Celery.. No cover light required for germination at 70F taking 10-17 days.....Rutabaga/turnip light cover temp 70F taking 7-14 days to germinate.....Carrot light cover soil temp 64-72F taking 10-21 days....Lettuce light cover soil temp 65-70F taking 6-10 days to germinate. Many inserts for growing seedlings are 1 inch deep but others for starting trees are 6 inches deep & may be used for starting root crops.Starting in a cold frame is common & instead of using FRESH manure on the surface I use it & cover with 1-2 incches of sand & it generates a lot of heat. A light bulb will also help. Also look on the package it gives time to maturity ....pick those varities with with the shortest time to maurity. I hope this helps

The folded paper design I posted earlier, I use only for temporary storage or for mailing seeds. If you are having trouble folding it, it is usually because you do not turn it over as directed in picture #3. For long time storage I use the plastic air tight containers used for diabetic test strip storage. They are a little smaller than the old 35MM film shipping cases. Dr. Norman Deno in his many years of seed experimenting found very little difference in life expectancy between seed at a constant room temperature and that at refrigerator temperature for most seed. Al

A warm welcome to the Winter Sowing Forum. Have you had a chance to review the FAQs on this site? I believe the link below will answer your question in depth, as well as a lot of questions you didn't you had. Yes you need ventilation. Also take a look at wintersowing.org. You will find both education and free seeds there. You will also find free seeds in the Exchange section of this forum. Once you had a chance to review the FAQs, stop back by with all the questions you can think of. This is a warm and helpful group. Welcome aboard. Seedmama Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing FAQs

Thought of another thing you can make seed pots out of, paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls, free and you just have to bend in the bottoms. It wouldn't be a long-term thing but if you are short on cash it's a good method. tape the bottom close and when you go to plant just remove the tape and open the bottom. You should see condensation on the inside of your bag. It shouldn't be excessive but you should notice it. If the paper towel looks dry spritz it with water very lightly. Don't over-do it or your will get mold. When I had the tangled tomato mess one thing that I know contributed to it other than timing was putting too many in there. Make sure the seeds are spread out a little on your paper towel so they can grow a little.