I did like you when I started but you learn. Now I bought 100 4" plastic pots which I use every year over and over. Old household with flourcent bulbs, Two old desk and shelf in my basement. All I bought this year some heating mats. I use Soil from my Garden I mix it with perlite and moss. My plants are doing fine and they can not wait for the weather to warm up.
Some people tries to make so scientific and difficult you lose the hubby pleasure.

Loribee - Why are the lights not useful for you? I'm wondering if it might be a zone difference in needs. I wouldn't expect someone in sunny California to need grow lights at all.

My house isn't warm enough, but I keep not having money to buy heating mats. My chili seeds are being stubborn.

I'm disappointed in the portable greenhouse I have. I didn't realize it would lose so much heat at night that the trays would still freeze. Of course, that's maybe not too surprising in March in Wisconsin. I think it still may be useful later this month & May when I can't plant out because there's still chance of frost.

Actually, maybe it'll be of most use inside because it could warm up my chili tray enough to sprout AND keep the kittehs from nibbling on my seedlings.

@foolishpleasure, I've looked at those 4" pots. They are a really good deal. In my newfound cheapness, I opted to pot up my tomatoes in "kegger cups", those plastic 16 oz'ers you get at Costco. But I think over time, the 4" pots might be a better deal because you can reuse them over and over.

@sconnielill, we definitely need lights here in CA. Night time temps in the winter get down to the high 20's, and the days simply aren't long enough. But I did not like those expensive grow lights at all. For the price, they didn't cover the amount of space I wanted, and I wasn't too crazy about the stand they come with. I can put 2 flats under a set of 4' shop lights for about $20. Luckily, I still had the packaging and was able to return those T-5's. If not, I'd probably still be using them in some capacity.

As for the greenhouse, someone on the other thread mentioned using it indoors with good success. That sounded like a great idea!

Wow, I can't imagine gardening without my heating mat, although you're in California, so I doubt the temperatures ever get cold enough to need one there.

I have expensive lights and I can't believe the difference they make over the cheap shop lights. I still have those too, but man those seedlings look weak in comparison.

I think those jiffy started thingies with the net around them would qualify as a waste of money for me though. Also seed starting mix, total waste, potting soil works just as well.

This is my first year starting seeds & if we'd had the money I would have bought a lot of growing paraphenalia. I wanted a heating mat, extra shop light and shelving. In the end my plants have been sitting in a long under-the-bed rubbermaid container w/ a shop light sitting on top of it. Honestly, they've done beautifully although I think that's partly because I set them outside each day to bask in the sun. I didn't even use a fan on them until we had a long stretch of bad weather & they had to stay indoors. I think when we look at everyone's set ups here there's a wide range in where people are located & what they are growing. However, next year I do want to buy an extra shop light since my one shop light is being spread thin now that my plants are getting bigger - and that's with planting a month later than desired! My plants would be a lot happier with another shop light over them.

15 years ago I purchased a little heated mini "greenhouse" that ended up in the garbage. Total waste of money.

I bought a heat mat, used it one year and haven't used it since - but I keep it in case I may ever need it. I felt it was a critical component to improve seed starting success but it turned out not to be.

I reuse my 1020 plastic flats and inserts to the point of repairing them with tape. Some of the flats were purchased back in the early 1990's and hold up much better than the really paper thin ones now. I wish I had purchased 500 of them back then.

I use plastic "Solo" cups for pots - they are more durable than the cheap plastic kegger cups. They are the perfect size for my needs, are durable, and reusable. I would prefer nice square transplant pots but they are pretty much useless after using once or twice, and have to be ordered from some far away company. Some of the cups I reuse are 7-8 years old, and if I run short I can get them at the local grocery store.

I always had trouble growing impatiens until I started using seed starting mix - that solved the problem and I get excellent germination now. All other seeds are started in the cheapest bulk potting soil I can find. I will take the time to run the soil through a homemade hardware cloth sifting screen to get rid of the stones, gobs of clay, and chunks of wood, etc. Doing this makes the seeding go much easier.

-Tom

@Gardenmommy, I think you make a good point. There are so many variations between where a person lives, what conditions are available in their house in terms of light and heat, it really doesn't make sense to provide one answer for all. If I could do it over again, I'd start out with only the very basics then make adjustments based on the results. I'll bet people would find out they only need half of what they thought they'd need.

Tom, I did the same thing with the heat mat. I was convinced I'd never germinate a seed without it. Then this year, when I didn't feel like having an extension cord running across my office, I decided to try my tomatoes and peppers without it. Lo and behold, they all germinated just fine. In fact, I didn't have the problem with leggy seedlings that I had the year before. The slightly cooler temps prevented them from shooting up before I could get them under lights.

