Seed starting season is almost upon us at Throwback Road. I live at 6500 ft so our last frost date is not until May 30th. I have been watching as pretty much everyone in the country has started seeds, but I am trying to contain myself. It is hard, but I realize that if I start to early I will not be happy with the end results. Patience is a virtue….just not one that I am skilled at.
Mr. G and I spent the holiday season planning out how and where we were going to start seeds this year. We looked at set ups like this from Gardeners Supply Company as well as seed starting stations from Johnny's Selected Seeds. While these options are both amazing, they were also way more then we wanted to spend. Plus the shipping to Colorado alone would have put it over the top! I searched and searched the internet, asked questions on my favorite gardening blogs, and finally settled on using the plans from You Grow Girl and tweaking it to suit us. While it is not totally finished, I am really happy with the results! I am still waiting for one more light fixture to come it at my local Home Depot, and I need to get 4 boot trays, and a light timer. Here are the products that we bought:
Wire Shelving Rack
4 of these Shop Lights
1 package of S Hooks
3 sets of these T-8 Light Bulbs
4 of these Heat Mats
Things I still need to get:
4 Boot Trays….something like this, but I am going to try Home Depot or the Dollar Store
1 Grow Light Timer
We hung the lights from S Hooks which allows us to lower and raise the lights as the seedlings grow.
This is my little potting area. I purchased this metal table 10 years ago, and have been trying to find a new use for her in this house. The chair was $14 from Ikea and surprisingly sturdy and comfortable. The rug was a garage sale purchase from many years ago taking up space in my basement. I repurposed her and think she makes a nice addition.
I will post more pictures when everything is finally put into place, but for the time being, I am really enjoying my new garden area. Like most urban/suburban gardeners space is always an issue. I love that my grow area is vertical because I can start a lot of plants, but not take up a lot of space in my basement. The wire shelving has useful guards on the back so things won’t slip out, and the top is enclosed on both sides for more storage opportunities. We are well aware that we may need to add two more lights on the second tier, but we will see once the growing season starts.
By piecing this together ourselves we were able to cut the overall cost in half. I am not saying that this was inexpensive. Total cost was close to $400, but the return on investment is well worth it in our eyes. I am proud of us because we planned for this purchase, researched various options, and came up with a cost effective, quality product. I look forward to starting my seeds from now on and not depend on my local nursery for seed starts. Hopefully, I will have some good success this year. My fingers are crossed!
My gardening buddy, Lucy. She is my 10 yr. old sweet girl who is quite interested in the new basement addition. If only she could weed…..
Do you start your own seeds or buy them from your local nursery?
it looks so nice and organized!
ReplyDeleteand lucy looks like a great helper! jake and charlie are really good at digging holes for me, though not always where i want plants. they are also good at catching critters. :)
What a very innovative idea, I think I'll be trying this as well. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to have one of those since I have no garden in my apartment. Thanks.
ReplyDelete