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02/03/2009: "First Planting 2009"

today's weather: 1°F Mostly Clear
weather forecast: Partly Sunny High: 22°F

[Above picture] Surprisingly, I opened the cell-packs I bought this year and they are 8 sets of 9 to make a total of 72 per tray. Last year I swear I bought the same things and they were 12 sets of 6 (same total = 72). A small adjustment, but it did throw me for a loop..






[Above picture] Warming mats. I start my seeds indoors during Winter... in the basement. It's 58F down there so I need to raise their temp. The heating mats raise their temp 10-12 degrees to 68 or 70F. The mats don't seem to use much electricity (rated at 17 watts) but they never get 'hot' so they may not work in colder conditions but are ideal for a cool basement.






[Above picture] For germinating, the trays are covered, and covered with newspaper (not shown) as they do not need light until they poke out of the ground. Once the majority of the cells have a viable plant growing, they are allowed to have light.






[Above picture] This is my lighting setup for when the seeds become seedlings. It looks crude, but the PVC frame allows me to move the lights up and down using #12 ground wire wrapped around it. The lights are generic space clamp lights from Ace Hardware but using GE energy smart compact fluorescent 13 watt (60 watt equivalent) bulbs. I haven't had a bulb go bad in 2 years so I don't know about replacement cost, but the 13 watt per light is easy on the electricity bill.