Hiya Dave, Seedlings do very well when crowded. Here are 40 not quite 1 year olds in a 7 X 18 inch window box. The only thing I will do for these guys is add an inch or 2 of fresh potting mix to the bottom of the window box & crumble off the top edge where lime & gunk builds up. A little fresh soil around the edges and they are ready to grow on till fall. I would not try planting seedlings out in the ground, in our zone it's just not worth it. In their 3rd year you might try it, they will be large enough to handle easily and a single cutworm or hungry slug won't wipe them out. Jodik, window boxes are awesome for growing hippi seedlings. They come in sizes to fit any window & give more depth than most pots. The seedlings seem to like the closeness & the plastic is flexible enough to give a bit when the bulbs start pushing the sides out. I do drill extra drain holes, one in each corner and a few scattered along the length. Lora

I predict the lettuce under the cool whites will grow better. for vegtative growth, the cool whites put off a better light spectrum than the warm whites. Also, you'd be better off with one light over each bin. as it sits right now, the plants along the outer fringe of your rafts aren't going to get much light. and lower them as close as possible to the plants. fluorescents lose light strength quickly as you get away from the bulb. I like your hole punch and you're doing a good thing recycling. I've never heard of k-cups. around here we still use coffee filters and a scoop.

Lots of daylily hybridizers start their seeds indoors under grow lights. We have not grown seedlings this way since we have a small greenhouse. One year, though, we found a couple of seedlings with rust so we isolated them by bringing them in the house. They spent the rest of the winter (after being started in late January) in a south facing window. They did fine. Nancy

> I'm a newbie (so take my info fwiw), but I soaked my tomato seeds for a couple of days before sowing and they did not rot. it's a long time considering tomatoes already sprout rather quickly.. might not rot, but it can water log the embryo. from my experience, they might even sprout, but growth can be stunted. tomato seeds have a thin fuzzy hull that softens pretty easy by just being sowed in damp soil, so if you must, i don't recommend soaking them more than a few hours.. some other seeds such as beets, 24 hours would be fine.