3 Mistakes to avoid with Indoor Seed Starting

:50 You don't have to start seeds indoors
2:01 Starting seeds at the wrong time
4:54 Grow Lights
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[@GardenMinistry.]

I would add #4 a fan on your seedlings to avoid fuzzy white fungus, fungus gnats, and damping off. This killed my seedlings 2 years in a row until I finally put the fan in for air circulation. Game changer.

[@tennesseenana4838]

I have a small home with not enough room in it for starting seeds indoors. A couple of years ago I learned about Winter Sowing and that has worked wonderfully for me. It's how I started all of my seeds last year and had great success.

[@williamdenbeste9703]

I agree that many vegetables can be started outdoors, but there are reasons for starting some of them indoors anyway. For example, when I start peas outdoors, the gophers eat every pea within days and I don't get a crop. Last year I started peas indoors then transplanted them about March 15th (Oregon) and I successfully avoided the gophers entirely. Though I am 73 and have been gardening for decades I have learned quite a bit from your channel. Keep up the good work!

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Great point.

[@tamidavis3730]

Same with corn for me. It's like the critters just know when they're in the ground.

[@beentheredonethat6584]

Same for me too but with pole beans. I usually start about half my beans indoors and use transplants to fill in gaps where my direct-seeded beans vanished. They grow so quickly and don't require much lighting space because they can be placed outdoors in a cold frame to size up.

[@coleen2213]

@@tamidavis3730 How many weeks indoors,& are they then planted right to garden, & what kind critters were eating them? I’ve seen corn pkts say don’t try to start early, but sounds like worked for you! I’ve grown lots of sunflowers & have noticed if they’re moved it stunts there growth, but still pretty:)

[@Grammysgarden]

Thank you for the great information. This is my second year of growing, I’m almost 74 and hadn’t grown a garden since 1974😮. I’m in zone 6A in Missouri and so anxious to start seeds indoors. I needed the info you provided.❤️

[@johnjude2685]

I am 71 and always garden and only 3th season with grow lights and so.many choice of variety of tomatoes and peppers and all vegetables are some become favorites. I'm highly advising on anyone that has 20 ft square garden get LED lights and try different vegetables and find out what your favorite are. Thanks Lady for helping me garden

[@poodledaddles1091]

Thanks from NE Missouri, I’ve got celery seedlings started on my kitchen counter under a led light!

[@raneesmith3530]

I don't consider myself a beginner gardener but you always have so much information I always learn something, thank you for your videos

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Thank you so much!

[@thecakepopsistars]

Thanks so much from Canada zone 5 😊

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

PERFECT advice. I've been growing for years now, and I wish I knew some of this as a beginner.

[@marybethskarke5791]

I recently found your channel and have enjoyed your content. I saw you have a greenhouse and we are in the process of building one. I’d love to see you do a video on seed starting in a greenhouse and what the hardening off process looks like. I’m currently starting seed inside under grow lights with heat mats but want to switch to starting in the greenhouse, hopefully without needing grow lights but will have that capability. I grow in central Texas, zone 8b.

[@rantuneplanet]

As usual...such a great video. Thank you.

[@steveeasterday7795]

Thank you. This was very helpful and informative.

[@floydbertagnolli944]

Thx for sharing your wisdom. 😃

[@ashleydaniels9427]

I have the same shelving unit and I’m curious if your 2 ft grow lights are 2 or 4 bulb? Helpful video! Taking your class online next Tuesday 🥳

[@davidtaberer3146]

What great advice

[@Hardlyable]

Good advice. I'm growing in similar conditions in zone 8a so timely seed starting is a must before summer heat. For me it seems broccoli is almost a spring failure to get a decent harvest before bolting. I seem to have better luck growing brassicas in my area with a fall crop.

[@loricawley54]

I’m in zone 8a as well (Tx), and have found the same as u - broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage r more of fall crops for me too. I have started my tomatoes and peppers inside tho already bc our last frost date is 3/27/23. Tomatoes have already sprouted and peppers not quite yet. Getting excited!! Happy gardening! 🍃🌻🌹

[@IraqVet0608]

I don’t understand how Jill can do a grow room inside the house. I have mine in the garage which isn’t ideal due to the lack of temperature control but I’d destroy the house if it were in a bedroom. Heating pads work pretty well for me. I start in small starter pods and then up-pot them to small disposable cups. It’s not perfect but works, Jill has taught me tons over the years.

