Propagation: Is window light enough for germinating seeds?, 1 by Lala_Jane

Lala_Jane wrote:
Lily, Edge is right. You CAN start seedlings with just window light but in our zone the sunlight is still so weak at this time of year that they'll most likely become leggy and crooked and floppy. They need more intense light (about 2" from the top of the seedling is ideal) and they need it for longer periods than the sun can give us. Um I think I just repeated what Edge said. LOL sorry, what I really wanted was to show you my cheapo light system.

If you're only starting a few things you can really fix up a light on the cheap. I had 7 shelves (4 of them are home made) already going in the basement but I ran out of space. I needed one more shelf but I didn't want to spend a bunch more money - plus I had no place to put it. So I went to Walmart and bought one more light fixture for $10 and a set of bulbs for $5 and brought them home and got creative. I stacked a couple of chunks of wood under my church pew at either end and stuck the light on top of them. It worked beautifully, was inexpensive, and is completely out of the way.

Now I've run out of room again, LOL and I had to stick the flats in longways. But I just rotate the cells around daily and the seedlings seem to be happy enough with that system.