We are excited to get our seeds started this year. We can go ahead and get our cabbages, cauliflower and other cold hardy plants started for setting out in the garden once the weather warms enough. A few cold nights and even a light frost won’t hurt them but if it were to freeze for many days, it would be best to cover them.
I’m getting ahead of myself, it takes several weeks for the vegetable starts to be ready for outside. They can germinate and grow in the basement under lights until it’s time.
Here is a picture of some cucumbers we started inside a few years ago.
They are no fancy grow bulbs either, just plain old fluorescent shop lights that you can pick up for under $20 usually with the bulbs. They come with a plug in and chains to hang it up with. These types of lights work fantastic if you can keep them right on top of the new growth. It helps the stalk grow thick and strong instead of getting too tall too fast. Getting “leggy” is what happens when you make the seedlings reach for the light.