You emailed me about heat mats. I linked lots of discussions about them for you below. Walmart sells them here. So does Lowes and Home Depot once they have their seed starting supplies out. Otherwise many models are available online in a wide range of prices. Most all the seed companies sell one as do any of the sites that sell seed starting supplies. But shop around because the prices vary widely. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Propagation heat mat discussions

Thanks, Need2SeeGreen! Really heavy rains every week or so. Some cold but no snow where I am (some in higher areas; I'm only 2200'). The moles are digging in my lawn, and the hairy bittercress (cute little weed which would like to take over the world) is flowering madly. I need to prune the apple trees. The violets are putting out tentative leaves; probably the pink ones are flowering -- they're evergreen, and nothing much stops them. The spring camellia flowered Thursday -- and froze Friday night; this cycle will continue for a while. It looks like this year the scillas/squill will bloom before the Jeanne d'Arc crocuses. I will start some of the tomato seeds this week (indoors).

Well, I am quite thrilled to read these great responses! I live in Zone 7, but our Winter is still long. The zones just refer to the extremes in temperature, not how long it lasts. I have noticed volunteer tomatoes come out earlier than I would choose to plant out. So, I can watch for that as a sign. I do not have any trouble with legginess of my tomato seedlings. I have a picture window that faces full-South, and shelves there (for seedling starting in Winter) outfitted with shop-lights. I read somewhere that it is important to use fresh bulbs (fluorescent tubes) as the light diminishes over time. I do not get new ones every year, but if one seems to put out less (judging by the plants), I use that on my alpine strawberry seedlings or something else that doesn't mind. I want to start even earlier because I'd like to keep tomato strains true when I grow them out. I plan to grow out severl this year, and if one flowers first for a week, then they are in the clear, and I can mark those fruits, and then not really worry about the rest. I guess what I mean is that an early & staggered start will allow me to focus on each plant as it comes into bloom, selecting from that, and moving on to the next one. I do have some limitations (medically), so it would be easier to focus on them staggered rather then so many at one time. It may not work out the way I hope, but I figure it is a good experiment for this year. By choosing good varieties for this (my un-familiarity with varieties hurts my experiment here) I can better insure success. The funny thing is that I don't really eat tomatoes--except in spaghetti sauce. BUT, everyone else loves them, and I find there is a group involved with tomatoes that have a zeal for the plant like no other vegetable/fruit. A great deal of home-breeding is going on, and I find it the most fascinating thing. Tomatoes provide a great opportunity to study genetics at home, and to look very intensely at varietal development in plants. I guess I am hooked for a reason not common to most, but I am hooked. So, I will try my experiment this year, and see how it works for me. I am thankful at the varieties/categories I see mentioned. When mentioning "use determinate or dwarf" plants, how can I find out which is which? I have consulted some websites, but is there a thorough tomato base out there? Keep the posts coming! Happy Holidays, Robin

I have used 4000k 250 watt - 21,000 initial lumens metal halide lights for years and have had great results starting onions, peppers, tomatoes and numerous flower seedlings. The first year I used these lights the peppers and tomatoes bloomed and the peppers even started to produce peppers. I use 2 grow light fixtures that cover a 24" x 48" grow area each. I start about 200 seedlings a year.. I learned to start the seedlings later because I didn't want 18" tomato plants and blooming peppers in my basement. I'd prefer to let that happen in the garden. When I first started growing seedlings there wasn't the huge selection of grow lights that are available today. But I've stuck with the MH because they work for me, and because a single 250 watt bulb will cover a 24" x 48" area with light to spare. I pay $ 15.00 for the bulb and I get 15,000 hrs +. That's about 3+ years. I keep the lights about 24" from the top of the plants. I would have to use at least 8 luorescent T8 shop lights to cover the same square footage as 2 metal halide. If each florescent T8 bulb consumes 40 watts then I am consuming a total of 320 watts. With MH lights I am consuming 500 watts. Another very important added benefit is MH lights produce heat. When the lights are on I am able to maintain temperature of 70 degrees to 75 degrees. When the lights are off temperature stays between 60 degrees to 65 degrees. I have heard that the higher Kelvin ( up to 6500 K ) is best for starting plants. But I agree with SCG that brightness is very important and perhaps more important than very high Kelvin temps. I can't see spending $80.00 on a 6500K bulb. I may as well buy the veggies at the supermarket. Gregg