Re: seed starting tables





Valerie Lowery@ZEON
11/20/98 02:54 PM

One suggestion I read somewhere is if you don't have one of those expensive
3-tiered jobs for starting seeds, you can improvise.  Buy a buffet table
and 3 shop lights (the long flourescent type).  Position your lights on old
books right above your flats.  As the seeds grow larger, you can just stack
on more books.  Simple, yet effective.

My "sophisticated methods" include using a small fan for circulation and a
timer to turn off and on your shop lights.  Since my basement stays a
decent temp during the winter, I have no need for supplemental heat.  To
get seeds to germinate, I simply place the flat on top of my frig or in a
heated room.  Once the seeds sprout, I move them to the basement.  I've had
great success this way.

I also only use peat pots.  It may be better to use other methods, but
since I can't always be home to coddle plants, it makes things easier
because they hold water longer.  Watch out for mold if you keep them too
wet.  There's also no root damage because the only time I transplant is
then to put them out to the garden.

I had my two-tiered stand built from a plan featured in Garden Gate
magazine, either the first or second issue.  It's made cheaply from pvc
pipe, can be disassembled during the off-months, and has lasted me going on
four years now.

This is all low-budget ideas.  I cannot afford special soils and lights,
and space is at a premium.  All-in-all, this method works for me.  I've had
every type of plant I've started this way in my garden, although not every
seed germinated.  But seed-starting is not 100% anyway.

Val in KY
zone 6a


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