Yes, its very easy and lots of people do it. Look for some cool white tubes (4100K) and use them, or mix them 50/50 with the warm white (=soft white) 3000K tubes. Regular shoplights will need to be placed very close to most annual seedlings, as in an inch or two from the leaves. Plan on some way to adjust the height as the plants grow. Modern high output tubes such as T8 and particularly T5 tubes produce the same light from a smaller area and you might need to put them slightly further away. Use the lights on a timer for about 14 hours a day once the seeds have germinated. Some seeds need light to germinate but nowhere near as much.

Watch your plants for signs of stretching or overheating. Stretching means they are too warm or they are getting too little light. The reason most people cannot grow seedlings on a window sill is that they are too warm. A south-facing window works well if you keep the trays at around 60F instead of 70F, and of course if you have lots of windows :)

Overheated leaves will turn crispy. They have been dried out and then literally burned. Keep them evenly watered and use a fan to keep air moving in the room. The fan will also make for stronger seedlings and reduce damping off.

I would look for some method of bottom heating the trays to help germination rather than heating the whole room to 70+F. Almost all seedlings will grow on better at slightly lower temperatures and particularly with a drop in temperature at night. A few do like it hot, passion flower and morning glory come to mind.

I would also suggest that you check out the Winter Sowing forum. I tried it for the first time last winter and was surprisingly successful. It is not too late and is fairly easy. The forum will give you all that you might need to know, I think. Best of luck

Jerry

Thanks shrubs n bulbs and jview for your knowledgable insight. I'm thinking that I should attempt this in the basement. I greatly appreciate your reply's. Enjoy your day!

Bruster

I use 2 shop lights over a 2 foot by 4 foot shelf. I cover the bottom shelf with heavy plastic and staple the corners to make a tray with lips around it.

The bottom frame of my lights is 15 inches above the bottom shelf. That places the soil level in the pots at about 10.5 - 12 inches. If you do a search of "balloon flowers" you will find pictures of my methods.

I have been doing this for years using both plastic baggies and other things to provide cover over the pots to retain heat in them. My latest and easiest has been to just cover the pot with a piece of 1/8 inch plexiglas until the seedlings hit it.

I start with wet soil before seed planting.

One additional thing I do is wick water since I have found daily watering to be a pain :)

John

I also start in my basement. 4" pots of soiless mix in dollar store plastic bags. Plastic bags with vermiculite & seed hung by clothes pins on nylon rope near shop lights. DH has three shop lights stung up to the rafters. We left them hanging up all summer as sometimes I leave seeds down in the cool temperatures instead of bringing them out into the too hot summer temps. It is a great stratification method. Temperature will slowly raise from 0 to 15 degrees Celcius in 6 months! ( I have a Circa 1886 Century Home!)
Seedings are transplanted to cell packs after germinating upstairs on bottom heat of another set of three tiered light fixtures or on radiators. I put plants in trays on grape (fruit) styrofoam boxes to prevent legginess both upstairs & down in the basement where growing is slower & more uniform.
Watering is needed every five to 7 days in this cooler environment.
sam