Seed Starting Supplies

In 2017 living in a small apartment above a garage with a large deck, I started my first set of successful seedlings for my mom’s farm and garden. I’ve made a lot of mistakes since then, and looking at where I am now with my knowledge and skills from my experience in seed starting, I’m okay that I made those mistakes. It finally led me to create a process that uses an array of seed starting supplies that works for my farmette in starting and growing my own vegetables and flowers.

Tips for First Time Starting Seeds

For first time seed starters, whatever you do or already have started, you are the right foot no matter if it is done perfectly or if some mistakes are/were made. It happens, but we always have time to try again, whether next week or next growing season.

If you try tomato seedlings, and you scorch them in the sun on a random hot April day and kill them all. It’s okay. It’ll be disappointing, but local greenhouses and garden centers work great as a backup for accidents and busy seasons.

The year I got married, I had a super busy season of sewing my dress and veil, my bridesmaid dresses, creating floral arrangements and other wedding activities that I intentionally did not start transplants that year. My apartment was crowded enough with other crafty supplies. I wasn’t able to afford the space, nor did I have the time to also start plants that year. My now-husband and I shopped for our garden plants at a local greenhouse for that year.

It was the following year my husband bought me a grow light with a simple stand, and it has become a part of my everyday life to take care of these seeds and seedlings in the spring months. The key to successful seed starting is to have the right supplies and equipment to create an easy process.

Grow Lights- Must Have for Seed Starting

These are the most important supplies to have for seed starting indoors. They’re not exactly necessary in a greenhouse, but in a house, a south facing window alone will not do the job. It will help, but plants need direct light for about 12 to 16 hours per day. I provide 12 hours of light per day, while other more professional growers do provide 16 hours of light.

A 2’ long grow light will provide light for one standard sized tray. Thus, a 4’ long grow light will provide light for two standard sized trays. It would be okay to add more light to the seedlings than this, but do not go any lower.

What happens when using one 4’ long grow light for four trays is the plants on the further ends of the trays will stretch towards the light. The plants will become leggy and grow at an angle towards the grow light. If a 4’ grow light is all you are able to budget for currently and you already have 4 trays worth of plants, every day rotate the plants so that the ones on the outer edges are now in the center of the trays.

One of the Best Grow Lights

My favorite grow lights are from GE with wave lengths for vegetables and another one for flowers. Either works, it just has a difference in how many red and blue lights are in each. They are expensive at original price. But, I did nab up four last season at Lowe’s when they were on clearance for $10 or $15. They plug into each other, which helps reduce the amount of cords plugging into outlets.

Other grow lights available are simple shop lights with one cool and one warm. Amazon sells an assortment. Walmart did have their own Great Value brand, but lately I haven’t been able to find the 4’ versions in stock. I’ve also used regular LED lights before when I didn’t have as many grow lights.

Lastly, please note that some seeds need light for germination, some need complete darkness for germination, or some are not finicky if they have light or not. Read your seed packets to be sure what your seeds need.

Grow Stand

My first grow light set up consisted of an adjustable height table with a 2’ grow light on a small stand with some extra lamps nearby along a south facing window. It was a chaotic mess and I never want to replicate that again, or lead somebody else to create the same organized mess. Having some sort of set up for seed starting and its supplies is essential in staying organized.

Table with Stand for Grow Lights

I currently have three grow light set ups. The first way is the adjustable height table with a large 4’ grow light hanging from a stand with a multitude of heat mats. Everything plugs into a power strip. Having a timer for this is great. Or just every morning turn the power strip on and turn it off 12-16 hours later.

Grow Light Garden To Keep Cats Away from Plants

My second grow light set up is a grow light garden, or also called a grow light stand. This one I built myself and is super unique to where it is covered in chicken wire with a set of doors on the front that its whole purpose is to keep the cats from eating or destroying my plants. It has worked for the most part. I have caught the cat in it before sitting underneath the grow lights, acting if she is a plant and needs that extra lighting too! She has also pulled out some decent sized petunias through the chicken wire on the bottom shelf. Besides those few sacrifices of plants, the cats leave my seedlings alone for the most part.

This grow light garden has three tiers. In each tier is 2 grow lights that fit 4 standard sized trays underneath. Each tier has a Jumbo sized boot tray to catch an excessive water from watering the plants.

Check out my post about how I built this grow stand to keep my kitties away from terrorizing my plants, “Building a Cat Proof Grow Light Stand.”

Grow Light Stand for Seed Starting

My latest grow light stand is rather simple and only cost $20 to build. I used 2”x3” boards with some wire shelving my husband bought at an auction. It has three tiers, and a fourth shelf on the top for more plants if I would hang grow lights from the basement ceiling. Take a look at how I built this EASY grow light garden in “How to Build an Easy Grow Light Garden.”