And I hadn't thought about screening potting mix. I use SuperSoil because it's not very woody, but I like the idea of going to something even cheaper and just screening out the big stuff!

I have 3 of those 4-shelf portable greenhouses and wouldn't live without them, but I use them inside during the winter in Wisconsin. I bought my first one from Fleet Farm years ago for $29 and promptly went back for 2 more. I put a small fan and light inside and start my 1020 flats of seeds in them. The light adds warmth, the fan circulation, and the greenhouse cover provides a nice humid environment.
I live on 40 acres and have lots of area to cover and can't afford to buy all the flowers that I love to fill all my gardens. Instead I start flats and flats of flowers in my basement and move the plants outside in May for late May planting. I'm like soilent green, I reuse everything so much that a lot of my flats and cell packs are held together with masking tape, but it works!
For my vegis I use recycled 3" pots or 16 oz plastic glasses from the dollar store. The 16 ozers are great for tomatoes - I start out with a couple inches of soil in them and as the plants grow I add more soil and pinch off the lowers leaves as needed. I've got a bumper crop this year with enough to share with friends.
My one bigger expense was a restaurant type heavy-duty metal shelving unit on wheels to which I added 4 shop lights. I've seen the same thing in gardening magazines and they want at least $500 for it - I spent a little over $100 putting mine together. When my little sprouts get going I move them over to that rack to make room for more seed in the mini-greenhouses. I've got a good system going, it's fun, and saves us lots of $$.

LoriBee - you'll be happy to know that same shelf was at a local garden store today for $79.99 :-)

Umn - I do use my heat mat but can only use half as my cat likes to lie on it and will knock little seedlings in dirt to the floor if she doesn't have enough room (arrggh and it was coming along so well!). I put some platic water bottle caps under the trays on the mat as some folks find the mats have hot spots that can cook your seedlings. The caps are small enough that they just raise trays a tad and they get the warmth.

I use the deep root trays I picked up from Parks - you can fit more in less space with longer root systems - but they are a pain in the pitoutee as I prefer the simpler milk jug (or even plastic food tray with lid) and sprinkling seeds over getting the tweezers out and carefully planting one or two at a time. Also us them for rooting, but you can't leave plants in them for very long once they've taken off (if you root on the mat mentioned above).

Didn't need the fancier rooting hormone that you use with percentages and liquid dip. Find the powder stuff available in all the stores works juts fine for me.

Saw the styrofoam plant starters and bought a pak of styrofoam coffee cups poking holes in the bottom with a fork - work well and retain warmth.

didn't need the leather gloves - they're hard to wash. Just the cheapos with platic grit on hte palms - new ones each season but do the trick.

Love the cheapo Walmart one piece plastic hand trowels and forks that are one dollar. The nicer ones always have the metal separating from the wood handle. The not as nice even have the trowel bend - not so with these bargain puppies.

Newver had damping off until I moved here - it's such a horrible thing to lose so many started seedlings. Dragged out the fans, but do now swear by sterile seed mix for starting indoors (you can cook your dirt to sterilize but it does smell). Thing to watch out for is I have one local nursery who had teh sterile mix outdoor getting wet in the winter - don't pay extra for that. Find the dry indoor bags.

Here is a link that might be useful: mists and enchantments my blog

After many years of fussing around with those flimsy domed trays, cell packs, and jiffy pots, and expensive full spectrum/hydroponic lights, I started reading and thinking!!
I save money by not using starting flats. I start all my indoor seed (tomatoes,peppers, and some annuals & veggies) by placing them in folded coffee filters (they are stronger than paper towels), moistened with a weak solution of orange pekoe tea. They are stacked on an old pie plate over the heating vent in my dining room (instant heat mat). Once they germinate and have a fair-sized root on them, I transfer them to styrofoam cups (I re-use them), and place them under lights in my basement, until time for planting out. The lights are tied to existing shelving. Initially, I used expensive ($38.00) hydroponic lights, but found that regular fluorescent tubes from Home Depot worked just as well. Bits of styrofoam packaging under the trays keep the seedlings nearer the lights initilly. To prevent damping off and other fungi, a weak solution of chamomile tea, and watering from below seems to work. I found some really good trays (I don't know what they came from) at a Goodwill store which are sturdy and do not flop around like those regular gardening trays, which I find completey useless. I do shell out for seed starting mix especially for my indoor plants because I have had infestations of aphids that killed off entire sets of tomato seedlings, so I like everything to be sterile. Every now and then, a fan is used to strengthen the seedlings and also prevent any bugs which may be lurking to infect them, but I do not keep it running constantly. Perennials and hardier annuals get the winter sowing treatment. I also use seed starter, but the cheaper Walmart stuff, and I use (and re-cycle) 2-litre pop bottles for my containers (some stolen from neighbourhood blue boxes). Margarine and yogurt tubs are good for lettuces and petunias which do not grow very tall.
A few years ago I purchased a 'Root Trainer' system which works very well, but is best if you are growing 20 seedlings of any one plant, which I never do. The cells are very deep, grooved to keep the roots contained and dircted downward, comes with a sturdy tray and dome. The cells come apart so there is no stress at transplant time. I used it last night for my peppers - a nice compact little system for about $12.00 designed to be re-used. That being said, every year I yearn for a heat mat so I can start my seeds in the basement. It's much too cold up here in March & April. I also yearn for one of those small green houses, but also, we go from winter to summer so it would not really be useful. Every summer, I'm glad I resisted the temptation. In reality, seed starting is forgotten once we get those little seedlings in the ground.

