Hey all–I am getting ready for my second real-for-sure-gardening season. This year, instead of buying plants, I’d like to try starting some things from seeds. I would start them in small pots on shelves in my garage. I assume that I’ll definitely need grow lights and probably need a heater.
First question: what to use for grow lights? I have a sneaking suspicion that I don’t really need to buy a fancy fixture that is specifically marketed as such.
Second question: it needs to be on a timer, right? The sprouts need some dark time, right?
Third question: the garage has been keeping at about 40 degrees this winter, so they’ll need to be kept warm. Is the grow lights likely to take care of this, or do I need to add something extra?
I could, I suppose, grow them on temporary shelving by my back door, but it would clutter up the main living area and make me grouchy.
I use cheap 4’ fluorescent shop light fixtures for starting plants. IIRC, they cost around $20 each. They’re designed to be hard-wired, but I wired them to plug into a 110V outlet. I use grow lights, which are crazy expensive, and completely unnecessary (I didn’t know this when I bought them). Normal fluorescent bulbs are fine for starting plants. It’s only when you want to produce flowers or fruits that the grow lights become necessary.
I don’t recall if plants for transplanting need some dark time or not (flower production does require it), but it makes no sense to waste power. Use the lights and timer to extend natural daylight if you can, and it’ll be much cheaper than trying to provide all the necessary light.
I’d use the heat mats that go under the seed starting trays if a cold garage was my only option. Gurney’s has them here.
This is all from memory, I read a few books about the subject, but have not personally ever implemented any of them.
Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium. I believe Metal Halide is used to simulate the fall season, as the longer wavelength is closer to the Sun’s when it travels through more atmosphere. However, IIRC, a simple florescent desk light will be fine in the early stages of development, with the more expensive lights not being necessary until flowering.
Yes. I believe it’s something like 20 hours of light and four hours of darkness in the simulated summer (during the growth stage), and 12/12 when fall begins and the flowers start blooming. Any grow store ought to have timers.
Not sure about this one, but every setup I’ve seen had a fan to remove excess heat. It really depends on that hardyness of what you’re growing, the size of the basement, and what type of airflow it experiences. Both the bulbs and the ballasts get pretty warm, but if the basement is absorbing all the heat they may still get too cold. Also, it’s possible to burn the buds or flowers if they’re getting too much wattage.
Any grow store ought to have a pamphlet with the relevant information, I recall seeing a paperback for $1.99 the last time I was in one a few years ago. They’ll also have an equation for how much wattage you’ll need vs. how many square feet you wish to plant.
ETA: I know people who were very careful to not let any light in during “dark” times. Supposedly, it would cause the female plants (the ones that don’t have seeds) to turn into hermaphrodites. No vouching for the authenticity of this one, but if they were careful enough to separate out all the male plants, they would be very particular about this.
Look up the germination requirements of soil temperature and light for all seeds you want to grow. Some need light to sprout and some need dark. They all have minimum soil temperatures to germinate.
The most common light I’ve seen used is a two tube florescent shop light. Don’t waste time worrying about special light bulbs. I had some twelve inch pepper plants with some small peppers last year under two shop lights raised on cement blocks. Spring was over a month late last year. Just try to keep the lights about six inches or slightly more above the plants. Reflective surfaces under the plants and to the sides will direct all the light back to the plants and help with the light level. The reflective side panels are the most helpful. If your plants are lanky you need more light.
What** Harmonious Discord** said. I hung my lights with chain so I could raise them as the plants grew.
For starting pepper seeds, which need warm soil to germinate, I used an old heating mat, like you’d use under a desk to keep your feet warm. Worked like a charm.