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Let’s Get Growing! Starting Your Garden Indoors (Part 1)

I look forward to the end of January each year. Yes, I know that temperatures here in Wisconsin are typically hovering around the single digits, and the ground is still covered with snow, but for me it means spring is right around the corner and it’s time to get planting. 

Before you start sowing your seeds, you’ll need a place they can sit undisturbed to grow. Basic requirements are adequate light, warmth, and access to water. Keep reading to learn about my setup, and get some ideas for how you can set up your growing station as well.

Seed Starting Setup and Light Upgrade

Planting time means it’s also time to get the seed starting area cleaned up and organized. As I wandered down to the basement to check my grow lights I decided an upgrade was in order. I’ve had the same grow lights for over 15 years, and a couple of the fixtures for close to 20. As with anything else, over time they’ve started to show their age. One of the two-bulb fixtures only lit up on the one side. So, I decided that it’s time to start replacing the fluorescent grow lights with the new LED grow lights. We started with replacing the broken fixture, and will continue replacing in sections over the next couple of years as funds allow.

One of the things I love that we did when we moved to the Suburban Farmhouse, was we created a dedicated space for seed starting. Initially it was just an old teak table we had lying around. We had some supports that we made and hung a couple of grow lights from. At the beginning we definitely did not have enough light! Eventually we painted the concrete basement walls white in order to brighten up the area, and help reflect some of the light. I also resorted to using aluminum foil to help reflect the paltry light we had. 

Lighting

Our first upgrade was to add more lights, and attach them to plywood boards that were painted white. These were suspended by chains attached to the ceiling so we can lower and raise them as needed. This helped immensely with reducing the legginess of my seedlings. 

Because the setup is in the basement, and let’s be honest, who wants to wander down to the basement twice daily to turn lights on and off, we added a timer to the system. I also bought a fan to run down there once the seedlings were growing. The additional air flow helps to prevent damping off disease which can occur when seedlings are too wet and cool, and it also helps to strengthen the stems of the young seedlings by causing movement stress.

It’s not exactly an “insta-worthy” setup, but it does the trick!

Grow Table

Over time as our family and garden grew, so did our seed starting area. Eventually it became time to replace the teak table (which was refinished and passed on to our daughters as they moved into their college apartments). My husband had recently purchased a 2×4 Basics Kit to build a customizable tool bench. The kit was essentially plastic connectors that allow you to attach legs and shelves into a table structure. Depending on the kit you can also add additional shelves based on your needs. We liked the flexibility so much we bought two more kits…one for his workbench in the basement and one for my new seed starting bench. 

My bench somewhat presses the limits of the kit as I wanted an 8 foot long table to hold my trays. I also wanted maximum storage underneath for large pots, and the pool pump in the winter, which meant no bottom shelf to stabilize it. It also had to be deep enough to allow the trays to line up perpendicular to the table, and allow for a row of trays running parallel to the table, so roughly 3 feet deep. In addition to the kit, we purchased marine plywood for the bench top and protected it with a layer of varnish. In retrospect I should have oiled or waxed it to further protect against water damage. That’s on the “To Do” list for when we need to refinish the surface…likely in 2024, based on wear and tear. 

Upgrading the Lighting

As we moved and expanded the table surface, we also moved and expanded the light system. Though in retrospect, we still have areas that don’t get enough light. As we upgrade the old shop light and grow bulb system to a newer LED grow light system, we will definitely be addressing that issue. 

Our old lighting system is a combination of 2 and 4 foot long shop lights which are fitted with Verilux grow light bulbs. The four foot lights each take two bulbs and we have two of those (four bulbs total). This end of the table gets the most light, and plants tend to do best down here. The other end of the table has two 2 foot fixtures that are perpendicular to the table. One of the fixtures has one light bulb. As a result, this end of the table does not get as much light as it could. To help give all the plants a fighting chance, I rotate the trays each time I water, taking one tray off the end with lots of lights, and shifting them all down one slot. Hopefully when we finish converting to the LED lights I won’t have to do this anymore.