[@loricawley54]

@@IraqVet0608 I had my seedlings in the garage on a metal shelving unit on heat mats and under grow lights until the last 3 days of freezing rain we’ve had here in Tx. My tomatoes, some herbs, and some salvia had germinated already and didn’t need the heat mat so I moved them onto my kitchen countertop which has under cabinet lighting. My peppers have not germinated yet so still need a heat mat. I moved them to my kitchen countertop as well with the heat mat under them. I will move them all back in the garage once our freezing weather moves on after tomorrow. They probably would’ve been fine in the garage, but I just didn’t want to chance anything. I, too, would make a mess if I was using a bedroom, but the garage works well for me, and, in a pinch, my kitchen countertops for a few days. Use what works best for u, happy gardening! 🥰🍃🌻

[@IraqVet0608]

@@loricawley54 why don’t you keep them on the heating mat after germination? Honestly curious

[@loricawley54]

@@IraqVet0608 They don’t usually need the extra heat after germination.

[@WisGuy4]

A cheaper way to get high-quality grow lights is to order 48” LED shop lights off Amazon. Make sure they are between 5,000 and 6,500 Kelvins on the light spectrum, which is the optimal range for seed starting and plant growth. I bought a six-pack of “OOOLED” brand tubular LED dual-bulb fixtures (12 bulbs total) for about $70 (now $89.99), that are corded on one end and have an outlet on the other end, so one can daisy-chain them together and operate them off a single timer. I installed the LED fixtures on a wire shelf unit with 48”x24” shelves. I can fit four 11”x21” planting trays/flats on each rack shelf and two fixtures above each shelf provides sufficient light for good results. So in my set-up with the six LED bulb fixtures, I can grow 12 flats of seedlings. The fixtures hang from chains that can be lowered close to the seeds and seedlings when they first start out, and then gradually raised to keep the bulbs about 2 to 3 inches above the plants for maximum growth.

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Great idea, thank you for sharing!

[@beentheredonethat6584]

I totally agree. The OOOLED bulbs are perfectly good but I have 3 bulbs per shelf using exactly the same setup as you. To reiterate, make sure that you use the LED shop lights. Those fluorescent tubes are inefficient; far too warm and use too much electricity.

[@sandralafond3818]

Do you have advice for hardening off seedlings? That's where I run into trouble

[@tamiholloway6452]

I am so excited about the success of my brassica starts. However I transplanted them last week. This morning on my garden walk some of my smaller plants have some leaves eaten! We are in 7 b and normally the brassica critter bugs do show up till May or June. Any ideas!

[@thebeginnersgarden]

When that happened to me, it was rabbits. :(

[@TheOneTexan]

Is a 600watt led full spectrum lifht enough, or should I get the 1000watt? Only doing about 30 seedlings. Thanks

[@markregan6464]

Greetings Sir (autocorrect will not let me write your last name, sorry) I live in S. Idaho, zone 6b, and I use 30W LED lights with great success for stating seeds and hydroponic growing indoors. Available on Amazon very inexpensive. Best of luck!

[@louisianaprepper13]

I promised myself NO TRANSPLANTS from the garden centers. Too expensive. Maybe the master gardeners sale but if I can’t grow from seeds, I’m not growing it.

[@nolawarren3560]

I hear you. 5.78 for a lettuce transplant is crazy.

[@karenlackey6650]

Try your local high school if you are in or near a rural area. FFA ( Future farmers of America) will sometimes start seeds, and also sell seedlings. Happy gardening!

[@Maggdusa]

The Millennial Gardener has a tip for getting free transplants (or reducing the cost). If this link doesn't work, you can search KZbin for "The Millennial Gardener Big Box Nurseries". I hope this helps! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJuWkp-lZ6eDmsk

[@WisGuy4]

I find that it’s also expensive ordering seeds when so many varieties look amazing and I forget that I’ve already ordered the same or similar seeds and end up with a bunch of $20-$30 seed orders with a lot of duplicates.

[@noraalvarado8178]

I grow everything from seed. And start my own sweet potatoe slips. Refuse to by starts.