Getting Set Up: To Start Seeds Indoors
It can feel like a hefty expense to invest in the supplies to start seeds indoors for a small garden. However, in the long run, it is more cost-effective than buying plants every year. Plus, you will become a better and more knowledgeable gardener and gain the freedom to grow unique varieties that are often unavailable at nurseries.
Growing under lights makes plants stronger and sturdier than if they were grown in a window sill or greenhouse, and it doesn’t take up much space in your home.
Many people will set up a shelf in their living room or kitchen. If you have a basement or unused room in your house, that works too!
Blog Post, Updated January 31, 2023
Hey friends! My intention behind our ‘grow with us’ blog posts is to create the blog posts that I wish I had when I was starting out.
Today, I will be sharing our new setup for our grow lights and why we made the changes that we did. I will provide links to all of the supplies that we actually use to grow thousands of seedlings on our farm.
There is never just one way to do things, but this is how we have found success. There are always new tools and innovations coming out and every year we try and improve our methods and update the blog posts accordingly.
With love, Taylor and your friends at Together We Bloom
Amazon Affiliate Link Disclaimer: There are many ways that you can support our small farm: and one is by purchasing items through our Amazon affiliate links. Many of the items linked below are through our Amazon Affiliate Links. If you appreciate the information that we put together and are interested in any of the products below, please consider clicking the links to purchase the items. Don’t worry, we only promote items that we use, recommend, and believe in, and buying from these links is at no extra cost to you. We still believe in supporting your local makers, artisans, and businesses but we do rely on Amazon as well. Each purchase made through these links contributes a small amount of money to our farm.
Getting Set Up: A Shelving Unit
You don’t have to use a shelving unit to start seeds indoors, but you can grow a lot of seeds in a compact space by using one. There are countless options when it comes to shelves and various considerations.
Plastic/Resin Shelves: When we started, we grew our seedlings on a single hard plastic shelving unit that was left with the house (similar shelf linked below.) This worked well for us when we were growing for hobby and enjoyment and didn’t grow too many seedlings. The price of this shelf is similar to a metal shelving unit so depending on your needs, you may pick one or the other if you are a hobby grower. We now use our plastic shelving units to store our supplies and sometimes we drag them outside to use to harden off plants. But we have upgraded our shelves several times since this setup.
Wood IKEA Shelving Unit: As we have expanded over the years, we had to get creative on our setup. We chose to buy this shelving unit from IKEA to allow for greater wall coverage at a lower price (it is completely customizable and you can buy individual pieces.) This was great when we were soil-blocking and growing smaller quantities of plants. However, once we continued to expand our farm and began growing larger quantities of plants, we needed more space. Our fix for this was to pull the shelf away from the wall and add halved pieces of plywood on top of each shelf. We rotated the grow lights and while a little awkward, this allowed us to double the plants that we could have under lights. This shelving unit is great. And, because we don’t have a place to keep our supplies at the farm, this shelving unit will now act as our ‘shed’ in our unfinished basement since we have again made some changes for seed starting.
Metal Shelves with Wheels: New in 2024, we have made the switch to metal shelving with wheels. Many folks grab these types of shelving units from Costco or Sam’s Club, I have linked one from Amazon below if you don’t have a membership to one of these places. However, I found ours on Facebook Marketplace. The main reason we had to make this switch is that we added a 96-square-foot cooler into our seed starting room in 2023 so we no longer have the same amount of wall space for our Ikea shelving unit. The wheels will hopefully make my life a little easier too. We spaced our shelves at 18” inches so that we have plenty of room to raise and lower our lights.
Notes: Most lights are 4 feet long so you will likely want shelving units that are 4’ wide. Another option (linked below) is to check out sets that include grow lights and shelves together.
Plastic Shelving:
Metal Shelving:
Shelf/Light Combo:
Getting Your Grow Lights:
There is no need to be intimated about grow lights (I know I was!)
Linkable LED shop lights work great and are what most people use. They are affordable, easy, and will do great for your seedlings. The two linked below are two that we have actually bought and used. For each shelf that you will have seedlings on, you will want two lights, hung side by side. This will allow proper light distribution for the seedlings.
Using a timer for your lights is essential. The one we have linked below is the one that we have used for years. The way it works is like this: 4 of the outlets are set on a timer and the other 4 are ‘always on.’ You can adjust the timer. Generally, in each 24-hour cycle, you will want the lights on for 16 hours and off for 8 hours. This timer takes care of that for you and keeps the seedlings on a regular schedule.
If you have not looked at our germination station blog post yet, go and visit it now. We do not germinate our seedlings under grow lights, they only move to the grow lights once they have already germinated.
Adjusting the height of the lights: the grow lights should be about 3 inches above the plants (This is only for LED lights that do not generate heat.) Having these lights directly overhead prevents seedlings from stretching/reaching and becoming ‘leggy.’ As your seedlings grow, you will need to adjust the lighting for them. This can be achieved by boosting the trays up or raising the lights as they grow.
4 Pack of Lights
6 Pack of Lights
Timer:
The items linked below are items you might also consider.
An oscillating fan is something I consider a necessity. Having a fan in the room mimics the wind; it helps the seedlings grow stronger stems and reduces the transplant shock. It also helps the soil dry out and keeps fungus gnats at bay. The fan below can be set with a timer, which is nice. We have our fan on for 4-8 hours a day.
Additionally, if you are growing in your basement or a cold place in your house, a thermostat-controlled space heater can be useful when starting seeds in the colder months. It helps to keep the room at a warmer temperature for your seedlings. We use one that is temperature controlled for our basement grow room when temps drop.
Lastly, microfiber towels or shelf liners. Watering your seedlings when there are grow lights underneath takes extra precaution. (We did burn out a grow light from water dripping into the electrical and frying it.) Microfiber catches small beads of water so it doesn’t drip below, onto your grow lights. The other option is shelf liners- these will divert water off the shelf if you have a spill rather than allowing the water to drip directly below. Caution will still be required for both of these options.
Other Considerations:
Oscillating Fan:
Space Heater:
Shelf Liner:
Microfiber Towels:
