Quote:
Originally Posted by agee12
Here's my quandary, where to start my plants - fyi this will be my first year growing from seed. I have an unoccupied basement area that gets good sun. It does not get icebox cold but it does fall below 60 degrees, am I correct that the seedlings should be in an area that is above 60 degrees? One thought is to get some heat mats. I am low on funds - it's not that I can't afford heat mats at all, but I have to figure out everything I need to get for the upcoming season and I may not be able to afford everything so I have to prioritize.
The second option is setting up a grow area in my bedroom. The basement gets way better light so if I grow in my bedroom I will have to rig up lights. The upside to creating a grow area in my bedroom is that it will meet the temperature requirement, it will be constantly attended and I need a reason to clear things out of the room that I have no use for. The downside is the clean up part will take time, if only because I will do it it incrementally. It may be easier said than done because I will still have to move in shelves and lights, they will be shop lights. These will not be new purchases, rather things already around the house and garage. Another factor is that I know that shop lights are not that energy efficient but I don't know how inefficient they are, so it's possible that I am adding costs by an increased electricity bill.
As I write this out I am leaning towards the basement option but may work on clearing an area in my room in case we get an extended cold snap and want to move the plants to a warmer part of the house.
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Only one way to find out!
Seeds are cheap. How is your stash? If you have extra seed, just give it a go. My basement is 60-62. I've got a jungle going now. Started seeds Nov 6th.
I do have a seeding heat mat and give a new tray a couple days on it. Peppers i'll start soon and they need a bit more time on the heat mat.
No need to get fancy. Start a small tray upstairs where it is warm....above the fridge?
Out of the way. Cover with saran wrap or a zip-lock loosely and check every day or so.
That will give you lots of time to figure out an inexpensive basement rig. Peppers take forever to germinate and are very slow to get going.
Dive in. Thats how we all learn.
