Ah, the nursery. Getting the nursery around marks one of my favorite times of the year. Within a matter of weeks, my teeny tiny seeds will start sprouting and life will begin. All of the planning and organizing comes to this moment.
So naturally, this being an epic time, I take a lot of care and put a lot of thought in setting up my nursery. This includes a thoroughly cleaning and scrubbing of any structure. I even use q-tips to make sure I get into every corner.
The Structure
With all things pertaining to gardening, there’s no one way to set up a nursey. My system has been tweaked over the years but mostly is made up of items I already had laying around the house. The overall structure is from a set of plastic shelving units that we once used in our pantry before upgrading to metal shelving. Instead of tossing it, it was re-purposed and makes an excellent structure for the nursery.
Lighting
One of the most important aspects of the nursery is to have proper lighting. I used to rely on natural light to help grow my seedings, but am very happy I made the investment into a good quality grow light.
I currently have five Sun Blaster 6400K T5HO Lamps. These lights are great. Not only do they provide an excellent light source for my plants, but they are also not bad on my electric bill.
Heating
Many seeds require warm environments to germinate. In order to create an environment suitable, I’ve added a seedling heat mat to my nursery. I only have one right now but am planning on buying at least one more this year.
I find this especially helpful for germinating (and growing, for that matter) pepper plants. Pepper plants require a lot warmer temperatures than most plants for germinate to occur and can be somewhat temperamental and challenging to grow from seed.
Air
When my plants starting getting taller, I use a mini fan to simulate wind. I don’t leave it on all the time, but I’ve found that a few hours a day helps strengthen the stems of my plants and prepare them for an easier harden when they go outside.
There you have it! My nursery set up. It’s always evolving as I learn new things and have more funds to add to it.
Planting Happiness 
I’m adding a fan to my nursery area this year. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it last year, as I always had fans in my commercial greenhouse to help plants get stronger and to prevent diseases caused by lack of air circulation. Your area looks terrific!
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I did the same thing’ Carolee! It makes perfect sense but took me a few years to think about doing it. Thanks!
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