Build a seed-starting light stand

An hour · Easy · 8 steps

Grow strong seedlings indoors on a wire shelf with shop lights and a timer.

A seed-starting stand, seen from the front
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Fig. A seed-starting stand, seen from the front.

  1. LED lights hang on chains, 2 to 4 inches above the leaves
  2. Seedlings in cell trays, watered from below
  3. Heat mat under the peppers and tomatoes
  4. Clear lid until the seeds sprout
  5. A small fan for sturdy stems
  6. Timer and power strip: 16 hours on, 8 off

What you'll need

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You'll also need

  • S-hooks and light chain, to hang the lights
  • A power strip with a switch

Steps

  1. Put the shelf together near an outlet, somewhere that stays between 60 and 75°F. A basement or spare room is fine: the lights do the work, not a window.
  2. Hang two lights under each shelf from chains and S-hooks, so you can raise them as the seedlings grow.
  3. Plug the lights into the power strip, and the strip into the timer. Set it for 16 hours on and 8 off.
  4. Fill the trays with moist seed mix, sow, and label every row. Put the clear lids on.
  5. Set peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant on the heat mat. Most other seeds sprout fine without it.
  6. As soon as seeds sprout, take off the lids and lower the lights to 2 to 4 inches above the leaves. Move them up as the plants grow.
  7. Run the fan on low for a few hours a day once the first true leaves open.
  8. Water from below: pour water into the tray under the cells and let the mix soak it up.

Tips

  • Tall, pale, floppy seedlings mean the light is too far away. Lower it.
  • Take seedlings off the heat mat once they sprout. Warm and wet invites damping-off.
  • Harden off seedlings for a week before planting them outside.

Use it in Planting Year