Growing Seeds Without Grow Lights?

[Elitemittens]

hello! It's that time of year again.
I have a sunroom in my house, it is east and north facing. I would LOVE to start my seeds in there, it one of the sunniest areas of the house and it is completely cut off from my cats!(I have three cats, if I let them they'd destroy my seedlings) My sunroom gets quite a few hours of morning light. It currently isn't in the cards to be able to buy shop lights and hang them this year(Hopefully next year though!) What would be the best way to make sure that my seedlings don't get too leggy? I'd hate to put a bunch of work into my little seedlings then have them not do well because I didn't provide enough light. Is there any cheaper alternatives to big shop lights? thanks

 

[Chuck]

Seedlings are going to get leggy no matter what if they are reaching for light. If you are growing tomatoes legginess isn't all that bad of a thing as you can plant them deep. If you are worrying about your plants getting too leggy either give them more light or plant the seeds later

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I've personally never tried growing seedlings indoors without artificial light, but I'd imagine the south side of the house would be best. I'd love to hear what others say.

When I got my shop light I went to the store and looked for the cheapest one they had, I can't remember how much but it was significantly cheaper than the rest. It's worked great for my needs the past two seasons.

 

[Durgan]

Seeds do not require light to germinate. They will sprout in the dark. But immediately after they germinate light is mandatory, and the best light is the Sun. I consider artificial light a waste of money in 99% of cases. Heat and sunlight is all I use in my little seed starting greenhouse.

 

[headfullofbees]

Seedlings are going to get leggy no matter what if they are reaching for light. If you are growing tomatoes legginess isn't all that bad of a thing as you can plant them deep. If you are worrying about your plants getting too leggy either give them more light or plant the seeds later

Might not be a problem, but it IS a waste of time planting them now.

 

[Chuck]

Might not be a problem, but it IS a waste of time planting them now.

Depends on where you are. Many of mine are up and growing, but then I can "probably" transplant them mid-March whereas folks in zone 6 will probably transplant in mid-April. If you have room and the warmth and don't mind repotting, now is a great time to plant seeds. Gives you a big head start on an early and protracted crop

 

[Christylynn]

I always start most of my seedlings in the house. They are away from bright light until they sprout then I move them in front of my patio door that faces south west so they get lots of sun. I don't have grow lights and this always works great for me. Tomato plants are a little leggy at first but after I pot them up they get really sturdy. I have an 8 by 6 foot green house that I don't use in the winter but soon as the days warm in spring the plants go out until garden time. I presently have 4 seedling trays of strawberries that I planted this week. They are sitting on temporary shelves in my living room waiting to sprout. I grew more than 100 strawberry plants like this two years ago. They take a long time to germinate but all turned out well. Squash, cabbage, cukes and such that don't have a long growing time are started in the green house in the spring.

 

[marlingardener]

Elite, if there is a Restore run by Habitat for Humanity near you it may be a source of cheap shop lights.
We start our seedlings on a heat mat (old heating pad for aches and pains, but beware the new ones that turn off after two hours as a safety feature) and have two 2' shop lights with two tubes each as grow lights. We bought cheap plastic shelving at Harbor Freight (but shelving may be at the Restore, too) and drilled holes in two of the shelves. Cable ties hold up the lights, and allow us to adjust the height when the seedlings get larger. I can't quote a price for the whole set-up, but without the seedling trays and cells, it probably came to about $20.