Seed Starting On A Budget

I'm trying to spend less than $300 on renovating the entire lot. Seed starting is a great for growers on a budget but it can also get pricey. If you're like me then you hate spending money for things you can do yourself or buy cheaper. I tried to devise a plan that could give me tons of healthy plans for only a few green backs. 

See what I got after the jump

Let's start off with seeds

I ordered this pack off of Ebay. I searched around for a few good deals This pack had most of what I wanted and the price was excellent. Most seed companies would charge about $2 for each variety. So far very happy with the quality and the description was accurate. The seeds came in a little slider bag. It doesn't look like much but there are a lot of seeds in that sandwich bag. I counted (of course) and there were in fact 102 varieties. Honestly it's more than enough seeds for the average gardener and the quantities are generous. I wanted a few uncommon plants so I ordered Luffa, lemon cucumber, ground cherries, and a host of medicinal herbs separately. Once again I have more than enough to last for another season or two, especially if I save seeds. The only thing I may have to purchase again are brassicas because they cross pollinate. 

Aluminum Pans and Newspaper Pots

I picked up some aluminum cookie sheets from the grocery store. They were $1 each. I thought they would make good seedling trays. So far they are working out well. They are great for bottom watering since the lip isn't that high. I made newspaper seedling pots and they fit really well on the sheet pan. I  managed to fit 56 pots on one sheet. I will post a tutorial in the near future iA. I chose newspaper because it's free. I haven't used any other medium. I was introduced to seed starting using newspaper and I've never had any issues with it. It disappears by the next spring and it's good for the soil.  My favorite part is you never have to worry about disturbing the roots because the whole thing can go into another pot or right into the ground.

Lights Camera ACTION!

I knew that I would have to buy lights and I was a bit unnerved by the idea. The shop lights are the one thing I can't re-purpose or regenerate. Now that I'm using it, I'm very happy about the decision.  Rather than buying seedling mats, I took a tip from another blog and used rope lights for bottom heating. I'm Muslim so I didn't have any Christmas lights lying around. I missed the post Christmas clearance so I had to pay$11 for them. Next up was the overhead light.I went to Home Depot and literally bought the cheapest 4ft shop light I could find. I had a makeshift shelf already in my basement. It's just a an old ladder hung on top of something they may have once been a shelf. It's right under  the basement steps but it worked out well for me. I used it the put my rope lights and hung my shop light from the ceiling beams.

Supplies

102 variety survival seed pack $27

Supplemental seed  $12

Seed starter $5

Shop light $13

Fluorescent bulbs $9

Aluminum sheet pans $3

Rope lights  $11

Total$80

That's not bad for enough supplies to last a couple of years. I should even have a few seedling left over to donate to friends and family.