Planting Table

A couple years ago we made another addition to the seed starting area. In the past I hauled all my flats, trays, soil, seeds, etc. up to the laundry room where we have a long counter and a sink. For years this is where I’ve done my seeding and my repotting, often standing for hours at a time. Last year this was not an option. I was recovering from foot surgery and was on crutches, so standing was not an option. My husband was working on another major project, so he could not be my hands and feet. 

In order for me to be as self-sufficient as possible, my husband set up a “church table” (one of those long brown tables often seen in church gathering spaces) and added some stilts. This was a trick we’d seen at our church. The “stilts” are sections of PVC pipe cut to length that are placed over the ends of the church table legs in order to elevate it to a better working height. This allowed me to sit on a counter height stool and be able to work comfortably at the table. We then arranged the bag of potting soil, empty flats and trays, seeds, and a bucket of water so I could easily access them from the stool. The only time I needed help was when the 5 gallon bucket of water needed refilling. I loved the setup so much that we’ve kept it in place the entire year, and I’m putting it to good use again this season.

As with my workspace, my seed starting setup has evolved through the years as well. Initially I bought all of my trays and flats from Stein’s, a local garden center chain. I always bought the black trays, and the 48 cell flats. I’d use them until they were too broken or worn out to be of much use, then I’d replace them…roughly every other year. Recently, I’ve started looking for better quality equipment, and last year bought some new supplies from Johnny’s Seed. They didn’t have the 48 cell trays that I was used to, so I bought a variety of sizes to try (24 and 50 cell flats). The flats are of better quality than the ones from Steins and I expect to get a good five years or (hopefully) more out of them. I really like that they are not as flimsy as those I’ve bought in the past, but I do wish that the hole in the bottom was a bit bigger. Charles Dowding has some where the hole in the bottom is big enough to stick your finger into to pop out the plug at planting time. I’d love some of those, but can’t find a US supplier for them. Gardener’s Supply has a 15-cell tray that I’d like to try.

Seed Starting Equipment

Another YouTuber I watch, Huw Richards, talks about the benefits of bottom watering your seedlings. While I’ve been doing this for years (it was also how we watered the plant in a botany lab I worked in during college. We were mapping the genome of the mustard plant which was pre work to the human genome project. It was pretty cool!), I’ve simply filled the tray with about an inch of water and let it sit. Ideally this should have been drained off after 10-15 minutes to avoid overwatering. So this year I ‘ve purchased some heavyweight mesh trays to put under the flats. This should allow me to lift the flats out of the water once they’ve soaked, which in turn should further reduce any problems with damping off.

Last year I also added a heat mat and a mini garden trowel. The garden trowel is perfect for repotting and transplanting seedlings as it’s small enough to fit in most size flats to lift the entire seedling out. And did I mention that it’s just plain adorable? The heat mat (where have you been my whole life?) works wonders in helping to get the seeds going. I’ve heard of using bottom heat to help get the seeds to germinate, but always thought it was just hype. After nearly 20 years, I finally broke down and bought a set of two. Wow! What a difference!! I definitely saw an increase in seed germination and decrease in time to germinate. I will be adding additional mats to my stockpile this year.

Another tip I picked up from Huw was to use cardboard to cover the flats while waiting for the seeds to germinate. This works well for any seeds that do not require light to germinate (lettuce needs light to germinate), as it helps to keep the soil moist. I switched to this method and saw an increase in germination rates due to the top of the soil not drying as quickly. Once the seeds have germinated, I replaced the cardboard with a plastic dome until the seedlings were ready to transplant to a bigger pot.

Repotting has been something I’ve done sporadically in the past, but I decided to give a wholehearted try last year. I definitely saw an improvement in my seedlings. Those that were repotted were hardier, less leggy, and overall just thrived better than those that were not repotted. This is something I will be repeating this year. I’ve already blocked time each month to sow my seeds, and re-pot last month’s seedlings at the same time. I’ll cover sowing, re-potting and hardening off in future blog posts.

Now that I have my seed starting area cleaned up and ready, there’s one final thing to do before I can start sowing my seeds. After checking my supplies, I need to head out and buy some more soil!

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1 Comment

  1. […] is a first for me! If you’re looking for ideas on setting up your seed starting area, check out Part 1 of our Let’s Get Growing […]

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