
Garden Season Begins
The garden season began on Sunday, February 19, 2023, when I planted perennial flower and some vegetable seeds in my seedling chamber. I had spent the previous two weeks constructing the seed chamber in my spare time. It consists of a wooden framework that I have on casters so I can move it about. Under the actual seed chamber is a compartment I use to store empty flats.
The Chamber
To light the chamber I used a Mars Hydro TS600 100 Watt LED Grow Light that illuminates a 2 feet x 2 square feet square area. I fastened a foam insulated reflective foil covering to the outside, foil side in, using velcro. The foil reflects most of the heat produced by the light unit back into the chamber. I used Velcro because in warm weather I may want to remove the covering. So far (March 2) I have needed no additional heat, though we have temperatures at night down to 25 degrees. This unit is installed in an unheated garage.
288 Seed Flats
I purchased some #288 seed starting plug trays from a local garden center. These trays have 288 compartments and can start that many seeds, with one seed per chamber. I filled the compartments with a fine seed starting medium, planted the seed and covered with a fine layer of more soil. Then I soaked them down thoroughly using a sprayer. Since the 288 seed flats do not hold a lot of soil, they must be sprayed with a fine spray of water each day to keep them moist.
Germination
A week later, February 26, many of the seeds had sprouted.

What I planted:
Yarrow
Summer Pastels
Butterfly Weed
Hello Yellow
Daisy
Chocolate Daisy Flower
Chrysanthemum
Coreopsis
American Dream
Baby Sun
Dianthus
Flavorosa Rose
Blanket Flower
Columbine
McCanna Giant
Aster
Alpine Mix
Delphinium
Summer Colors Dwarf
Broccoli
Di Ciccio
Cabbage
Katatina
Red Cabbage
Kalibos
Cauliflower
Early Snowball
Celery
Cutting
Chamomile
German
Chinese Cabbage
Optiko
Kohlrabi
Beas
Lettuce
Summertime
Buttercrunch
Victoria
Two Star
Red Sails
Tom Thumb
Rosemary
SimplyHerbs
Spinach
Bloomsdale
Stevia
Strawberries
Rainbow Treasure
Italian Alpine
Greens
Garden Mesclun Mix
Pepper
Red Banana
Orange Banana
King of the North
Pea
Little Snow Pea White