This post spotlights my favorite, must-have seed starting supplies and equipment to germinate and grow seeds indoors.
Start your gardening journey right from the very beginning: with seeds!
I’m glad you’re interested in seed starting because to me, this is the most magical part of gardening. When you first look at a seed, it seems impossible that so much abundance and life can come from a tiny, cold, hard thing, that honestly looks like a little rock or a speck of sand.
But inside each seed is the potential to feed us, nourish us, and bring us joy from watching it grow.
If you haven’t already seen my guide on seed starting, make sure to check it out for more info on the actual process.
And if you already have seen it, thank you for reading!
TLDR, Jump to the Section You Want
- Reasons to Start Seeds Indoors
- Create Your Own DIY Seed Starting Shelves
- Seed Starting Pots and Trays
- Other Equipment for Starting Seeds
- Soil and Fertilizer for Seed Starting
- Final Thoughts
Reasons To Start Seeds Indoors
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Although you can start seeds outdoors by direct sowing, and in fact, direct sowing is recommended for certain crops like carrots and radishes, germinating seeds indoors is useful for a number of reasons.
- Get a head start on your growing season and harvest sooner.
- Seed starting indoors is recommended for plants like tomatoes that take a long time to mature.
- Grow large, healthy seedlings to plant out.
- Start growing sooner instead of waiting for outdoor conditions to be just right.
- Be able to control the germination conditions more easily indoors.
- Your plants will be less vulnerable to pests the bigger they are before planting outside.
- Fine-tune your succession sowing times and have seedlings ready to replace harvested crops.
Create Your Own DIY Seed Starting Shelves
If you’re planning on starting a lot of seeds, you may want to consider making seed starting shelves that custom-fits your space. Even if you only have a small corner in an extra room or even a small closet, you can put together a grow light station for your seedlings that only takes up a small amount of space in your home.
You’ll need these two things:
- shelves for your lights and seed trays like these adjustable metal wire racks
- strong grow lights or shop lights; these are the ones I use in my own grow room
Make sure your shelves are strong and sturdy and also placed on a level surface. Trays of wet soil can get quite heavy. Additionally, it will be difficult to bottom water your seedlings if the shelves are not level as the water won’t get evenly distributed throughout the tray.
Seed Starting Pots and Trays
Next, you’ll need drip trays, seed starting pots or cells, and humidity domes, preferably ones that fit perfectly on your shelves.
You can use a number of things as seed starting pots. I have reused cells and pots from annuals that I’ve bought the previous year, and used plastic drinking cups and yogurt containers that I drilled holes in for drainage. It doesn’t have to be fancy at all if you’re just getting started.
Any watertight tray will do to hold your pots and seed starting cells. I’ve used boot trays and large baking trays.
My Favorite Seed Starting Pots and Trays
However as the years have gone by, I’ve also been wanting to upgrade my containers and trays to something that not only looks nicer, but is also consistently sized. I’ve gotten frustrated by having so many different kinds and sizes of containers. I’ve found it difficult to keep things watered properly, and have just wanted to streamline the whole seed starting process while having it look cute!
Last year for Christmas, I got matching seed starting pots and trays to replace my heavily used, mismatched ones that were falling apart. I’m happy I made the switch as it was finally time to upgrade and stop duct-taping my seed starting cells together every season!
These are the new ones I have. I chose Bootstrap Farmer because their products are strong, durable, and should last a long time. (I also liked the colors of this kit.) I don’t want to have to replace these until they are falling apart, and I shouldn’t have to for years to come!
My favorite thing about their 6-cell plug trays is the large hole at the bottom which allows you to pop out the plugs more easily with a finger than traditional trays. They also have slits on the corners which helps allow air in to keep roots from circling and getting root-bound in the trays.
I recommend getting a kit like the one I got above or this small batch one as you’ll save a bit of money that way, and it’s also nice to just get everything at once without putting multiple things in your cart. Bootstrap Farmer’s site also lists the items separately, so if you only need certain items you can get them that way.
Personally, if I could only choose one thing to get from them, it would be the 1020 trays. They are strong and sturdy, so you can lift them one-handed without them buckling. If you’ve ever worked with those cheap, flimsy 1020’s sold at most big box stores, you know exactly what I mean!
