A Way To Garden

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margaret roach, head gardener

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my basic seed-starting supplies

plant lights 2STARTING SEEDS is not hard…unless you skimp on light, or your timing is off. Sorry, friends, but your windowsills just won’t do, and over-eager “headstarts” usually result in past-their-prime seedlings. I get by with some T5 reflective fluorescent hoods, a couple of germinating heat mats, and not much more. (For more info: Want to learn the science behind what makes for enough light…or need to calculate when to start what seeds in your location?)

LADBROOKE SOIL BLOCKERS: Many experts swear by soil blocking (as opposed to sowing in cells or open flats without blocks). The tools for making blocks, in various sizes. Note: The mix you use must be rated for blocking.

JOHNNY’S 512 MIX: I’ve ordered this for germinating purposes for years. Has organic nutrients (fishmeal, not chemicals) added. Works for soil-blocking, too.

SEEDLING GERMINATING MAT: I use single-tray-sized mats (approx. 8.5×18.5 inches), but heat mats also comes in double-wide or double-long (for two trays), and up to 5-foot-long pro versions.

SOLO 2-LITER ONE-HAND PRESSURE SPRAYER: I mostly bottom-water seedlings, but during germination and when seedlings are tiny I mist them with this handy sprayer.

HYDROFARM JUMP START T5 SYSTEM: Just one 4-foot bulb on an adjustable super-lightweight frame; can accommodate two flats.

HYDROFARM FLP24 T5 HOOD: Fitted with 4 bulbs so the hood is 2 feet long by 11 inches wide. Must be fitted with hardware to raise and lower from a stand or shelf you provide; hood is about 10 pounds.

MILLIARD 2-FOOT PLANT STARTER: Adjustable, lightweight two-bulb T5 hood; accommodates one tray.

HYDROFARM T5 4-FOOT: With six tubes, the light footprint is about 46 inches by 18, enough for four flats sideways. Note: Must be fitted with hardware to raise or lower from a shelf or stand you provide for the 25ish-pound hood.

(Disclosure: Purchases from Amazon affiliate links yield a small commission.)

Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.