Starting Seeds Indoors: Set Up and Supplies

You have the seeds and you have them organized, now what? Before planting them you need to make sure you have all the supplies for successful germination and growing. Seedlings without proper light will get leggy and weak which will make for a unsightly plant that may not survive when planted out. Not having a shelving unit may mean you run out of room quickly.

Equipment needed:

• Depending on how many trays you're starting you either need a table or a shelving unit. I love the shelving units from Costco. Just make sure you don't get the adjustable ones, they are a pain in the ass and don't work. Other hardware/home improvement stores also have nice plastic shelves, I find they are a bit smaller than the Costco ones. Being made out of plastic means you can clean them easily and they won't get water damage. Using shelving units means hanging lights and adjusting them is easy.

• Lights. There is much debate on what type of lights to use. These are the lights I use. I like that you can daisy chain them, which means less cords to plug in. I'm not sure if they are technically grow lights, but they have worked for growing plants/starting seeds. If you are willing to splurge a lot of people recommend using sunblasters or another option is using T5 fluorescent bulbs. You can find a lot of information (a lot of conflicting information) on the internet on what kind of lights you need.

• Trays and pots. You will want a water proof tray to hold your pots. When starting seeds you want to bottom water to prevent washing seeds out of rows, prevent diseases, and washing soil off of the seeds. When I'm starting seeds I use a 6" by 6" square container and than transplant to a 6 cell container. Something I highly recommend is a clear plastic domes. Clear plastic domes keep soil moist and cut down on the amount of watering. You can find pots/containers on amazon, local hardware type stores, dollar stores, or on buy and sell groups.

• Soil. Having the right soil is very important. You want to buy potting soil or seedling mix. The reason you don't want to use garden soil or a 3 or 4 way is that it isn't sterile and is too heavy (poor drainage). I buy a ton of potting soil so I buy my soil from a wholesaling place. I use a product called SunGro Sunshine Mix 4.

• Heating mats are optional, but I do find they speed up germination. I also find they increase germination. I find oregano, thyme, and lavender to be particularly tricky to get to germinate so a heating mat does help. Once the majority of the seeds have popped up I move the trays off the mat.

• Fans. I use these fans because they clip onto the shelving. I also have a tall fan and a small fan going. The reason for fans is get the seedlings strong and can help prevent diseases. I also use them to get the air moving around the plant room.

• Depending on where you start seeds you might need a dehumidifier. I start my seeds in a room and have the window cracked a few mm's (it's winter here and can be brutally cold). I can't have the door open for air (cats!) and to get some of the humid out of the room because of my cats. You can tell if it is too humid if water is building up on the clear domes or the windows or you can get more technical and buy a weather station. Too much humidity will spread diseases and end up killing seedlings.

To start seeds successfully you need either a table or shelving unit, lights, fan(s), proper soil, and trays and pots. What's nice is once you buy all the equipment you're almost set for life (plastic stuff is made cheap now a days and lights do eventually burn out).