Want to know the one big secret to starting seeds indoors that will let you grow incredibly healthy transplants for your garden and flowerbeds easier than you ever imagined?
Starting your own vegetable plants, flowers and herbs from seeds is so rewarding! And it has so many advantages over purchasing transplants. For starters, it can save a tremendous amount on plant costs. But even more, growing your own plants allows you the opportunity to grow plants you simply can’t find in stores.
We have been growing most of our vegetable and flower plants for going on 15 years now. And through all of those years of experience, I can tell you without a doubt there is one key secret that can really make all the difference between success and failure. And that secret is exactly what today’s article is all about!
If there is one portion of gardening that seems to intimidate gardeners the most, it’s starting their own seeds indoors. Perhaps it’s the memory of a few past attempts that didn’t turn out well. Or the thought of having windowsills covered in wiry, sprawling plants for months on end!
Many gardeners also have the misconception that starting their own seeds indoors requires a lot of expensive equipment, including fancy grow lights. Here’s the good news, it doesn’t have to. Nor does it mean having to fill your windowsills with plants.
In fact, as you will see below – that is the last place in the world you ever want to try growing your plants from seed!
The One Big Secret To Starting Seeds Indoors!
There are many factors that can affect young seedlings indoors. It’s certainly very important to start your seeds in good soil. Of course, having fertile seed and giving your plants proper moisture and warmth as they grow is equally important as well.
But when it comes to successfully starting seeds indoors, there is usually one factor above all else that makes the biggest difference for growing strong, healthy transplants – or producing weak, spindly seedlings that have a hard time surviving outdoors. And that factor? Proper lighting!
Avoiding Windows – The One Big Secret To Starting Seeds Indoors
Although windowsills are great for growing many houseplants, one thing is for sure, they are the last place you want to start vegetable and flower seeds.
Windowsills do offer plenty of light. But that light is very far away from the plants. In fact, that light is nearly 100 million miles away from your windowsill. And because of that, using it to power young vegetable and flower seedlings is a recipe for disaster.
When a seedling begins to grow, beyond food and water, it is in search of one other major element – light. In a windowsill, because that light is far away, the seedling spends all of its time stretching to the sun.
Unfortunately, the end result is a transplant that has a long and very weak center stem. One that is completely bent to whichever direction the sun is growing. Simply put – windowsills produce weak, spindly plants, even when turned on a daily basis.
Adding to the issues of windowsill growing, the temperatures in a window fluctuate between incredibly hot when the sun shines through, to very cold in the evening. Once again, a disaster for growing strong, healthy seedlings. But here is some good news, as you will learn next, you don’t need expensive lights to grow amazing transplants!
Listen Below To Our Podcast On Starting Seeds Indoors!
It’s All In The Right Lights! – The One Big Secret To Starting Seeds Indoors
Now that we know windowsills are not the answer, the question is, what is? There are certainly a number of fancy and costly grow lights on the market for growing plants indoors. And yes, they will work for vegetable and flower plants.
But the real secret to perfect plants is to use inexpensive LED shop lights. It has been our go-to lighting source for years, and with amazing results!
Young vegetable and flower seedlings simply don’t need the fancy light spectrum that grow lights provide. Grow lights are great for tropical plants and other varieties that require special lighting. But it is overkill for vegetable and flower plants.
All flower and vegetable transplants need are bright white light. And shop lights are perfect for providing plenty of that bright light for a fraction of the cost. Especially when you use them at just the right height above your plants!
Using LED Shop Lights To Grow Transplants – The One Big Secret To Starting Seeds Indoors
LED shop lights can be purchased quite inexpensively as a plug in fixture in lengths ranging from two to four feet and beyond. The two foot and four foot lengths are actually perfect for placing one or two flats of plants underneath. Affiliate Link: 4 Pack Linkable LED Shop Light, 4FT
Although you can use fluorescent shop lights for this, they are not as efficient. In fact, LED lights can run for pennies a day, and many carry a life expectancy of 50,000 hours or more. Best of all, you never have to worry about the annoying hum that fluorescent lights often give off.
If you happen to already have fluorescent lights on hand you can certainly use them. They still work very well just as LED shop lights do. But if you are buying new, for the long term, LED lights are the better choice.
Whether you build your own simple plant stand to hang the lights from, or simply place a few bricks or wood blocks at the ends of your plant trays to sit the lights on, all that you need to do to properly light your plants is keep the bulbs one to two inches above the plants as they grow. See: (Old World Garden Tabletop DIY Seedling Stand Plans!)
That may sound a bit close, but with LED or fluorescent bulbs, it provides the perfect amount of light. Both types of bulbs are cool bulbs, which means they won’t burn the foliage, even when leaves come in contact with the bulb.
How Long Should I Leave The Lights On? The One Big Secret To Starting Seeds Indoors
As they grow, continue to raise the lights so that they remain just an inch or so from the top of the foliage. This encourages the plants to grow steady and strong.
As for how long the lights should be left on, whether you are using LED or fluorescent bulbs, they should be left on for 10 to 12 hours each day over your plants. It’s never a good idea to leave them on around the clock because plants need a bit of darkness to rest and adjust. Any less than the 10 to 12 – and they will struggle to grow enough.
Here is to using the simple power of LED shop lights – they really are the secret to growing amazingly strong and sturdy transplants like never before! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary.
Old World Garden Farms
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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