One way that I don’t use in the house, but I do plan to use in the greenhouse is stacking cement blocks and then laying strong boards across them before stacking up more cement blocks to repeat the structure. I don’t plan on doing more than one layer. But for indoors, one would add the grow lights right to the bottom side of the boards. On the top side of the boards, one would keep their seed trays.

The other popular way is what I see a lot of gardener’s using. It is so simple to do, but does require you to invest more than other ways. Buy a 4’ wide baker’s rack with the metal wired shelving. Assemble it. Then, add the grow lights with zip ties or chains and hooks. Baker’s racks can also have the addition of a plastic mat that fits in just perfect. This would help catch any extra water that accidently didn’t land in the trays. I didn’t always have building skills or the tools to build, so I find a baker’s rack is a great option as well.

Plug Trays

Save these, if you can, from friends, family, and neighbors the year before you want to start your own seeds. If it is spring and you still need some cell trays, ask some gardening and farming friends if they have extra.

That’s the free way. But, in the seed collection at stores, they sell the seed starting supplies that you need. Say you only have a 2’ long grow light, buy two seed starting kits with a 72-cell tray, leak-proof tray, and a humidity dome.

72-cell plug trays are what the soil medium and seeds will be placed it. The 72-cell tray will then be placed in the leak-proof trays. There are different sizes smaller than this and larger as well. I start with 72-cells and when the plants have outgrown this, they will be bumped up to a 36-cell tray, and maybe even further if they are larger.

Leak-Proof Trays

Leak-proof trays are so essential. Some can be flimsy and can break over the years. This leads to water seeping out of them, when you are assuming they are keeping all the water away from the table or flooring. Investing in higher quality trays with a thicker plastic is golden.

Without leak-proof trays, excessive water will soak whatever is below the trays. It would be okay in my jumbo boot trays, but it would not be okay on my one table that I start seeds on.

Heat Mats for Seeds

If you have a large budget, you may find a kit with those three and a heat mat. Heat mats aren’t necessarily necessary, but they do help in the germination process for some plants that need a higher soil temperature, like peppers for example. As soon as the seedlings germinated, the heat mat should be removed.

Humidity Domes

Humidity domes are important too. The help in keeping the soil moist, as well as the temperature a little bit higher.

I will add this. I’ve done this and have seen other do this. Do not treat the seed starting trays with the humidity dome as a small greenhouse you can put outdoors. Jiffy advertises their as “Seed Starting Greenhouse Trays”. Yes, they can be used as supplies in a greenhouse or any seed starting set up, but they are not a greenhouse alone. Even on warmer or hot days, don’t put plants outside with the humidity dome while you go to work or leave for a few hours. It will toast, or about fry, the plants.

Soil Medium- The Seed Starting Mix

With starting only a few trays, a small bag of seed starting mix will work. Even Miracle Grow potting mix will be okay. What I like to use, which also supports our local AgWay, is Lampert All-Purpose Growing Mix in a 3.8 cubic foot soil bale. It costs about $35 to $40, but it has everything already mixed including the peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite, lasting for all my seed starting season.

It is also possible to mix your own seed starting medium of peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite. There are many recipes to follow, but a simple recipe is 1-part peat moss, 1-part vermiculite, 1-part perlite, with the addition of a small amount of Espoma Bio-tone fertilizer, or other nutrient.

Work Surface for Seed Starting

Kitchen counters, dining room tables, or other spaces work as supplies in seed starting. I have a second adjustable height 4’x2’ table that I use as my work space. This is large enough to focus on one seedling tray at a time. I love that it is countertop height.

I do find it important to have your own work space for starting seedlings. Last year, I did do it on the kitchen counter top, but I had to do some extra in depth cleaning every time I started seeds. Then sweep the kitchen floor every time. It gets overwhelming, and if the clean-up is not done to the full extent, there may be some soil medium still on the counter that could come into contact with food or any food prep equipment. The same goes for the dining room table. Although kitchen counter and dining table do work fine, I find it best practice to have your own space and work area for starting seeds.

Scoop

What I find to be the most efficient for scooping out the soil medium into a mixing bucket is not a large cup, but a farm-size scoop. I’ve used cups before, but they’re not as large as I need them to be to speed up the seed starting process. This year, we had an extra scoop on hand that I now use for my seed-starting.

Mixing Bucket for Seed Starting Mix

The soil medium needs to be scooped out of the bag and into a solid container that will have water added to the soil mix. This container needs to be able to handle water and moist soil.

