Starting Seedlings Under Grow Lights vs. Natural Light

Starting your garden from seeds is undoubtedly cheaper {and more gratifying} than starting them from plants from the nursery.  Investing in a grow light is one of those, “Should I, shouldn’t I?” sort of dilemmas a lot of people teeter back and forth on.  In the end, only you can decide how much of an investment you want to make, but I will say, unless you have really great natural light {which doesn’t exist here in Seattle during seed starting time}, starting with natural light can be a bit of a gamble.  Still, it is absolutely possible to get healthy plants with this method, so I thought I would give a quick overview before we jump full steam ahead into seed starting season.

Let’s start with natural light.  First, a south facing window is going to be your best bet.  It will get the most light.  The problem with a window sill is that you will only get light from one direction, which may result in some leggy plants.  So, you will want to rotate the seedlings regularly–and make sure that they don’t get too cold next to a window {most plants like the temperature to be about 75 degrees for at least the bulk of the day in order to germinate}.  If you want them to grow tall and straight, they will need to receive their light from above, like the sun provides naturally.

Unless you have a heated greenhouse, that can be tricky.  {If you do have a temperate green house, natural light rocks.}  If you are going with natural light, I recommend less temperamental seedlings–like pumpkins, zucchini, and the like.  Tomatoes and peppers, in my opinion, are the most difficult to start indoors, and really darn hard if you aren’t using a grow light.

Okay, now onto grow lights.  Once you have grown seedlings under a grow light, you can totally see why people push them.  You will have more consistent germination rates and stronger resulting plants.  Plain and simple.  You don’t necessarily have to invest in a grow light set-up {though, I will admit, I don’t regret having done so myself one bit}.  Grow lights typically have the full-spectrum of light, as sunlight would provide, though, not always.  Florescent bulbs that are attached to some sort of system that can be raised or lowered really do work just fine, if you want to keep costs lower.

Either way, you will want to be able to raise and lower your light source, as seedlings seem to do best when the light source is only about 3-4″ above them.  The warmth from the light source will also mimic the fluctuations in daily temperature that plants would experience in nature.  When the light source is on, it will put off a little more heat, making the plants warmer.  When you turn it off at night, the temperature will naturally drop a little bit.  Plants love that crap.

No matter what light you choose, make sure to choose an appropriate growing medium.  Seed starting mixes are nice, because they kind of take the guess work out of the equation. I prefer starting my seeds in Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Mix {found at the Home Depot for about $4 a bag}. Ultimately, you want to have light airy soil, so that you don’t drown and/or suffocate tender seedlings and their roots.  Moisture and oxygen is vital to the whole germination process–getting that balance right is a real pain in the butt if you are a first timer.  Don’t worry, though, as time goes on, you’ll learn.  It’s totally a process, so don’t give up on starting seeds yourself.  If you do decide to use lights to start you seeds, keep them on for 12-14 hours per day.

Overall, I think you have to decide what you want from your garden.  If you are looking to grow heirloom variety plants that aren’t usually available at the nurseries, invest in a grow light and go nuts. If you are just looking to save some moolah and plan on planting the basics, test the natural light waters–you can always pick up a few “filler” plants at the nursery if you don’t get a full enough crop out of your seedlings.

For those of you that are seed-starting pros, how do YOU prefer to start your seeds…grow lights or natural light?

~Mavis