Garden log 2/17/24. I finished up this round of seed-starting this morning, adding in some pansies, tomatillos, hot peppers, and onions / shallots. Someone asked for a photo of my whole seed-starting set-up, so here you go — this was a (requested) Christmas present from Kevin several years ago, from Gardener’s Supply Co.
I wouldn’t recommend this much investment for beginners — you can start seeds with just a grow light or sunny windowsill and some appropriate seed starting mix in a paper cup.
If you decide you want to do more, these Jiffy self-watering greenhouses make it easier — there’s a mat to wick water up from the bottom reservoir, and a plastic top to keep the humidity in until the seeds get started. A low-temp plug-in heat mat will deliver some heat from the bottom to aid germination.
If you have a way to raise and lower your lights, that’s helpful — you can put the lights close to the plants to start them off, and then raise them as the plants grow.
Don’t forget to take the plastic cover off once they’re going — they need fresh air at that point, and a circulating fan will help them get nice and strong. (I haven’t actually done that yet, but I always mean to, because it’s always recommended…)
This set-up makes a lot of plants — I usually do 3-4 of each kind. I put several seeds in each little soil circle, and figure that if more than one germinates, I’ll thin out the weaklings. Only the strong survive!
And I still get way more plants than I have sun to plant in, to be honest, but I like it that way — I get to give away probably 3/4 of the seedlings in the spring, which is just fun. If any other locals want to join me in that, maybe we can pick a date in the spring for the great seedling giveaway. I’m happy to donate my porch to the cause! 🙂
