best seed starting system

There are quite a few seed starting systems for sale and to me seem rather expensive.
Are they worth it?
Any comaparisons?

Anyone want to make a reccomendation?

I've look at the one park seed sells for $36.00 and another one called APS.

Thanks

Larry

Ps this is for vegetables for a fall garden in Texas - tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, caulilower etc.

Honestly I have never bought a 'set', let alone an expensive one. I spend the bulk of my seed raising money on the best seed mix (soiless mix) that I can find. The biggest failures in seed starting are unclean utensils and soil, over watering and not enough light. You can use any type of tray/cells that drain and have a clear cover to let light in (when you need it) and to keep humidity in while the seeds sprout.

Good luck and welcome to DG!

I've had the same experience as badseed. No system. I have a collection of pots I
sterilize with diluted clorox and bottem water by placing them on a standard
cheap plastic tray. I've not even use the humidity covers (or rather, baked
my seedlings the first year I tried seed starting by leaving the cover on
in full sun. I gave up after that). A number of my friends cut holes in the bottem
of plastic yogart containers or even plastic cups instead of saving old pots.

Seed starting is sooo fun. Its so exciting to see the little seedlings coming
up. Best luck with this new endevour!

Tam

Same sort of thing goes for lighting. I've seen "grow light" setups listed for $300 dollars or more! Save your money. For seed starting, all you need are the $8 shop lights from Home Depot, with a couple of ordinary 40 watt flourescent bulbs. People have come up with all sorts of clever ways to suspend these lights over their plant trays. I like using a big shelving unit and being able to adjust the height of the light to keep it within a few inches of the tops of the plants. Some folks are lucky enough to have a window that provides enough light, but I have much better luck putting my seedlings under the flourescent lights.

It is not that difficult to do it yourself. Just read the old posts on this forum and in the classic threads. A few hours of reading and clicking and you can put the whole thing together. I started in February and have hundreds of different things germinating. I haven't bought a plant since I realized I could grow everything myself. It is like getting a present when you see something germinating. Go with the Deno method, much more fun to see stuff getting started. Make your own mix. I like coir instead of peat. Use the cheapo lights from Home Depot, they work just as well as the very expensive ones. Use the domes over the trays. Use the sheetpot sixpacks and trays if you have a lot to do. Start with the easy stuff first to learn how to do it. There are lots of ideas, pictures, links to everything you need to know right here on Dave's.

I haven't tried forcing seeds yet, but it seems the idea would work with Ozarka water bottles (have straight sides). I use the bottoms of small water bottles to starting clippings. I cut the bottle in half and put drainage holes in the bottom. I put them in a tray after filling with soil and use root hormone on cuttings and it has worked fine for me. The tops that I cut off, will fit over the bottoms and with the hole in the mouth of the bottle could make a good green house effect I would think.
Sheila

i use halved water bottles a lot, too. here's another idea: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/532742/

I've never bought any kind of system yet I've had good success with starting seeds. And I'm a newbie. I agree with Tammy and critterologist about good soil, light and seeds. The only times that my seeds failed to sprout were when I used old seeds (like 3 years too old) or when I watered them too much or too little.

Chuck, like you, I get pretty excited when I see my seeds sprout. I have recently ventured into propagation by cuttings. It is soooo cool to get such a wide variety of plants for practically free. Of course, I'm only rooting easy plants right now, such as coleus and succulents. Oh, yeah, I got some brugs twigs from my aunt last week. They seem to be doing okay too.

The best is when you get so many extras you can give them away or
bring them to plant swaps! And seed starting during those bleak late
winter months just brings life into my world! Quyen - I agree with how
cool it is to do cuttings as well! I started 4 Knock Out roses from a
friend's cuttings + 6 azaleas from cuttings I got from an old & gorgeous
azalea from my last house (my neighbor got them for me). Not only
are the plants wonderful but they are a link to people & places I have
very fond associations to!
Tam

Cuttings and mist bench are next. I am having a small deck built to house the seed palaces and the future mist bench and all the assorted paraphenalia. It will have a cover over it and protected from the wind and rain but open so it will not get too hot and I can finally use the heat mats that have just been sitting there since it is too hot in the garage and room for an old refrigerator. Since I am on the board of directors of the HOA, I have to go through all the approvals otw I would have already had it built.

I got 2 of the APS trays this year. The first seedlings I started did fine - I used Gardners Supply seed starting mix that came with the APS. For the next batch I only had enough of the Gardners supply mix for 1 tray, so used Ferry Morse seed starting mix in the 2nd tray. Well the FM mix soaked up and held so much water (bottom watering system) that all the seeds rotted before they could sprout! Overall I liked the trays and they were sturdy for moving around. I have also used plain recycled cups, yogurt cups, and sleds. The sleds worked great for starting big packs of wildflower seeds and zinnias, and I could just pull them to the bed and transplant clumps. The kids only use them in winter, so....
Anyway, does anyone have a recommended seed starting mix that doesn't soak up so much water that I can use in the APS without reordering GS mix?
Thanks, Mich

I have 12 of the APS starter systems - I get a couple more every year, and now I will need to replace the ones that are getting really old.

I use the Cottage Garden soil starter that I got at Bachman's, an upscale garden supply place,and it seems to work quite nicely.