An Easy Guide to Starting Seeds Indoors, Including the Most Affordable Seed Starting Supplies.
Do you want to save potentially hundreds of dollars this growing season? It's possible with a little work and a few basic supplies. You can start your own seedlings from home and avoid unnecessary trips to garden centers or even worse, big box stores.
As much as I love an occasional trip to my local nursery, it isn't feasible for us to buy plants from them at $2-$3 a pop when we 're growing hundreds of plants. To put it into perspective, one seed packet costs around three dollars and contains around 30-50 (or more!) seeds. You tell me which is the better deal.
Last year I spent a total of $87 on seeds. This allowed me to grow enough vegetables to harvest and preserve to last us through winter! And this year I won't even have to buy any seeds because I have so many left over from last year (and I saved seeds from some of the plants we grew). Pretty cool, right?
In this article you'll learn the easy way to indoor seed starting with your own DIY grow light system. I'll show you everything you need including the cheapest fluorescent lights, my favorite seedling trays, the best growing medium and the shelving unit I use.
At the time of this writing, it is late April, so the winter months are behind us. However, we live in a cold climate so thoughts of a bountiful vegetable garden will have to wait until May. But that won't stop me from getting a head start on some plants such as tomato seedlings and herbs.
When to Start Seeds Indoors
In order to know which of your own plants you'll want to start indoors early it's a good idea to take a couple things into consideration.
1. Your last frost date
This is the date that your area is expected to have its last frost of the season. It is important to know this because it will determine when it is the right time to put your young plants that you started inside, in the ground.
2. Knowing when the seed packet suggests sowing
This information can be found on the back of most seed packets.
Here is an example for new gardeners:
I will be planting the tomato seeds shown in the photo above.
My last frost date is May 26. That will be a good time to plan to have my healthy seedlings in the ground.
This seed packet tells me that I should sow these seeds 6-8 weeks prior to warm weather (a.k.a. last frost date) so I should plant them by April 14th at the latest.
Tomatoes take a long time to mature, hence that two-month period. Different types of seeds will have different sow dates.
Our Indoor Seed Starting Setup
(This post contains affiliate links which means when you purchase from my links, I make a small commission.)
Equipment and supplies:
Metal shelving (Like this one)
Grow lights (These are lights we have, and I love them.)
Chain (If you purchase the same lights I did, the chain comes with it.)
Seed trays (These trays with these cells would work well)
Potting mix
Heating mat (Like this one)
The shelving I got was more expensive than it needed to be because I bought this six-tier unit. I wanted extra shelves so as my garden expands over the years, I will have ample room for more seedlings.
And the way I see it, this one-time purchase will last probably forever. If you don't need as much room as me, you can purchase this three-shelf unit which is much more affordable.
Grow lights can be pricey too. After a lot of shopping around I settled on these because they had decent reviews and were the cheapest I could find for a pack of four at 4' long.
Depending on what light fixtures you get, they may or may not come with chain. If not, you can pick some up at your local hardware store. The chain is important because it allows you to lower and raise the light as needed. You'll want the fixture low at first to ensure the seeds have enough light, then as the tops of the seedlings begin to reach the plant lights you can shorten the chain.
There are so many seed trays on the market that it's really a personal preference of what you choose. I like these trays paired with these cells because they are plastic which means they are reusable. Anywhere that I can save a dollar, count me in!
Now, what type of soil mix is best? I like to use plain ole potting soil. To be honest, I haven't experienced with other mediums but I've always got high seed germination rate so if it ain't broke don't fix it right?
If you use seed starting mix you will have to up-pot it into a potting soil later because seed starting mix doesn't contain the nutritional value that plants eventually need.
If you don't want to buy trays right off the bat, consider starting seeds in egg cartons. Just know that as the seedling grows you will have transfer it to a bigger pot. But this is a good idea if you want to separate the cost of your purchases.
Seedling heat mats are not essential to starting seeds indoors, but it may help give your seedlings a little boost. If you plan to have your setup in a basement or garage where temperatures tend to be cooler, a heating mat is a great idea to help with a higher germination rate. I personally have not used this heating pad yet, but I know many who have had great sucess with it.
Tips for Starting Seeds Inside
Keeping seedlings warm
I mentioned this above, but keeping your seedlings warm is important to help them grow well. I regulate the temperature of the room that my seeds are in with a space heater. I keep it around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't know if there is a specific recommended temperature for this, all I know is that this is what I do and I have never had a problem.
I just wouldn't keep them in a space lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit if possible.
Watering seedlings
When you first plant the seeds, use a spray bottle to water them. If you use anything more, it's possible to drown the seeds. They can wash to the bottom of the seed tray cell, and they won't be able to germinate and push through the surface of the soil if they are too deep.
There isn't a steadfast rule when it comes to how often you should water. It may look like once a day, twice a day or every other day. Just listen to your plants — meaning if the soil feels dry to the touch, then they're thirsty. If the soil feels moist, no need to water them. I check mine twice a day to determine whether they need watering or not,
Once they have germinated you can use a watering can or even a plastic milk jug with holes poked in the lid.
Hours of light needed for seedlings
When I first sow my seeds I leave the lights on 24 hours a day. Once the seeds sprout, I leave the lights on anywhere from 14-18 hours a day. Do what works best for you and your schedule because whether the lights are on 24/7 or 12 hours a day, your seedlings will grow.
You'll hear and read that your seedlings need exactly 16 hours of light, no more no less (maybe that's an exaggeration), but I promise that's not the case. 14-18 hours per day is just optimal, but a not end all be all.
If you stick around here, you'll learn that I'm not a big fan of following the "rules", especially when it comes to homesteading. The internet is a noisy place with a lot of different opinions. I'm just here to give you the basics and tell you what I do and what works for me, but feel free to modify the techniques I share and make them your own.
So far I have tomatoes and a vide variety of herbs sprouting. This is my fourth year starting seeds indoors and let me tell you, I get so excited everyday when I go downstairs to check on their progress. It's so much fun watching a new batch of seeds grow into delicate seedlings.
Once the seedlings grow a bit bigger it's important to transplant them to a larger container, so their roots have room to grow. Then the next step is putting them into the ground. This is why starting them at the appropriate time is crucial.
If you start them too early, they may grow too big to fit under your grow lights before it is time to put them in the ground. If this happens, you have the option of putting them in a pot in front of a sunny window (south facing windows are best).
If you end up having to transplant some of your seedlings into a bigger container I love using solo cups! They're cheap and reusable (my favorite combination). But, don't forget to poke drainage holes in the bottom of each cup.
This article by Burpee is about troubleshooting different issues that you may experience when sowing seeds indoors. It may be a good idea to bookmark it just in case you need it down the road. I thankfully haven't had many problems with my indoor seed starting, but that's not to say others won't.
Final thoughts on making your own indoor seed starting setup
Yes, starting seeds indoors is more work than purchasing plants from a garden store but the money you will save in the long run by sowing your own seeds makes it a no brainer.
If you purchase all of the supplies that I shared above (not including seeds or potting mix) to make your own seed starting set up the total cost is $252.12 (before tax). If you buy 70 plants from the store at roughly $3 a plant the total cost is $210.
AND all of the following years you won't have to purchase anything else. Except for seeds (unless you save you own seeds) some potting mix and eventually light bulb replacements.
Sowing seeds indoors has brought me so much joy, I want you to experience it for yourself.
Now go plant some seeds!
