My Seed Starting Essentials

My most loved seed starting essentials!

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I have been seed starting for 3 winters now & I love it.  I think it's my favorite part of gardening!

I can't believe I used to be intimidated by starting my own seeds!  They do take a bit of work but it's so satisfying to see the smallest seeds turn into the most beautiful plants.

Over the years, I have developed my own seed starting techniques.  I'm sharing a few essentials that I've used every year so far.

This isn't a one size fits all guide--it's just what I do to start my garden.  My setup is super simple & I try to use the things that will save me time & money.

Here are 5 essentials I use in my seed starting:

- Jiffy Seed Starting Greenhouse:  I happened to find these at a yard sale one year & I love them so much!  They're a little pricy on Amazon but similar products are available in stores.  What I love about these are that they are essentially a mini greenhouse.  They keep seedlings super warm.  The peat pellets are super easy to work with too.  They sell peat pellets by themselves but I think it's actually cheaper to buy the greenhouse kit every time.

- Seedling Heat Mat:  I bought these last year but didn't use them because I started my seeds upstairs in my warm house.  This year I'm planning to seed start in the basement so my seedlings will need a little extra warmth.  I can't wait to try them out!  They also sell heat mats with a thermostat to get the perfect temperature.

- Seed Dispenser:  This is a lifesaver!  I always got frustrated when I was trying to plant super small seeds.  I picked up one of these seed dispensers & it made my life a lot easier.  You just put all the seeds in the container & it dispenses them one at a time.  It's not perfect all the time but it's manageable.

- Grow Lights:  I keep my grow light setup super simple.  I just use shop lights & they have worked well for me so far.  I don't even put them closely over the seedlings--I just keep the room bright.  As long as the lights are above 5000K they should be good enough for seed starting.

- Greenhouse Heater:  Depending on the temperature of the basement, I might not need this until next year when I start using the greenhouse.  This only heats 120 square feet but it's perfect for my little greenhouse.

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