Spring Seed Starting

Finally, it is the first day of spring. Time for barbeque (while wearing a winter jacket) and shoveling the snow off the kids playground equipment. Of course, they still need to play outside while wearing snowsuits. Nevermind that I can't even get to my vegetable garden or raised beds due to a great deal of snow. I know that my crocuses haven't forgotten their spring duties.

Feeling the spirit of spring nonetheless, I pulled out the plastic trays, seed starting mix, and hundreds of little plastic pots. Actually, the project started with what looked more like a sewing project. I've used the moisture wicking fabric from Lee Valley for a few years now and really like how it makes watering the little seedlings quite easy. The stuff comes in large pieces so that you could cover big greenhouse benches with it, but I cut it to fit the black rectangular trays that I put under my grow lights.

Next, I reuse my plastic pots from previous years (washed out by Resident-LawnmowerMan last fall after he got tired of the heap of dirty pots that grew steadily in our garage). I fill these loosely with seed starting mix with an extra bag of perlite mixed in. If you can't find the finely-sieved seed starting mix, you can use potting soil, but it occasionally has big lumps and sticks and other aggravating debris.

I did plant some seeds today, though held myself back from planting the majority of them. I regularly plant the seeds far too early and end up with large plants that I have no room for, having expanded out of the basement to all available windowsills.
A few flower and herb seeds are sown and kept under the plastic humidity dome:

With the wicking mats below all the pots, I only need to water into the tray and don't need to water the pots from above. This has the dual benefit of avoiding dislodging the seeds and reducing the fungus problems that attack seedlings. Eventually, the fabric gets dirty and thins out, but it does last a few years before needing replacement. In warmer weather, it can also be hosed off and left to dry outside.

My Indoor Growing Setup

Being as our growing season is short, I start my annuals, perennials, and some vegetables from seed under grow-lights in the basement. This is my setup:

Heavy-duty metal shelving unit from Costco. The heights of the shelves are determined when you put it together. It is good to have some shorter and taller spaces for plants.

Black rubber floor mats to line each shelf, so that water and soil don't fall into the lights below. We bought the kind that comes from a large bulk roll and we cut it to fit.

Heating mat to provide bottom heat for germination of some seeds and growth of seedlings. These can be purchased in garden centers and online.

Fluorescent "shop light" fixtures. Each can hold two 48-inch fluorescent lights. Can be purchased from many department stores. I put two fixtures on each shelf (4 lights on each shelf). They come with little chains to suspend them and I adjust the chains depending on how close I want the light to be to the plants.

Fluorescent lights. In each fixture, I put one cool white (the regular type fluorescent that you would use in a house) and one grow light (is a little more expensive). The combination of the two provides a spectrum of light that promotes both growth and flowering.

Oscillating fan. I use an ordinary household fan to blow gently on the young plants. This really cuts down on mildew and fungus problems and encourages hardy growth.

Seed-starting mix. I buy bags of sterilized soil-less growing medium at a local store. It is also good to have some vermiculite or perlite. This is sprinkled ontop the seed.

Timer. This can be programmed to turn the lights and heating mat on and off.

Mini-greenhouse propagation kits. I have a wide variety of seed-starting supplies. I like the large trays with fitted clear plastic domes to maintain moisture for seedlings. I start some plants in plastic pots and others in peat pots.

Perennials are generally germinated en masse in a single pot in a sealed clear bag, and pricked out into individual 3 1/2" plastic pots. This ensures that you don't have half of your pots without plants, should germination be difficult. Seeds often need high humidity to germinate.

"No damp" chemical mixed up in a spray bottle to prevent "damping off" (death by fungus) of seedlings.

Yellow sticky traps for fungus gnats and other pesky flies.

Plastic label stakes so you can remember what you planted.

UV resistant permanent ink pen to write on the plastic stakes.