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Whitehall Montana

I bought a set of soil warming cables for use here in southwest Montana,it looks like its 14 gauge wire,so its very thin.Most years here we still get 1 last snow storm the end of May and sometimes as late as the first week of June.Does any one use cables consistantly where they live,and do they work well?Our night time temps in June the past few years is still in the mid 30 range and short of buying a greenhouse I have no other option to get my soil warm.

12/4/2013 4:28:30 PM

Sourthern Utah

slim, i used soil cables in northern utah fer 3 yrs,, moved to southern ut, last yr,, didnt, use them,, my mistake,, i bought some fer use this yr, will put in ground in early april,, if weather allows,, they did work good. curt

12/4/2013 4:44:41 PM

Millville, UT

Slim, here in northern Utah we have gotten frost in early June the last two years. I used cables for the first time this year. I did an experiment and had two plants with and one without. The two plants with the cables were nearly twice as big by mid June as the one with out. I still had to keep the plants in the hoop houses with heat lamps at night through most of May because the cables don't protect against frost. I had to throw tarps over the plants for those late frost. It can be tough growing when it gets so warm during the day and so cold at night.

12/4/2013 4:57:38 PM

Whitehall Montana

Good to here Curt,I believe you know what I am going through over here.It takes almost half way through July to get the soil warm,and covering with black plastic is a waste of time and energy.

12/4/2013 4:59:55 PM

Eurasia

North of the alps we normally suffer a cold June, and here I had the best result with anti-hail nettings last year. When the soil is dark as possible with city compost on top, soil is a little warmer during the night, as long as no wind takes all the energy away. Anti-hail net reduces the power of wind awfully! This year I had more hoops and no netting, and I had to seed AGs in early June again...we sufferd flood, slugs and snails too.
Next year I´ll try a thin steel pipe with the width of 10" and the length of 2 and 4 yards under the top soil and inject hot firebricks in the coldest nights when real freeze is expected under the anti-hail-nets and hoops.

12/4/2013 5:16:24 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Slim, I think I met you at the weighoff in Utah this past fall? I also have used soil cables, similar to what you describe, and they will work but you also need plastic to hold the heat in! That is, cables under the soil, then plastic on the soil, that is what raised my temps. I tried cables without the plastic, and it didn't help. (I have a food thermometer that I stick right into the ground to measure it.)

So... this past year I simply used clear plastic on the soil for several weeks, and no cables. This raised my temps even more than the cables. I think most cables are designed for indoor use and turn off at 70 degrees anyway. Actually, this past year was the first time in a while that I tried to warm my soil, and it really did work. My plants were doing great until the hailstorm that really slowed me down.

Keeping the plants warm above ground is an entirely different challenge that also needs to be accounted for.

12/4/2013 6:22:09 PM

Whitehall Montana

pumplobster It sounds like your weather is much worse there,then in Montana,although 30 miles west of me is Butte montana,and those folks get hit hard during the winter,and have about 30 days less growing season then me.

12/4/2013 6:35:17 PM

Whitehall Montana

Cliff I use old house windows and build a 5 by 10 ft greenhouse and put a small electric heater in,which helps out somewhat,but plan to put the cables down and build over that.My plants start really slow and the heater seems to only keep the folage healthy.I think with the cables going,it should really get the root system going good too.I usually tarp the ground to try getting some heat into it,but 1 late cold front from Canada wipes that out.Cliff thankyou for your input,depending how hard it is to put the cables in,they may see the inside of a trash can,and I will try your way.

12/4/2013 6:46:39 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Sounds good. Yes, those cold fronts from Canada like we have now? You are more directly in their path!

One more tip, clear plastic will warm the soil (when used directly on the soil) more than black plastic. Like, 5 to 10 degrees, depending on the sunlight.

12/4/2013 6:50:57 PM

Buffalo, New York

They work well, but are a PITA to install....and an even bigger PITA to remove come fall.

12/4/2013 6:54:53 PM

Sourthern Utah

yes jeremy,, that i agree with,, but well worth the effort,, to get a bit of early growth if we want bigger growth on fruits

12/4/2013 8:14:36 PM

Lloydminster/AB

Remember not to put them too deep. 6" is enough. Warm air rises but heat from the cables is conducted. It will warm your soil a foot from the surface at 6" deep.

12/4/2013 9:13:33 PM

Lloydminster/AB

Jeremy, my cables that are buried will pull right through my soil with just a gentle tug. If the soil is that hard that pulling them up is a problem it is also going to hinder root development. I have clay soil and if I placed them in some parts of the garden that haven't received the AG amendments, I'd never get them out. Ever. Lol. Now installing the cables, I don't even want to think about how that goes right now....I can feel the sweat building while thinking of it..

Good luck Slim, they will really make a difference! The advice given on this thread is good! I've used them for years and couldn't grow without them. I run mine about 4" apart. On some I just thread them back and fourth using bamboo stakes for guides. Cover with soil, pull out the stakes and you are done.

12/4/2013 9:27:26 PM

Whitehall Montana

Thanks Don,where would you place the built in thermostat on something like that,cause I have clay soil too,and have to use a pick to go deeper then 5 inches,so would hate to do all that digging and place it in the wrong place.By the way 15 below here in Montana the next three nights

12/4/2013 9:34:48 PM

Lloydminster/AB

I try to make a bit of a half run at the end so the thermostat is about half way on one side. The temp gets a little high for a while sometimes until the area warms up. It usually takes a week or so to settle out if the ground is cold. That's where the cold frame helps. Make sure it covers a bigger area than the heat cable. Brr. Your colder than we are! It supposed to get down to -22 f later this week though...... Last year we had an early heavy snow in October after weeks of summer temps. There was next to no frost come spring. Sometimes the frost goes down 6 or more feet here if we don't have snow cover. We are looking good this year again....lol.

12/5/2013 12:03:13 AM

Polson, Montana

How cold did it get there last night, Slim? Two below here and saw that Butte was to be around -28 last night. e-mail me at [email protected].

12/5/2013 9:58:44 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

I got soil cables running right now slim. I got the bigger cables buried abut 10" so my till wont disturb them. Right now in that hooper is lettuce, spinach, kale, germed and two weeks old. Soil temp last night with -15 was 45 degrees at 6" depth. They work great and I dont notice the electric bill that high....Good Luck

12/5/2013 10:21:04 AM

Whitehall Montana

Thank you wiz.I should get a good start on next season then,and still havin fun doing this.Remember,I always walk slow and push a big wheel barrel.

12/5/2013 10:28:57 AM

Hyderabad

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4/9/2014 8:42:10 AM