Seeds! Seeds! Seeds!

 As much as possible, I try to start all my own vegetables from seed.  Here's why:

1. Plants I start always--always--out-perform starts I buy in the nursery.  And yeah, even the "good" nurseries.  I don't know why, they just do.
2. Have you seen the price of plants lately??!!  For the price of one 4" start, I can buy a packet of seeds that will, if stored properly, last me 5-6 years.  
3. Absolute control for the control freak:  I get to grow exactly what I want, when I want.  No driving around, no "waiting till they come in", or rushing to buy early before they sell out.
4. My most favorite cold winter activity is thumbing through seed catalogs dreaming of spring.

This blog has no shortage of posts about starting plants from seed.  You can click on this link to see them all:  Seed Starting Blog Posts

Over the years, I've experimented a lot and have finally settled on a few things I doubt I'll ever change.  The first is:

The light setup in my workshop:

Yes, those are plain old 4' shop lights.  I have mine on a timer so they light for about 14 hours a day.  I don't believe in expensive grow lights for starting vegetable seeds. Regular fluorescents are just fine, so long as you keep them within a couple inches from the top of the plants.  It not only provides the light source the seedlings need, but it provides warmth as well. 

And speaking of warmth:  Because my workshop is uninsulated, I have learned I get better germination if the trays are on heat mats.  

You can get them on Amazon cheap, about $25 for a set of two: Amazon.com : BN-LINK Durable Seedling Heat Mat for Seed Starting 10" x 20.75", 2 Pack Waterproof Warming Mats Plant Heating Pad for Seed Germination, Indoor Growing, Hydroponic, Greenhouse, ETL Listed : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I had also, many years ago, bought myself a sheet of rigid insulation, which I use to keep the heat in as much as possible.  Here's a post that details the set-up, and all these years later, it's still going strong: My Seed Incubator 

What's More Important: Light or Heat:

While my outdoor setup works great, I also keep a tray of seeds in the house, where the nighttime temps don't dip as much.  This has given me more success with heat-loving plants like peppers.

I keep the tray in a spot where I see it daily, because the minute I see a sprout, the start needs to be moved outside under the lights.  Germinated seeds will get leggy looking for light, will quickly turn top-heavy and the plant will suffer.  So if not starting under lights, be sure to check them daily, if not twice daily.

Careful, though!  

Some seeds won't sprout without light!  This is a new-to-me revelation when I finally researched why I was having so much trouble starting lettuce and herbs indoors.  Turns out, some seeds need light to germinate.  Here is a great blog post that explains that concept in detail: A Guide to Seeds That Need Light (or Total Darkness) to Germinate - Garden Betty

So having two spots doubles your chances of success.

And lastly, watering!

I keep a pump sprayer for watering seeds.  I've found the hose or faucets haves way too much pressure, and misting the tops with a spray bottle won't give them the good soaking they need.  Especially if you are using heat mats, the bottoms of the pots can dry out, so you want to spray enough to soak them all the way down until you see water running from the bottom of the pot.  (And yes, you'll see my favorite seed starting pots are plain old yogurt cups.)

I also add a half strength of this Plant Starter to my water.  It looks like since I bought it, it's been renamed "Root & Grow" but it's roughly the same thing: Amazon.com : Bonide Garden Rich Root & Grow Root Stimulator & Plant Starter, 32 oz Concentrate 4-10-3 Fertilizer for Transplanting : Fertilizers : Patio, Lawn & Garden

You'll see the middle number is bigger, which means the solution is heavier on Phosphate than it is Nitrogen and Potassium.  Phosphate is the nutrient that "builds strong bones" in plants, helps promote healthy root systems and all that good stuff baby seedlings need to grow big and strong.  By adding it to my water in half strength, I'm giving them a boost without having to worry about over-doing it because there IS such a thing as too much of a good thing!

So here you go!  If you have a garden but haven't yet experimented with starting your own seeds, I think you should give it a try.  It really opens a whole new world for gardening!