I love watching Garden Answer where the host Laura uses potting trays to moisten her soil. She has a new video where she makes her own out of wood, similar to the green plastic one she currently has. Although I love the design of potting trays and their functions, I don’t find it necessary to buy one or buy wood to make one. Maybe someday, but not quite yet.

I’ve used buckets in the past, along with an older trash can which looked like a pot for flowers. This year, I’m using a tubtrug- one of those colorful, flexible tubs you can buy at TSC that are intended for harvesting vegetables. It’s awesome. It has two handles, is large enough, but not overwhelming in size.

Water Supply

A watering can will work great, but so will any sort of container that will transfer your water from the “spicket” (water faucet) to your soil medium.

I use a large washed out juice jug to fill up water. Using a whole jug with a whole container of seed starting mix provides me with the best moistened soil. Not too wet and not too dry.

Seeds of Choice

I store my seeds in a plastic tote with a lid and keep my near my seed starting table. I have some seeds that I’ve saved myself that I store in cleaned out plastic containers that had drink mixes or other food ingredients in it originally.

Before starting my seed starting process, I pick out which seeds for that week based on my gardening Excel sheet. Using an excel sheet to see week by week what to plant has been so helpful in starting my seeds. I plan out ahead of time, so when seed starting season comes around in February, I am ready to go.

This plan also gives me a heads-up for when I would need to order my seeds by. Some seeds I order in bulk while others I just buy as the season goes on if I didn’t order it in the bulk orders.

Supplies from Scratch Seed Starting

To give a rough idea of what it costs for simple set up for two standard cell trays, here is a comparison list of items to buy at Walmart and Lowes. I’m not saying to go with the cheaper one or to go with the one with higher quality. You could also buy some things at Walmart, some things at Lowes, and other items at a local store. This is to show you an example budget of how much it would cost to get started on a small scale.

	Walmart		Lowes
4′ Grow Lights	iPower GLT5XX4 54W 4 Feet T5 Fluorescent Grow Light System with Stand Rack for Plant Seed Starting, 6400K, 1 Pack, Green	$69.99	GE 3.35-in 1-Light White 250-Watt LED Grow Light	$69.98
Grow Stand	Included above		Utilitech Grow light rack Steel Greenhouse Shelf	$27.98
Trays & Humidity Dome	Ferry-Morse 72 Cells Pro-Hex Seed Starting Tray 20″ x 11″	$5.87 (x2) = $11.74	Ferry-Morse 72-Cell Natural Tray	$5.80 (x2) = $11.60
Heat Mat	Ferry-Morse 10″ x 20″ 17.5 Watt Seed Starting Heat Mat	$34.30	Gardens Alive! Heat Mat	$57.98
Soil Medium	Jiffy Natural & Organic Seed Starter Mix, 12 QT	$5.97	Ferry-Morse Organic Natural Seed Starting Mix	$5.99
Work Surface	Mainstays 4′ Height Adjustable Folding Table, White Granite	$32.98	Flash Furniture 1.98-ft x 3.98-ft Indoor Rectangle Plastic White Adjustable Height Folding Banquet Table (4-Person)	$78.18
Scoop	Miller Enclosed Feed Scoop Blue 3 Quart- 150415	$4.84	Pecking Order Clear Plastic Chicken Pen	$6.98
Mixing Tub- both TSC	Tuff Stuff 7 gal. Flex Tub Storage Tank	$13.99	Tuff Stuff 7 gal. Flex Tub Storage Tank	$13.99
Watering Can	Expert Gardener 56 oz Gray Resin Watering Can	$2.97	Bloem 0.4 Gallon Blue Plastic Classic Watering Can	$5.98
Seed Budget		$30		$30
	Walmart Total:	$206.78 + tax	Lowes Total:	$308.66 + tax

Substitutions

Some items above you can substitute for other things that may be free. This is just a rough estimate for getting the basics of the necessities for seed starting on a small scale. Some things can be replaced by what you already have at home. Use a jug versus buying a watering can; use a cool whip container instead of buying a scoop; use a kitchen table versus buying an adjustable height table. Skip the heat mat and place non-germinated seedlings on top of the refrigerator or near a heat source. Find some free seed starting trays. Buy grow lights separate than the grow stands, and buy wood or find some for free to build your own grow stand.

Be Creative

Ultimately, research the supplies that would work the best for you and your seed starting set up. There’s multiple ways, and more creative ways to create a space and healthy environment for your seedlings. Be intentional and have a plan to creating your first seed starting set up.

Once you have your supplies for seed starting, let’s move on to the fun part of starting the seeds. Read this post to learn everything you need to know for seed starting, “Seed Starting: How to Start Seeds Indoors.”

Pin This Post