I'm putting together a seed-starting unit for next spring. Every year, I need about seven full flats of annuals in the gardens, and our local nurseries always have the same old things available. This will give me a lot more latitude on what I add, although some of the old favorites will still make an appearance.
That's the unit, a standard shelf with open gridwork for air and light transmission between the levels. I hung a T12 work lamp on each level, with 2 40 watt bulbs in them. One warm white and one cool white should give a good enough spectrum for seed starting and initial growth. With minimal distance over the sprouts, I should have around 1,000 foot-candles. That's a bit low, but should be workable.
I put aluminum foil behind the unit for additional light reflection. Mylar would probably be better, but I had Reynolds Wrap on-hand!
I've been collecting seeds from the garden for storage. At the moment, I have Melampodium (Showstar), Bonfire salvia (although they probably reproduced with the Red Hot Sally), and French marigold seed (of random colors as I have a wide mix).
Germination testing on the Melampodium is going well. I suspect the others require a dormancy period before testing, so I'll try those in December or January, early enough to order seeds if they fail.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Seed Starting
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2 comments:
Looks good Morph. Neglecting the start-up cost of the hardware (which I assume you'll recover in the coming seasons), how much do you expect to save by starting your own vs. purchasing at the nursery (if they even carry the varieties you want)?
The hardware was a gift, actually--Mom's always looking for a good Christmas present for me as I'm incredibly hard to buy for. We thought it best to do it now, solve any problems, and get things ready. So recoup time on that is zero.
Power should cost about $50 through the whole season, and I'm shooting high on that. Normally, seven flats of annuals plus specialty items (Melampodium and heliotrope, mostly) would cost around $300. Seeds from the Melampodium are free this year, I have cuttings from the heliotrope already growing on a windowsill. The remaining seeds will be less than $30, and that includes enough for both Mom's garden and mine.
So figure a savings of $220 per year. If I'd paid for the hardware, that would be more than recouped the first year.
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