You have to build one of these!

What is a germination chamber? 
It's basically a miniature climate controlled greenhouse. Its job is to germinate seeds. 

We use a crockpot filled with water to generate heat and humidity. This gives us uniform germination over the trays and speeds up the time for most crops. This is because it is always at 80 degrees to create that perfect growing environment.

The chamber does not need light because the seedlings are only looking for heat and moisture to start. It is very important though to make sure you pull the seedlings out as soon as they have popped through the soil. At this time, without light, they would die.

This is the process of how we went about building this mini wonder...

• We started with 2x4 and 1x1 stock to create the frame of the chamber. I spaced each rack at 3" tall, and left about 1ft of space on the bottom for the crockpot
• We painted the frame to seal all the wood from getting saturated with water and to extend the life of the box
• We laid mesh over each rack to hold the trays and to allow heat and humidity to rise through the chamber
• We cut insulation board with plywood backing to the specific size of the outer frame of the box and screwed them into the frame
• We sealed the box with zip tape to make the chamber free of any cracks or holes in the seams
• We built the front door, with some latches and a door handle. 
• We added a thermostat and wired it to the crockpot so it would generate the desired temperature of 80 degrees
• Lastly, we filled the crockpot with water and turned it on to let it heat up and made sure it worked properly

The experiment worked!
The chamber heated up just as planned. We seeded cucumber seeds in a tray and added them to the chamber. We had germination within 3 days! It really sped up the process along with creating a uniform germination across the trays.

This is a great tool to use all season long because it will hold the desired temperature you need. For instance if it's 100 degrees in August and you're trying to germinate lettuce, you can place trays in the chamber and let them go. And, most likely, you'll have 100% germination every time. 

We'll keep you informed throughout the season as we use this new piece of equipment. Give it a try, we think you'll love it!