Super High Tec Seed Starting System

Started starting my seeds today. They say you should start peas on President's Day weekend, but with the howling winds and driving rain today, I don't think so.
So I decided to start my Tomatoes and Peppers down in the basement today. I began using this system last year and it seemed to work really well.
One of the most important things when starting seeds is to provide bottom heat to get the seeds to actually germinate. You can buy really expensive heat mats, but you can also do it with inexpensive Christmas lights. I used a set of rope lights I bought at the hardware store on clearance after the holidays. You want to make sure the lights are not LED lights, since they do not provide enough heat. I attached my lights to an old shelf with cable staples, so I can put it away at the end of the season and still use the table top.

My other supplies are pretty basic too. I start all of my seeds in 4" pots, I never have good luck using those little peat pots (besides, peat is not an environmentally responsible choice anymore.) I find that I often have to pot up into bigger pots or that the roots have trouble busting through the bottom of the pot. I use wood popsicle sticks for plant tags, my light source is a florescent shop light I picked up at the used building supply store for just a couple of bucks. I also use the most basic of timers to turn the light on and off.


The shop light is on chains so I can start the light directly above the pots and move it up as my plants get bigger and bigger. I cover the whole thing with one of those shiny space/emergency blankets. The blanket helps to keep in the heat, since it is generally pretty cool down in the basement.