Gardening: Seed Starting - The Set-up!

I am not a professional gardener and have learned what I know through trial and error. When I first started trying to grow plants from seed, I got the basic tray with multiple cells, filled them with "seed starting dirt", made markers for each little row of seeds and had them on a shelf near a southern window.

It seem to take a long time for my seeds to grow. I began to wonder if my seed was viable. Then I wondered if my dirt wasn't the right kind. But eventually, I started to see little bits of green poking little points through the dirt. I was so excited when my seeds started to grow!

As those little bits of green started to grow, they started leaning toward the light coming through the windows. I had a long fixed "grow light" over the shelf, but they seemed to be more inclined toward the window. My plants grew long and spindly and before they really got a great start I started to notice mold growing on the dirt...

As you can imagine, I was a bit discouraged and wondered if it was just easier to go to the local Walmart or plant nursery and buy plants.

If you have had the same experience, or you are just starting out and wondering if you can really pull it off, don't give up! YOU CAN DO IT!

First of all, I found out that those little plants will grow up quickly and lean toward the light, if they aren't getting enough light...

The fixed "grow lights" that we bought in our local hardware store covered just the middle of our growing cells. So this past year, we bought these lights. The Hydrofarm T5 2FT 4 Tube High Output Fluorescent Grow Light (bulbs included) from Amazon. (currently $105 at Amazon).  These lights worked great! We bought some lengths of chain at Home Depot and used a "S" hook to raise and lower the light. It is a little bit on the "clumsy" side, but it works. (I'm open to other ideas!!)

As you can see from the above picture, we are using a black, wire shelf that has adjustable shelves. We found this size and set up to be optimal for what we wanted to grow.  We can plant 4 trays of seed. We couldn't afford the ready made, seed starting units with the adjustable lights so this is the next best thing!

Notice where we have our shelves set up...there are no windows! Having the lights placed directly over your trays, causes the seedlings to "bush" rather than get long and spindly. We also put the clear, "greenhouse" tops over the trays to keep things moist. Also, the light keeps the surface of the dirt a little drier so there was little to no molding. When the plants are tiny you keep the light just about an inch or two above them. As they grow, you raise it up.

One other thing about the molding, my most successful growing happened without mold when I used the Jiffy compacted peat disks. If you follow the directions on the package you won't over-water the disks. They expand and are moist. When you do water them you water into the tray and not on the surface of the dirt. You put the water where it is needed, at the root level. The peat disks become a porous "pot" and you can plant the whole thing into a larger pot or into your garden.

I bet you can't guess what is pictured above! :) Yes, a seedling heat mat! This Hydrofarm 20" x 20" Seedling Heat Mat 45 Watts, (currently $46.60 at Amazon) holds two trays side-by-side. This is a great piece of equipment! What it does is give a constant temperature of about 70 degrees at the base of your tray, causing the dirt to stay warm. This helps the seeds germinate quicker. I was amazed at how fast the seeds came up. I actually left these heat mats under my plants until they were about 4 inches or so to keep their root system warm.

In the above picture you can see how we set the light just above the heat mat. Another thing that we like about this set up is that the light fixture is wide and reflects the light all across the shelf. So putting two trays side-by-side is not a problem.

We bought a small surge protector strip that can attach to the shelving unit with some simple twist-ties or you could use some cable wraps.

Here you have it all set up! You can see how the light illumines the area underneath it. So this is what I have learned...
To be successful with starting seeds, you need a good light source, a good watering system and a way to keep your roots warm.

I hope this is helpful! If you have other ideas that you want to share, leave it in a comment! I will add your suggestions to the bottom of this post for others to benefit from as well!

Happy Seed Planting!
PS - I have included the products that we use, but be sure to research for yourself to find what will work best for you!

Karen