hey, anyone use a seed starting kit they like? I'm thinking something with lights and several tiers. It's that time of year.
Miles
Seed starting kit?
i use the burpee starter.. it is fantastic,
http://www.burpee.com/product/seed+starting/ultimate+growing+system+%26trade-.do
with a simple greenhouse shelf i will put outside when it gets above freezing
http://www.amazon.com/Misco-Home-Garden-3%252dShelf-Greenhouse/dp/B000S6UYZC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1237912488&sr=8-5
and i put a 2' flourescent light under the shelf.. i don't remember where i got it, but if you want, i can dig up the box.. it came with hooks, and the wall outlet plug..
a simple system, looks good, and i am doing it for a second year, buying another greenhouse shelf to keep outside to start some colder weather veggies and plants..
hope this helps.. i have had great success. with no fuss.. -joe-
Thanks for the suggestion. I have the burpeed kits you recommended. It's the shelf and lights that I need...seems like a good solution. You're just using standard bulbs, right? Not special ones for plants?
Miles
Then depending what I am going to plant will decide what pot or cells are going to go in the tray. This tray will hold 18 - 3" peat pots.
Another is it will hold cell packs. I like the cell packs when you want more plants. I like ones that you can tear off. They come in different sized 4 cell, 6 cells, 12 cells but they are tough. This way you dont have to take the whole tray to plant or you can rip some off and give to friends, neighbors etc. Just make sure you get the right sizes for the trays.
i have 2' plant bulbs in, but really only have them come on part of the day or the sprouts get too leggy. , I found that at the local garden store had them for 9 bucks.. I have never tried reg. lights - but a little sunlight goes a long way as spring starts in.. try a good window..
Those larger cell packs are great.. especially when it comes time to transplant.. i have trouble with plugs, so just direct seed some outside under plastic and some in the greenhouse shelves indoors.. i never got the dirt right so it will hold together well in the tiny plugs.. I often end up transplanting practically bare root seedlings after the dirt falls apart. but the dehydrated plugs that come with the kits are pretty good.
for long term ones I love these... bad part is with these you can't use regular seed starting mix.. they get too wet... have to mix up milled sphagnum moss, perlite & vermiculite
the moss was hard for me to find... I had to buy some online
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10645&cat=2,44713,40757&ap=1
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=44712&cat=2,44713,40757&ap=1
and for the ones that I only want to start a few
http://henryfields.com/grow-plugs-seed-starting-kit/p/68085/
Commercial lighting systems serve a purpose for those that truely need them, but can be quite complicated and expensive to say the least. Most ordinary folks consider building their own simple light stand using common "shop light" fixtures found cheaply at your local hardware store. There are several open forums on this.
If your needs are smaller and you have a nice sunny windowsill, you may not need a lighting system at all. I've grown perfectly good tomatoes, peppers and other plants using nothing more than a few Jiffy-7 pellets and a McDonald's salad tray or cool-whip container.
Al
hmm...having a hard time finding a 24" shop light, they all seem to be 48". If anyone has suggestions on where to pick this up it would be great.
M.
these are the ones i use - they do not come with bulbs- I got cheap bulbs at a garden shop cheaper than i could find on the internet.. this fixture comes with chains to hang it and a wall plug. perfect - the plants 'pop' right up much faster than in my windows - a lot of shade
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001WV02O
The 24" unit I have is packaged by Hydrofarm, purchased at a local garden center. It was quite expensive, even more than a comparable 48" shoplight at the hardware store. Bulbs are also more costly. If it weren't for space considerations I wouldn't consider using it at all, the 48" one is twice as big and can cover twice as many plants at far less cost! Their website is www.hydrofarm.com
Okay, somebody beat me to it!
Al
I just use regular shop lights from HD... nothing fancy
JJ:
Cool...I got the ones from Amazon....shipping was very high ($40.00) but the fixtures were cheap so not too bad...now I have to find the bulbs which are a challenge....Garden Gate suggests using regular bulbs, one cool one warm in each fixture....instead of fancy grow bulbs....might do what you did and see if petsmart or has them for fish.
Specs are sketchy on amazon...do you know if those are the standard T12 bulbs?
Miles
Plant lights can be expensive, though I've seen both 24" and 48" at WM. I use one cool white and one natural warm (kitchen & bath) bulb in mine and they seem to work fine without the extra cost. I've also used two cheapie cool whites and can't see much difference. The real secret is to keep the lights directly over the plants, no more than 2 - 3 inches or the plants will get stretched. Also try to keep the temperature cool, about 60 degrees or so.
Al
standard bulb size. I use the same fixtures - with two plant lights - i think it is too much for some applications - all plants usually sprout in2-4 days.. i am going to try 1 standard and 1 grow for colder or early spring veggies - after 2-3 weeks - the early plants currently start to shoot up at a remarkable pace - they get so leggy that they can't stand up, that is when i put them on a lower shelf and they do fine - or outside under plastic for lettuces and spinach.. but the flowering plants tomatoes, eggplants, melons, corn, and peppers - summer and fallstuff -grow perfect under the lights the closer the better..
