• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • Plant Based Recipes
    • Canning and Food Preservation
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Vegetarian Meals
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Indoor Herb Gardening
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Light for Indoor Seed Starting

February 24, 2012 by Jeanne

Tomato “Mortgage Lifter” – robust seedlings

I thought you might enjoy my latest article for MainLine Gardening on light conditions needed for seed starting.  I offer some suggestions for easy seed starting using natural sunlight as well as ideas for using florescent lighting.

After my last post on my seed starting epic fail – which hasn’t turned out all that bad, just slower germination than usual – Liz, my mentor in the Master Gardener trainee program, gave me a good handout from Virginia Cooperative Extension on seed starting.  Here is a link to the PDF Seed for the Garden which covers all your seed starting basics.  Enjoy!

My seedlings are actually doing a little better. No more peppers have germinated, but there were more cherry tomato seeds germinating today, and now the Early Girl tomatoes are showing up for the party. The Mortgage Lifter giant beefsteak tomatoes are already burly seedlings. Even the plants on these guys are big!

A few folks at my Master Gardener class commented on how early I’d started my seedlings, but with our raised beds and the dark, compost-rich soil we have, I can typically plant my vegetables a few weeks earlier than others.  The dark soil and the raised beds tend to create a micro climate a few degrees warmer than the ground-level soil.

Pin
Share
Tweet
0 Shares

Filed Under: Seed Starting

Previous Post: « Seed Starting Problems
Next Post: Spring Chores: Cleaning the Bird Houses »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tabitha

    March 7, 2012 at

    Nice idea to better seed growing process.
    Keep up the good work.

    camper trailer

Trackbacks

  1. Expanding our Fruit Production says:
    February 23, 2018 at

    […] tested the lights, purchased the soil, and cleaned the seed starting trays. Now it’s just a matter of waiting. […]

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Featured

logo of the american horticulture society

Explore All Gardening Articles

Seed Starting Basics

Easy Ways to Save Cantaloupe Seeds

plants and tools in a wheelbarrow

Starting Peppers from Seeds

tomato seedlings

Seed Starting Resources

tomatoes on the vine

When Should You Start Tomato Seeds Indoors?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Disclosure

Home Garden Joyo participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy.

Footer

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

If you’re thinking about building a vegetable garden this year, raised beds are one of the best ways I know of to start a vegetable garden. Instead of renting a rototiller or hand-digging the soil, adding amendments and turning it all under to create a good garden bed, you start with the best soil mixture…

Read More

henbit close up

Henbit: Plant Profile

I’ve put together this henbit plant profile to spotlight a lovely plant – which many gardeners consider a weed. Weed or flower? To me, it’s a matter of perspective. Every spring, at least one of my raised beds is covered in a thick mat of henbit. Henbit is both lovely and practical despite being labeled…

Read More

fresh beets from the garden on the lawn after being washed

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Organic Beets

I wrote this Ultime Guide to Growing Beets to share my techniques for growing tasty, organic beets. Beets are a powerhouse of nutrition. Both the beetroot and the leaves and stems are edible. You can also can beets and beet greens to store them for year-round use. Here, I share with you a full guide…

Read More

a blue wheelbarrow and a red wheelbarrow filled with pine branches

Winter Homesteading Projects

Even though it’s cold and snowy out, winter homesteading projects beckon. As I write this, snow is falling in sheets outside my office windows, covering the orchard trees with a blanket of white. Last week, an ice storm knocked power out for 36 hours – and knocked pines down every which way. We had poles…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme