February seed light and heat requirements

Hello. I live in Northeastern Alabama and recently purchased a portable miniature very-basic greenhouse contraption (not heated). Until the outside temps are higher and the days longer, I want to start my flower seeds indoors in my rather dark kitchen nook.

I assume I need both a heat mat and a fluorescent light (if I'm wrong, please advise). How long do I need to let a flat of emerged seedlings stay on the heat mat before I take it off and start a new flat?

Second, how long do the seedlings need to stay under the fluorescent light before I can transfer them out to my 'greenhouse' where I plan to keep them until transplanting time? I could certainly put in a ceramic heater, but will that be enough?

Thanks,
Debi

You definitely need the light, but you don't necessarily need the heat mat. If you can post what seeds you are trying to start then hopefully someone will know whether the heat mat will help them or not. If they are ones that need heat, they should be taken off the heat mat after they germinate--the heat speeds up germination but once they've sprouted if you leave the heat on the seedlings can tend to get leggy. Also once they've germinated the location of the light becomes important--it'll need to be no more than a few inches above the tops of the seedlings.

Depending on what you're growing though you may not really need to go to all the extra effort...your mini greenhouse will still let you get a headstart over directly planting outside, and for many plants that little headstart is probably enough, you don't necessarily need to get even more of a headstart by starting them indoors and then having to deal with hardening them off and getting them used to outdoor temperatures, etc. In many cases I think that would be more trouble than it's worth and I'd consider waiting until you can start them in the little greenhouse.

We usually just put the flats on top of the 'fridge to germinate. That is all the heat that you need.

Some websites give informations about what temperature seeds germinate at; for example Stokes (go to the page for the plant you're interested in and click on "Detailed Growing Instructions"): http://stokesseeds.com/

This web page has a table with germination temps for some common flowers and vegs: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8703.html

Some seeds actually prefer cooler temperatures, others warmer; some need light and others need dark. You'll have to research for each type of seed you're growing.

My husband thanks you all so much for your quick answers because they deterred me from ordering the heat pad and light kit, thus saving about a hundred bucks. Patience is indeed a virtue - but unless it, too, is available on-line I'm likely not to get any real soon.

I will definitely follow up on the web links suggested, and in the meantime start a few on top of my fridge.

The light will still be important unless you start them at just the right time so you can move them outside once they germinate. But you don't need an expensive light, I use cheap fluorescent fixtures that I picked up at Lowes for under $20 and use the regular fluorescent bulbs that cost a few dollars apiece. No need to invest in fancy grow lights.

And if you ever find patience offered online somewhere let me know...I could use some of that too! LOL

Meeee tooo!!!

I've seen a lot more seedlings die from stretching for light than anything else. It's critical that seedlings get sufficient light when they're very young or they stretch for it, and they get to a point where they just aren't viable anymore. You're in Alabama. Count your blessings when you think of people in say North Dakota. Your growing season isn't very far away. You'll save a lot of money and frustration if you'll wait and plant your seeds closer to the growing season. In the meantime, how about just drooling over seed catalogs on the Internet?

I'm hopeful that my under-counter kitchen fluorescent lights will suffice since I'm only going to try a few little trays inside; instead of lowering the light I can raise the seedling trays.

Unfortunately I seem incapable of limiting my perusal of seed catalogs to 'browsing,' and have to date ordered about a hundred different kinds of flower packets - fully aware that I will never be able to use them. I mean, I am a seed company's dream. Plus, every time I place an order I later think I should have ordered something else too, so I place another order, incurring shipping charges yet again. It is possible that UPS can survive (at least through February) on my orders alone.

One reason (not the most important one, but certainly 'up there') I began this new-to-me aspect of gardening was to avoid spending as much as I did on established plants last year, which was a LOT. I'm sort of thinking, though, that it's a lot like what has happened to sewing your own clothes...by the time you buy patterns and material etc it's at least as expensive as buying off the rack - BUT the joy of creation is priceless.