Good old Amazon reviews! Two people put in their post to get the F20T12 20 bulbs for it. So I ordered those from an Amazon partner too. Got 1/2 warm white and 1/2 cool white like the Garden Gate article (and lycodad) suggested.
Thanks everyone...got the whole setup for $190.00 including two spare bulbs. Much cheaper than all the other solutions I've been looking at. Plus it is going in a south facing window so it will get some real light too. Can't wait for it to show up so I can start the seed starting!
Miles
This message was edited Mar 27, 2009 10:25 AM
Good Luck with your new light system, let us know how it worked out!
Al
good luck! sounds like you will be very happy with the results.. what seeds are you starting?
we're doing heirloom tomatos, lavender, thyme, zinias, lemon cucumbers...other stuff too, I'm sure, order has not shown up yet ;-)
M.
Here is what I did to start seeds this weekend - I soaked them in a solution of made of one quart water and 2 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide. After soaking the seeds (marigolds, zinnias, red salvia, and dwarf mg -"blue ensign") for two hours, I put them in coffee filters dampened with the same solution, then folded the coffee filter and placed it inside a sandwich-size zip-lock baggie. I then took all the baggies and placed them vertically in a large plastic magarine tub, and placed that on the heating mat. Everything germinated within a day and a half.! So now I must pot them up . . .
The tall mgs were soaked for 24 hours and they germinated within 6 hours of going into the coffee filters (I kid you not!)
This seems a more efficient way of starting seeds than the seedling starters.
wow . that is fast.. I have not tried starting that way, but have heard about it. I eat sprouts I grow in a kitchen sprouter, but it sees that some may be to fragile to transplant from there.... how do you handle the seedlings?
Very carefully. As soon as the seeds germinate, you are supposed to carefully plant them. And you would be surprised how many grow!
I fill either used (but clean) six-packs or paper pots I have made with potting soil, then I use the end of a pencil to make a hole in the center of the pot and carefully slip the seed in, without damaging the root. If the seed is big enough, I use my fingers - but for small seeds I use a toothpick to gently pick the seeds up and place them onto the soil, then cover with potting soil.
Once they are potted up, I spray the pots with the same solution of water and hydrogen peroxide because it is supposed to help prevent dampening off.
I will try that. some of the warmer weather seedlings will damp off on me. like tomatoes and sometimes peppers and cantelope.. a few both ways and see what happens. Every year I start topmatoes - but the ones from the large hothouses are usually too good to pass up. Maybe this will help.
Watch out - you may end up with way too many plants! Last night I was filling flats with potting soil just to get all the germinated marigolds into something - after they grow a bit, and I have more time, I will be able to put them in individual pots.
. . . sigh . . . talk about an embarrassment of riches!
Next year I promise not to start so many seedlings (repeat as necessary . . . )
been there over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.......................................
Guys, got my shelf unit yesterday and the lights today, now I just need the bulbs. Is there such a thing as too many plants ;-). I planted about 24 lavender plants and 18 thyme plants. I use them a deer deterent, so I'm sure I can find space for them. Also did about 18 tomatoes...I'll start the flowers in a couple weeks they always shoot up fast and get leggy (zinnias) though maybe the lights will help with that.
Miles
too many plants???? what's that???
;)
I've found starting too many isn't too bad of a problem, it's thinning them out to make room for peppers you forgot to start that ( I miss something every year, this year, forgot to leave spaces for peppers) that is really hard when they are all so green and healthy.... I try to keep an empty space or two - there is always something. Two peppers is better then none, I will start the rest in my hoophouse - i am going to try to get pictures, I will be eating salad from the garden this weekend!!!!!!!! I have to buy tomatoes for it .... been a long, cold winter in ct.
How do you thin things out???? I never have the heart to toss a seedling - sigh . . . I try to save everything. Which explains why I have 27 Granpa Otts mgs and 19 Heavenly Blue mgs growing in the basement (don't even ask about all the other seedlings . . . )
You just have to be brutal.. My daughter hates thinning to, so i let her bring the extras to the park.. there were cucumbers and peppers by the basketball courts last year..
I agree, my friend gave us some started tomato seedlings and they all look so happy, but a couple are growing out of the same hole so I have to thin them. will do it tomorrow night....
My thyme already germinated in a couple days! Will plant the other kind of thyme and a few more things tomorrow. I'm going to wait until the end of the month to do the zinias and cosmos....they get very leggy and only need a couple weeks to start. i know you can sow them right in the garden, but then I never know where the plants are. I'll probably do some that way too.
M.
great, glad it is working for you, I just started dahlia's tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.. the peppers and dahlia's love it under the lights. don't forget to throw a few in. it will be may before you know it... i did put flower seeds right in the garden.. you are right - not only hard to remember where they are, but this flooding downpour that came through probably washed them who knows where..
yeah, last couple years I tried the sow in the garden method for my flower, but then I end up not knowing which is weeds and what is not...and I'm usually wrong ;-)
M.