Starting Seed Indoors

If you want to get a jump on Spring, it will soon be time to start some of your garden plants growing indoors. Lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, and melons are particularly good for doing this, though onions,carrots, and other root crops are not. Starting seeds 4-6 weeks before the last frost (usually between April 25th and March 1st in the Chicago area) means next week is a good time to start. So what do you need to get started?

1. Some containers. You can buy "seed greenhouses" at a nursery/Home Depot/Lowe's that have clear lids and wicking systems to water from below...or you can go more low-tech like I do. I use seed-starting pots made of peat ($2 buys you about 30 cells) and foil roasting pans. Another good choice is to use restaurant take-out containers--the kind with the clear plastic top and the black plastic bottom. The clear plastic covering on top of your container helps to seal in moisture and make the environment more humid, which helps seeds to germinate faster.
2. Some soil. The pre-made greenhouses come with compressed peat pellets that expand with water; you can also buy specialized seed starting potting mix. My best results, though, have come from my own mix. I use a ratio of 2/5 compost, 2/5 sphagnum peat moss, and 1/5 vermiculite or perlite. If you don't like fractions, just take a scoop or container of whatever size, scoop up two containers full of compost, two of peat moss, and one of perlite, and mix. This soil has tons of nutrients (compost), trace elements and moisture retention (peat moss) and aeration (vermiculite).
3. Some light. I grow my seeds in my basement. I got a $20 shop light from Home Depot, threw in a couple of fluorescent tubes, and put it on a timer that turns it on for 14 hours a day, off for 10. If you're using artificial light, you need it to be about three inches over the top of your plants, so I rigged it up on ropes and pulleys to be able to raise and lower it to whatever height I want. Of course, south-facing windows also work too.
4. Some seeds, some water, and some patience. Do I need more explanation here?

The picture above shows some lettuce seedlings that I planted on February 19th. Because lettuce seeds are so small, I just scattered them into a roaster pan filled with my soil. After they sprouted, I picked 16 of the strongest-looking seedlings and transplanted them into individual cells. This picture was taken on the 24th: 6-day-old plants.

Tell me about your seed starting adventures!