This is my first season having a greenhouse to start seeds in and I'm super excited!

[Guest]

Does anyone have a good resource for using your greenhouse to start seeds with the intent to transplant them to your garden?

Do you look for specific night/day temps? Do you start them inside then move to the greenhouse? When do pot up?

What kinds of accessories for your greenhouse do you recommend getting for the greenhouse for this purpose? We have shelves we need to install, do I need shade cloth to start seeds?

Give me all the details.. this is my first season having a greenhouse to start seeds in and I'm super excited! I'm in zone 6b, central Kentucky.

[Jana]

I am in Dallas. Order seeds from Pinetree online for years, 100% germination. Some seeds I start indoor and once the seedlings are bigger I move them in greenhouse, if there is room, because right now I have some lemon plants there. Definitely build some shelving so you can also hang some plants in space.

[Tami]

I have the same greenhouse! ❤ I live in Colorado and usually just heat in early spring after my seeds have started inside my house. Pretty expensive to heat all year round. Have fun!

[Peter]

My 1st year: I started with sawhorses and boards for benches, got pots, seed heat mat(get the one that hold 2 trays 20x20), and trays from Greenhouse Megastore, used seed starting mix from Walmart, got my seeds from my local nursery, took Joe Gardener’s seed starting class online, and did really good. I had a blast and you will too!

[Linda]

What I do is: first and foremost follow the instructions on the seed pack. Many need to be started soon. I use heat mats under my flats. I usually sow into the flats with 4-packs or 2” pots. It is pretty easy to sow into a flat of dirt and ‘prick off’ the seedlings into 4 packs too. Lettuce does particularly well this way. Some things are best seeded directly into your outside beds, like carrots. For my many flowering pots I put around in the summer, I like to go to the nursery early spring and I can often pick up things in tiny packs cheaply and grow them out myself. It’s a huge savings.

[Lisa]

You will need heat mats and lights. I have a book called “From Seed to Bloom” it has great guidelines for germination. You need heat in there too. Shade cloth comes into play for late Spring here in 5b/6a. Every seed requires something different read about what you want to start. There is a lot to learn, don’t overwhelm yourself read all you can. Good luck it is so rewarding!

[Bill]

I live in zone 5, so it's a little colder and darker here. I still start my plants under lights with a heat mat inside. When they can be transplanted into pots and the green house is warm enough, I move them out into the greenhouse during the day. No need to harden them off. They'll be OK as long as it doesn't get too hot. Plants with immature root systems can't handle hot temps. At night I move them back inside so they don't get too cold.

[Cheryl]

I'm in kentucky too.. and I will be putting up my greenhouse when spring gets here, glad to asked these questions cuz I will be using mine for seed starting too.. I do think we will need heat mats and lights at the beginning, ( depending on what is going on with our temps in kentucky ,( never know if it's gonna be cold or hot ( I know you understand what I am taking about) ..I would sew tomatoes I. The bigger pots to start because they have longer roots, I sew marigolds in those little ones and they do fine..like you I am not sure about the shade cloth and when to use them , but last year even tho I didn't have A greenhouse I experiment with starting seeds on top of my refrigerator and the warmth seems to work out well, so I will definitely try a heat mat in early spring I my greenhouse.. Having a greenhouse will definitely help with having out late frost situation we always have here!!!.. best of luck with yours !.. I am excited to get mine built in the spring.. Are you putting in a wood framing inside your greenhouse?

[Desiree]

There are some great YouTube videos by Gary Pilarcheck of The Rusted Garden. I watched his seed starting videos a couple years ago and have had great success following his approach. I start everything indoors on metal shelves (from Home Depot) and just use shop lights purchased online from Walmart. I use heat mats underneath the plastic trays and keep the clear plastic domes on them until they I see the seedling come up.

I grow a few hundred seedlings now every year and give many of them to friends and neighbors. Once I pot up the seedlings then I move them to the greenhouse (unheated).

Good luck!