Starting indoors- difficulties

19 years ago

It's a little late now seeing as I've planted almost everything I've wanted to, but something that has always irritated me is that all of my favorite plants need to supposedly be started inside and then transplanted for them to grow properly. But we've never been able to really for two reasons:

Our house is devoid of true windowsills that provide enough room for the pots to sit and enough light; we have a parrot who has the desire to destroy any plant that comes into the kitchen.

Suffice to say, we've rarely started our seeds inside- and to be honest, the only thing that was supposed to be started early that we planted outside from the beginning that didn't ever come up was the lavender- everything else is growing alright despite what the backs of the packets say.

What have any of you done in the past? Does anybody else have limited room for seeds to survive indoors?

And another question- we have a garage with a little window that provides potted plants with enough light to survive the fall before we snip their leaves off, but would this environment be enough to start seeds off?

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Comments (7)

fertilizersalesman
19 years ago
Sounds like you need a cold frame. Could you put one up on the south side of the house or garage?
namfon
19 years ago
I Like to start seed indoors. Under a workshop table in the basement I mount 4 ' shop lights with full spectrum grow lights in them. I use a light timer and keep several gallons of water nearby to reduce the amount of time needed to do this activity.

If you only want to start one type of plant from seed it is probably not worth the work though.
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riverminty
Original Author
19 years ago
Call me dim, but what is a cold frame? I think I have an idea, though. lol
iacche
19 years ago
Do you have a good window you could put a small table or stand in front of, in a room that you could keep the parrot out of?

I start things indoors. I have wonderfully wide windowsills (1 1/2 feet! -- I live in a stone house). But I have to keep the seedlings away from my cat, Milo, who believes wanton destruction is his birthright. He especially enjoys biting the little tomatoes or pulling them out of the little pots. He doesn't eat them, he just decapitates them or rips them out.

Keeping them in a room with the door shut is not as easy as it should be, because the house is old (200 years old), and many of the doors don't shut properly. I can wedge one closed, but Milo has super-cat strength when a shut door is between him and some defenseless tomato seedlings. This year I resorted to putting them in one room and then tying the door shut with heavy cord. Ridiculous.
decklap
19 years ago
Im with namfom....

I get the cheapest 4' lights I can find
at the big box store. I tape aluminum
foil over the reflectors so no light leaks
away from the plants. I have no idea if this
actually helps but it makes me feel really
good.
I have two of these 4' lights and I grow about
100 plants of various kinds from seed every
year. Unless you live wayyy down south you
will never enough southern exposure to grow
things in a window sill.
iacche
19 years ago
Riverminty, A cold frame is basically a miniature greenhouse for cold weather.

You can make it yourself easily enough, though I think they sell pre-made ones.

You can use them to extend the season in the fall, or to start the season early in the spring (or even to grow things in the dead of winter). A cold frame goes out in the garden, so you can plant things right in the soil. It has 4 short walls and a glass top that admits light. It acts like greenhouse.

I suppose for starting seeds, you could keep them indoors in a warm place until they sprout, then put them in the cold frame so they'll get sun and be protected from the cold. I've never done this, so I'm not sure how it would be done exactly or what it would work for. Things like tomatoes and peppers might need more warmth than a cold frame could supply. (You'd have to see how cold the cold frame gets at night.

Cold frame
tetrazzini
19 years ago
i bought a wire rack -- one of those 4 or 5 tiered things that is about 6' high-- at costco for around $75, and a bunch of "shop lights". they're fluorescent fixtures and are about $10 each. then some 4' long fluorescent plant and/or aquarium bulbs, a few dollars each. i hang 2 lamps from each shelf and put plant trays underneath them so the plant tops are 2 to 3" away from the bulbs. it took me years to decide to invest in this, but for about $100 i have a system that'll work forever now, and i grow hundreds of seedlings each spring easily this way. btw, i germinate the seeds in trays placed on top of cabinets, near the ceiling where it's warm

did i see in another post that you live in wisconsin? my first veg garden was in madison... you have to start almost everything indoors, don't you, because the growing season is so short?