How to Start Plants With Indoor Light

Sowing Seed

• 1

  Select a container. Flats or trays, pots, and peat pellets are all widely available, and work equally well. If you are planting only a single seed or a small group of seeds, the individual pots or pellets are appropriate. If you are starting a large planting of a single type, use a tray. Make sure that your planting container is clean and sterile to prevent the growth of bacteria and disease.

• 2

  Fill your container three-quarters of the way full with a moistened potting mixture that is one part soil and two parts vermiculite. Alternately, create a mixture that is two parts soil, two parts perlite or sand, and one part peat moss. These mixtures both result in loose, well-drained soil suited to seeding.

• 3

  Sow seeds at the surface level. Very fine seeds should stay on the surface uncovered. Larger seeds should be covered with vermiculite or moss. Seeds should be covered to a depth that is equal to twice their diameter as a rule of thumb.

• 4

  Cover the pots or trays with plastic wrap, or slide them inside a clear plastic bag. This will create a mini-greenhouse and improve germination.

Seedling Care

• 5

  Place seeds in a location where they will experience bright, indirect light, and where the temperature is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 6

  Remove the plastic covering when germination begins. Move the flats to provide more direct artificial light. A mixture of fluorescent and incandescent lights should be used at a ratio of 100 to 30 watts. This will provide a balanced mix of red and blue light waves essential to growth.

• 7

  Position lights about 6 inches above the plants, and leave them turned on for between 14 and 18 hours a day. Continue providing artificial light until the plants develop at least one set of true leaves, the point at which they are ready to be transplanted.