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Best Light for Starting Seeds Indoors

January 19, 2015 by Jeanne

 

The best light for starting seeds indoors is either natural sunlight or a simple light fixture. You can make a light fixture easily and inexpensively from items purchased at any hardware store. Learn more.

Best Light for Starting Seeds Indoors

If you want to start seeds indoors this winter, you will need light, and plenty of it. While some websites and books recommend using natural light, I’ve found that even light from the brightest southern-facing windows isn’t bright enough during the winter months to adequately start healthy seedlings. Even if seedlings do emerge, they grow tall and leggy as they struggle towards whatever light source is nearby. You do need a supplemental source of light in order for seedlings to grow properly.

But what type of light is best? The best lights for seedlings are plain old fluorescent bulbs. Seedlings do not require a full spectrum light the way mature plants do, and they can grow quite happily under fluorescent lights.

You can purchase a plant stand like the kind sold in catalogs or build your own. My husband built mine for me from a storage shelving unit kit and several shop lights sold at Lowe’s.

seedstarting2

My seed starting light fixture.

He purchased a plastic shop-type storage shelving unit with perforated shelves. Next, he purchased several shop light fixtures with hanging chains and suspended them under each shelf. You can see a little of the chain looped through the shelf in the picture, above on the right side.

This suspends each fluorescent fixture at a good distance from the seed trays. I place an old cookie sheet or another tray underneath each seed starting tray to catch any drips so that they don’t damage the lights.

seeds1

 

My seed starting lights are on a simple timer, also purchased from the hardware department. The timer ensures that the lights don’t stay on all night – yes, I’ve done that before! It’s easy to set up, but save the directions, because next year you might not remember how to set the timer.

My seed-starting setup is in the basement of my home. Basements are good places for messy tasks, which is why many families have their woodworking shops and other hobbies set up there. Unfortunately, they are also cold – sometimes too cold for seed starting. Most seeds prefer warmth in order to germinate.

To mitigate the chilly basement air, I can use seed heating mats. These are special mats or cables used underneath seed starting trays or inside the soil itself to heat it sufficiently to fool the seedlings into thinking my basement is sunny and springlike. If you do purchase seed starting trays or mats, always buy ones made for seed starting – never try to jerry-rig them yourself!  They need to be waterproof and most of all, SAFE for both your seedlings and your home.

Buying Seed Starting Equipment

If building your own seed starting light fixture isn’t for you, there are plenty of wonderful options available from your local home and garden center or from online retailers. Here are a few that I’ve check out online and liked for many reasons.

 

The Hydrofarm T5 Grow Light System sits on top of a table. It sets up easily, and the height can be adjusted. You can use it to start seeds or raise your prized African violets or other plants. It’s easy to use, a simple setup and adapts to multiple purposes.

 

Do you have seed starting question? Ask me in the comments section and I will be glad to answer in a future blog post!

Jeanne
Jeanne

Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.

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Filed Under: Seed Starting Tagged With: seed starting for beginners

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dagmara @ GlamistaHome

    January 20, 2015 at

    Thank you for the tips, I’ve shared on Twitter and Pinterest. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I have no idea about how to grow seeds and this was definitely educational.

  2. Danielle @ Where's the Mama

    January 22, 2015 at

    Learning how to garden is on my “to do” this year. Thanks for the tips! I will definitely need to reference you some more when I start my garden this year.

    • Jeanne

      January 22, 2015 at

      Thank you for dropping by! I look forward to seeing you around the virtual garden here!

  3. Misty Nicole Overstreet-Roberts (The Lady Prefers To Save)

    January 26, 2015 at

    Great post! I actually post a weekly Gardening On A Budget Series, and each year have a similar set up, just about 2/3 less the cost of the Burpee system! Also, my name is Misty, from The LadyPrefers2Save at http://theladypreferstosave.com, and I’m one of the new co-hosts for the Merry Monday Linky Party! I wanted to write and let you know that your project will be featured as one of my featured projects this week on the Merry Monday Party, on my blog, as well as will be linked to the Merry Monday Pinterest board, as well. Thanks for linking up at the Merry Monday’s Linky Party this week. Have an awesome week!

  4. C.Lem (creativeclementine)

    January 27, 2015 at

    This is awesome! I have a black thumb and a cold house. I may need to introduce lights like this to keep the plants I haven’t killed yet alive. 🙂

    • Jeanne

      January 27, 2015 at

      Hi there and thanks for stopping by! If your house is cold, you may also need to consider heating mats. These are special heating pad-like mats made for use with plants and seedlings. They slip under the flats and warm the soil gently. I have a cold basement and the tomato and pepper seedlings sulk until they get heat. Enjoy and welcome to Home Garden Joy!

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  1. The Lady Prefers 2 Save | Welcome to the Merry Monday Link Party #38! says:
    January 26, 2015 at

    […] Best Light for Starting Seeds Indoors by Home Garden Joy. […]

  2. Starting Seeds Indoors: Equipment and Supplies - Home Garden Joy says:
    February 11, 2017 at

    […] Some seeds need light to germinate while others require darkness. All plants need light once the seed germinates. Light […]

  3. Seed Starting Resources - Home Garden Joy says:
    June 18, 2018 at

    […] Best Light for Starting Seeds Indoors […]

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writer Jeanne Grunert

Hi, I'm Jeanne Grunert, master gardener, gardening book author, herbalist, and writer. If you're new to gardening, welcome! I make it simple and easy for you to grow a gorgeous garden and cook with the fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you grow.

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