As I became more proficient at growing vegetables outdoors, some from starts, I realized that if I didn’t have a provider of the starts, then I would be limited in what I could grow. After this realization, I decided to become proficient at growing all my plants from seed.

If your experience is/was anything like mine, there are/were many questions to answer like:

• When do I actually start the seed so that it will be ready to plant outside at the right time?
• How often do I water the seeds?
• When do I fertilize?
• How much light do they need?
• What is the right temperature?
• Are there seeds that I shouldn’t grow inside?
• How do I “harden” the tender plants when I want to put them outside?
• And many more!

For me, I took a seed starting class and that helped a bunch. Before taking the class, I tried 3 different times to start seeds and all three times they wilted and died. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. The seeds would germinate and stand tall for about 10 days and then they would fall right over. I changed watering schedules and everything. What I learned is that they were not getting enough light despite my plant lamps and putting them next to a window like so:

After taking the class I learned the proper way to give the plants light and it was much cheaper. The above system was about $120 in lights and stands. I took the unused bulbs and lights back and went to the new system which I built for under $50. Here are the pictures I took from the class.

Notice that the lights are about 4-6 inches from the plants. You want that light as close to the plants as possible. Notice that with the chains you can adjust the height as the plants grow taller. Here is the system I built.

I built it with three lights so that I could do 6 flats. In hindsight I probably built it too high, but that wasn’t a big deal. It just meant that I needed longer chain. For those of you who want the plans for this system (2 light system) click here.

Here is another system that I found, it is similar, just more like a shelf system

Note: The plans show to use a 3 way corner fittings that you can slip the pipe into. This fitting doesn’t come slip x slip x slip. Therefore, I would recommend using a standard elbow with a standard tee. This is cheaper too. Here is an example.

Now that you know about the light system, I will try and answer some of the other important questions about starting seeds.

Seed Planting Schedule

I have found a few good resources for this. First, my favorite, is a downloadable excel spreadsheet that you enter in the frost-free date for your area and then it automatically updates the plants to tell you when to plant. Here is the link.

Another is from the farmer’s almanac, click here.

And last a simple printable chart from a good blog called YouGrowGirl.com

Any one of these resources should tell you when to start.

Now for the simple stuff. Here is a guide from Utah State extension.

Starting seeds indoors

Here are few additions that aren’t mentioned in the article.

• Don’t overwater, you need to let oxygen to the roots so after germination make sure to let the soil get almost dry before watering again.
• If you start to see any mold/fungus during the germination process since you have the cover on, then just take it off. You don’t want that the grow too much.
• After germination make sure to move your plants to a cooler location 60-65 degrees is ideal.

I hope this helps like it helped me. If you run into problems that you don’t know the answer to then call your local extension office. They have volunteers that love to help.

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