Here is my seed starting growing set-up.

Indyartist · February 13, 2011

What I have is basically a two bulb shop light with GE Aquarium/ plant bulbs, two Jiffy 72 compartment starting trays plus I've also added a mylar reflective "emergency blanket" cut in two and clipped to the light to hope to add the benefit of reflecting the electric light and heat . My set up is in my basement so what ever warmth / heat the mylar blanket can hold in and reflect will be welcome. I'm always open for comments and suggestions.

dice · February 15, 2011

You only actually need the warmth before the seeds sprout.
Once they have sprouted, growing them at cool basement
temperatures tends to produce stronger seedlings (there is
a thread specifically on this effect somewhere in this forum).

They certainly appreciate the extra reflected light from the
mylar, though.

casino · February 15, 2011

Looks good and you are a brave soul. I never have luck using those jiffy pop's. They get too wet for me and my seeds rot out. I know, I have a heavy hand in watering and thats my downfall. I need to wait 2 more months before I can start my seeds and pray for me, I think I am going a little crazy this year, 2011 is going to be one big grow-out.

RinTinTin · February 15, 2011

When you pot them up, be certain to remove the netting around the pods.
Otherwise it can take months for the roots to escape their jail. The only way they will break down on their own is if you grossly overwater them.

rwsacto · February 15, 2011

If you take a box cutter and slice the top and side of the jiffy pellet before expanding with water, the net will peel right off when planting up.

Indyartist · February 23, 2011

Here we are one week after planting nine different varieties using the paper towel method to germinate then planting the germinated seeds in the "Jiffy" cells on 2/15.
I'm very pleased with the progress in one week ( a few seeds were planted on 2/16, so 6 days for those.) My plants look much improved over my previous years. I have changed the types of bulbs I'm using from in the past, standard fluorescent bulbs in the past to this year using the "aquarium/ plant" bulbs and I've also raised the trays from the floor in the past to a table this year (getting them off the concrete basement floor.) Using the "emergency" mylar blanket as a reflector is also new. So, this is not a direct bulb comparison as I have changed multiple other factors as well.
The picture of the tray shows empty cells in the background but these are unplanted. All of my germinated seeds have grown and the single plant photo is of an "Arbuznyi" seedling to show how well the root growth is developing.

HoosierDaddy · February 26, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indyartist

What I have is basically a two bulb shop light with GE Aquarium/ plant bulbs, two Jiffy 72 compartment starting trays plus I've also added a mylar reflective "emergency blanket" cut in two and clipped to the light to hope to add the benefit of reflecting the electric light and heat . My set up is in my basement so what ever warmth / heat the mylar blanket can hold in and reflect will be welcome. I'm always open for comments and suggestions.

Your set up should work well. I recommend one more light fixture if you can afford it. The heat isn't necessary once the tomatos have sprouted. But heat and low light = leggy plants. Cool and low light = leggy plants. But leggy plants aren't such a bad thing though. When I grew leggy plants because I didn't know I didn't have enough light, I just planted the tomatoes in a trough. Looks kinda weird with 12" of stalk buried and 3" sticking out of the ground but the plants grew great.
Last year I bought a heavy duty shelf from one of the big box stores and each shelf has four 4' light fixtures side by side. I bought the least expensive T-8 fixtures I could find locally. 4 are from Wally World and the other 12 were from Lowes. The old T-12s will work fine, just cost more to operate.

organichris · February 26, 2011

Sweet mylar reflector idea. I may have to give that a try on my tube next year. I know that reflecting the light can make a huge difference.

Indyartist · February 27, 2011

Repotting now after ten days. The set up is performing but I think I will out grow it rather quickly. I'll need to find more $ for lights here in a week or so as I have 21 additional varieties to start.

February 15, 2011	#2
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	You only actually need the warmth before the seeds sprout. Once they have sprouted, growing them at cool basement temperatures tends to produce stronger seedlings (there is a thread specifically on this effect somewhere in this forum). They certainly appreciate the extra reflected light from the mylar, though. __________________ -- alias

February 15, 2011	#3
casino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Southfield, Michigan Posts: 318	Looks good and you are a brave soul. I never have luck using those jiffy pop's. They get too wet for me and my seeds rot out. I know, I have a heavy hand in watering and thats my downfall. I need to wait 2 more months before I can start my seeds and pray for me, I think I am going a little crazy this year, 2011 is going to be one big grow-out.

February 15, 2011	#4
RinTinTin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle Posts: 581	When you pot them up, be certain to remove the netting around the pods. Otherwise it can take months for the roots to escape their jail. The only way they will break down on their own is if you grossly overwater them.

February 15, 2011	#5
rwsacto Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Sacramento CA Posts: 288	If you take a box cutter and slice the top and side of the jiffy pellet before expanding with water, the net will peel right off when planting up.

February 26, 2011	#8
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	Sweet mylar reflector idea. I may have to give that a try on my tube next year. I know that reflecting the light can make a huge difference.