Other Equipment for Starting Seeds
Some seeds will require a heat mat for germinating. These are generally your warm-season plants like tomatoes and peppers, which like to have warm soil to trigger germination.
For me, I’ve found that just one heat mat will do. You can have your trays take turns germinating on the heat mat. Once the seedlings are up, swap out the tray for another freshly seeded tray.
Another thing you’ll want to have is an electric fan. The fan serves two purposes: 1) circulating air in the grow room to prevent damping-off and fungal issues; and 2) simulating wind conditions that will strengthen the seedlings’ stems and roots.
Any fan will do, really, as long as you can adjust it to a low setting and configure the placement so it’s blowing exactly where you want it to.
The one I linked above oscillates and has an adjustable head. It also has a low speed and a timer. Really basic, but it’ll get the job done.
Plant labels are very important for seed starting!
You need some way of labeling your seedlings to keep track of them all, especially if you’re growing different varieties of the same type of plant. I like using these slim labels because they fit easily under my humidity dome. On the label, I also like to write the date that I started the seed so I can track how long it takes for the seed to germinate and resow if it’s taking too long.
Next, a handheld sprayer or mister is great for moistening the soil while seeds are germinating. Some seeds like sweet alyssum are very small and can get washed away if watered straight from a watering can. Any sprayer or mister will do for seed starting. If you’re planning to start a lot of seeds, you may want to have one with a continuous spray so your hand doesn’t fatigue.
Lastly, a dibber and/or seeder can be really useful to have if you’re sowing a lot of small seeds or want to be precise with your planting depth. The link has both items in it. You can also use these outside for direct sowing.
Soil and Fertilizer for Seed Starting
Of course, you can hardly grow seeds without a growing medium like coconut coir or peat moss (which both ironically are not real soil, but just between us, let’s still call it “soil”).
You’ll want a “soilless mix” for growing indoors so you won’t be bringing in unwanted pests and critters or disease that were living in your outdoor garden soil. Seedlings are very tender and highly susceptible to disease and pests.
There’s a lot of debate amongst gardeners as to what type of soil to use for seed starting. Some people say you should use a special seed starting mix without fertilizer because you could burn your seedlings. Others think potting mix is fine to use and helps feed your seedling for a time as it begins to grow.
I’m in the latter camp. I use this all-purpose potting mix for all my seed starting, and it’s worked very well for me. I’ve not had any issues with burning my seedlings from over-fertilizing and it allows me to hold off on supplementing them with additional fertilizer.
I use the same mix for up-potting seedlings and for refreshing my containers both outdoors and indoors.
I do like to add a few extras to the mix.
- perlite to lighten the soil further and make it easier for plant roots to grow and get oxygen
- mycorrhizae powder to encourage root development (Pro-Mix already has this in there, but I add more if my potting mix is old just in case the mycorrhizae died)
- vermiculite for the same reason as perlite, additionally I sprinkle this on top of the soil to help retain moisture on top
As your seedlings grow, they will require more food and nutrients. Because they are being grown in containers, they don’t have access to more nutrients than what was in the pot to begin with.
I use this organic liquid fertilizer to feed my seedlings once they have two sets of true leaves. I dilute the fertilizer with water to half the recommended amount to make sure I don’t burn them with too many nutrients. I do this weekly (Fertilizer Fridays!) and increase the amount of fertilizer gradually as they get bigger and bigger.
Final Thoughts
Taking on a new hobby like gardening and seed starting can feel little overwhelming at the beginning. There’s a lot to learn, for sure, and I’m still learning new things every day, too.
It feels silly to say after writing a whole post on what equipment you should buy, but having the most aesthetic or the most expensive things isn’t at all necessary to get started with gardening and seed starting.
All seeds need to germinate are good soil, bright light or sunshine, and regular water and airflow. After all, seeds have been germinating and growing outdoors without human intervention for thousands of years!
My goal in writing a recommendation post like this is to help you feel prepared, not to make you feel like you’re lacking.
I hope you now feel more knowledgeable and informed about what you will need to create a seed starting station indoors. And maybe even excited by all the possibilities? I know I’m excited for seed starting season!
If you enjoyed this post or have any questions for me, feel free to leave a comment below.
Happy growing!