedlings inside a growing space — in this case a propagator — require significantly higher relative humidity than older plants. In figures this can be up to around 80%. If you do not ensure sufficient humidity inside the propagator during seed germination or seedling pre-cultivation, you cannot count on success. How to create such an environment? It’s easy with a propagation dome, often referred to in growing and gardening as a mini greenhouse.
• You also need to use a seeding medium (substrate) with good water absorption properties so that vital seedlings emerge from the seeds and later cope with the stress of transplanting. An elegant solution is the ROOT!T kit, which specialises in cuttings and cloning. This discounted seeding kit includes, besides a medium-sized greenhouse with a transparent lid and ventilation flaps, seedling holders, plus even the first plant food and a unique stimulator that helps young plants develop strong roots right from the start.

4. Instruments for measuring temperature and humidity in the propagator

• The microclimate inside the propagator needs to be monitored. Get a reliable meter that can accurately measure both temperature and humidity. An example is the temperature-hygrometer (VF), which is also a standard part of the propagation kit.

5. Suitable nutrition for seedlings and cuttings

• Now that you know how to create ideal conditions for seedlings and cuttings, it would be a shame not to support them with nutrition made specifically for the youngest plants. Here is a “secret” recipe for successful germination and vigorous growth of your seedlings: Shogun Start. The manufacturer’s calculator will help you dose precisely.

OUR TIP: Shogun Fertilisers has not been on the Czech market for long, so you may not yet know this manufacturer. If you are among growers who like to stay informed and not miss any noteworthy new products, be sure to read the separate article that goes beyond the youngest plants: SHOGUN: the best British fertilisers with an emphasis on research.

Comparison of propagators

Finally, we will take a closer look at the individual types of standalone propagators regardless of which complete cultivation equipment you ultimately choose for them.

We have explained why greenhouses and propagation domes are used in propagators. Both of these elements are combined in the robust mini greenhouses / propagators from HGA Garden.

From classic propagators, whose construction and material processing already derive from grow tents, we mainly recommend the following propagators:

• Dark Propagator: the professional propagator from the renowned French brand Secret Jardin is top of the range in the category of small growboxes for pre-cultivation and plant cloning. How many clones would you like? DP60 and DP90 are perfectly made and affordably priced mini cloning labs. If you want the same quality with a larger growing area, choose the DP120, consisting of a floor, 3 cultivation levels and 2 shelves for storing cuttings. This model is also one of the largest.

• Among larger propagators, the five-tier PROBOX propagators remain in demand:
• XL variant allows cultivation of almost 1,500 young plants! At the same time you can pre-cultivate different varieties or genetics from seed in a single propagator.
• L variant is cheaper and offers half the capacity across 5 tiers, which still means up to 720 successfully pre-cultivated seedlings.
• The PROBOX range from the renowned grow tent manufacturer Garden HighPro also includes handy smaller propagators in the M and S variants.
• Mammoth Propagator 125 features three removable shelves and above all an absolutely opaque single-layer cover. The floor is removable as well, and the overall construction of these “mammoth” propagators corresponds to the parameters of growboxes from the LITE+ series.

Do you have any further questions about propagators? Do not hesitate to contact us via email at info@higarden.cz, where we will be happy to advise you both on choosing a propagator you will actually use and on selecting suitable equipment.

We also recommend these products:

• ROOT!T rooting sponge / seedling cube
• Clonex Mist 750ml with sprayer
• Cloning systems

Further reading:

• How to recognise quality seeds?
• ROOT!T for taking and propagating cuttings
• Tissue cultures and micropropagation. The future of plant propagation?