Oh yeah, your posts reminded me that I also bought pea/bean innoculant to increase yields in my peas. I later read a post here about all the people who've done testing on it and found it didn't make a squat of difference.

I also should mention that I use the trays, but I stack them three deep. One thing I'm finding is a pain is that the Soho cups tip over easy when I try to pick up a tray and move it. I'm thinking about buying a sheet of styrofoam, cutting it to the size of the tray and cutting out holes to stick the cups in that will keep them in place. The extra support would also be good to keep the trays from flopping, I imagine, and I could probably go down to two deep instead of three. I'm with you guys: I'd pay extra to have a sturdy tray that would last years and years.

egads - reading my post you'd think I was illiterate (truly not so - just don't bother to proof the typing as much as I should).

I also tried pea/bean innoculant once - could have been the weather, but had a worse crop than other years so never bothered again.

Root trainers is the correct name for those trays I reuse from Parks - thanks northerner.

Those flimsy greenhouses (when propped on the covered porch against the wall) did help me overwinter about 50 Amaryllis for 2 winters (since managed to kill off all but about 8). When I lived in z9Sunset14 Amaryllis were so easy to start from seed. Just brush the flower to pollinate, collect the seeds, plant in spring while warm and off we go. They flower the following year or 2 and overwintered in the warmer climate.

Here is a link that might be useful: mists and enchantments my blog

LOL @faery, I didn't think that.

It does seem that those stands are good if well protected from wind. I hadn't thought about bringing it indoors and using it to keep the humidity up. Ah well.

And BTW, I was just at the grocery store and they've brought the greenhouses back again this year. $30 I hope that one your garden center is selling for $80 is of higher quality!

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Peat pots, peat pellets...haven't had any luck with them and now I have a bag of ~100 left. Cell packs and transplanting to larger containers (16 oz. drink cups etc.) seems to be working well.

How about the other side of this question? For years I struggled with makeshift shelving and lighting. Two years ago I splurged on a terrific chrome shelf setup (2 feet deep by 4 feet wide - 5 shelves). I didn't spring for official "grow lights" because I knew the shop lights - two on each level - would work fine. Now I have everything in one place. The bottom shelf is for storage and the remaining three lighted shelves hold twelve flats. It's a lot easier for me to manage, and more fun too since I'm not all over the place.

Oh, and another small but useful expense was the bulb seed waterer - makes it so easy to water seeds/seedlings without washing the soil covering them away.

Hmmm good question. I think the gadget I couldn't live without is the timer for my lights. Literally, I can leave the seedlings to themselves for days on end and they're fine. I also have a 2 gallon pump sprayer I use to water the seedlings when they're in their smallest container. I tried a hand mister the first year, and was close to carpal tunnel after a few days, LOL. I also do like the seed incubator I created (the foil-lined styrofoam box). That's allowed me to keep my seeds out in the unheated garden shed and not worry when them temps get down in the 20's. Even my heat-loving tomatoes and peppers thrived through some cold temps, and I think my box gets the credit--though I can't be 100% sure.

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

I was given one of the 4 shelf portable greenhouses for Christmas this year, it worked great to overwinter my coleus cuttings and baby canna seedlings inside the house. I started toms and peppers, and some 4 o'clocks. However once it got to be early March or so, the humidity increased too much and it was literally dripping with condensation. Seems obvious now, but the sun was basically steaming my plants. Ugh. So I removed the cover, and all was right again. At that point I was more concerned with causing damp off and other fungus problems than about keeping the humidity up.
PS the fungus gnats that arrived with my amaryllis bulbs really enjoyed a nice steamy greenhouse, yuck.