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Re: Starting seeds indooors.

My setup is similar to Havi's, but here in the Pac NW I don't actually 
start the plants in a heated area except for initial germination.  My 
bulbs are over trays stacked verically with a couple of 100w bulbs at 
the bottom for heat.  The tomatoes and peppers and celery go on the 
bottom rack where it is warmest and the coles go on the top where it is 
barely above ambient temp in an unheated shed.  (35-50 deg F in mid Feb)

Too much heat relative to the amount of light is the usual cause for 
poor development in seedlings.  Even the best flourescents cannot match 
sunlight for good growth.  Keeping the temp reasonably low will 
encourage good strong seedlings.

Steve  (Maritime Climate -- UDSA Zone irrelevant)  


Havi Hoffman wrote:
> 
> Hi Denny--
> Grew seed starts for many years under standard fluorescent shop lights up
> in Alaska.  We had a setup with four rows of 48" fluorescent tubes
> suspended on chains (to easily raise and lower the lights as the plants
> grew) over a double-shelf setup that accomodated 4 standard flats. I think
> they're 17X13 or thereabouts.  The seedlings required 16 hours of light
> daily, or a little more doesn't hurt.  Keep the light source as close as
> possible to the growing seedlings without actually touching them.  This
> won't burn them and will prevent them from getting leggy.  This seemed to
> be the most important factor in growing stout, healthy starts.
> I generally grew in 6 packs--4 to a tray, but eventually for tomatoes and
> some of the cole crops I grew in 3 or 4" pots to reduce the number of
> transplantings I did.  Obviously it depends how big your garden, how much
> you want to grow.  The more crowded you start the more times you need to
> transplant etc. I was careful not to let things get root-bound or
> overwatered. I'd sow 3-6 seeds per container, select the most vigorous one
> when they got crowded or began their true leaves.  Rather than pulling the
> others, I'd snip them to avoid pulling roots.
> 
> Room temperature was around 72, and that worked fine for germinating and
> growing most things.  Keep them out of drafts or temp. changes. Cole crops
> like to germinate around 75-80 and then cool down--so they did better on
> the lower shelf, closer to the cool floor.  Tomatoes and peppers germinate
> best with a little more heat.
> 
> I used sterile planting mix and didn't feed the plants, watering when they
> ceased being moist, before they got real dry.  On onion and onion family
> starts I'd trim the seedling at about 4-6" until hardening off time.
> 
> Timing seems to be a key with so much in the garden--I've had plants
> languish from being started to early to get out and grow.  There's always 4
> and 6" pots, but still... Hope something in my experiences is useful to you --
> Cheers,
> Havi
> 
> At 11:19 PM 9/30/97 PDT, you wrote:
> >       Hello all Veggie growers.
> >
> >       As I am new to your list and do not know what may have gone before,
> please forgive me if my question is rhetoric for you :-(
> >
> >       For the past 2 years i have tried starting several flats of both flower
> and veggie seeds indoors under florescent lights.
> >
> >       The seeds usually have germinated well, but then become very stagnant in
> their growth, some only growing as much as 2-3 inches in 2 months.
> >
> >       Does anyone else have much experience starting their plants under
> >light?
> >
> >       Any help would be much appreciated, lest I should give up on the
> >pre-season plant starting, leaving that up to others with nice green
> houses.
> >
> >TYIA,   Denny
> >
> >
> >
> Havi Hoffman
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