Estimated Delivery between October 19 and October 21.
Two seed trays of 40 cells each, with clear vented domes and four LED bars that clip over them. The controller runs the lights for 3, 6 or 12 hours a day at one of five brightness levels, on a USB cable about 7 ft long.
Eighty cells is a proper season's sowing, started six weeks before anything could go outside. Twenty labels and two hand tools are in the box; compost and seeds are not.
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Two 40-cell trays, four LED bars and a timer, so seedlings get light from day one.
Seedlings started indoors in late winter almost always go leggy. They germinate happily in the warmth, then reach for a window that is only giving them a few usable hours a day, and end up as pale stems that fall over.
The lights are what fix that, and this kit has them built in rather than sold separately. Two bars sit over each tray on the frame, close enough to matter, and the controller runs them on a fixed daily cycle.
Eighty cells is a proper season's sowing â tomatoes, chillies, herbs and a tray of salad, all started six weeks before anything could go outside.
Fill the cells with damp seed compost and firm it lightly. Do not pack it down.
Sow one or two seeds per cell at the depth on the packet, and write the labels now rather than later.
Fit the dome and close the vent to hold humidity while the seeds germinate.
Clip the light bars to the frame, plug the controller into a USB supply, and set the timer.
As soon as the first seedlings appear, open the vent. Leaving it shut invites mould.
Water from below by adding water to the outer tray and letting the cells draw it up.
Take the dome off entirely once the seedlings are touching it, and pot them on when the first true leaves appear.
Cells: 80 in total, as two trays of 40
Cell size: about 1.4 x 1.6 in, roughly 2 in deep, with a drainage hole in each
Tray footprint: about 15 x 11 in (38 x 28 cm)
Dome: clear, about 3 in tall, with a twist vent
Lights: 4 bars, each about 8.7 in long, on a 7 ft (220 cm) USB cable
Controller: 3, 6 or 12 hours of light a day, with five brightness levels
Also included: 20 labels and two hand tools
Power: USB, so it runs from a phone charger or a powered hub
Compost and seeds are not included.
There is one version, and it is the largest seed-starting kit we carry. Take it if you sow properly â a full vegetable season, or trays for the allotment and a few for friends.
If you only start a handful of things each spring, the smaller 6- and 12-cell trays are a better fit and take up a fraction of the windowsill.
Seeds and compost are not included.
It needs a USB power source that stays plugged in â a charger or a powered hub, not a laptop that gets closed.
Two full trays plus water are heavier than they look. Put them somewhere that can take it.
Open the vent once seedlings appear. A closed dome over damp compost is how damping-off starts.
The plastic is thin by design, so cells flex to pop seedlings out. It is not built to be stood on or dropped.
How many trays and lights do I get?
Two trays of 40 cells, so 80 in total, and four light bars â two over each tray â running from one controller.
How long should the lights be on?
The controller offers 3, 6 or 12 hours a day. For seedlings started in winter, the longest setting is usually the one you want.
What powers it?
USB, on a cable about 7 ft long. Any phone charger or powered USB hub will run it.
Is it reusable?
Yes, season after season. Rinse the cells out at the end of the year and let them dry before storing.
Do the cells drain?
Each cell has a hole in the base and sits in a solid outer tray, so you can water from below and let the compost draw up what it needs.
How bright are the LEDs?
They're seedling bars that sit a few inches above the tray, not a substitute for a full grow light on a mature plant.
Why you'll love it
Lights are part of the kit. Four bars and a timer, not an accessory you buy later.
Eighty cells. A full season of sowing in two trays.
Vent, labels and tools. The small things you would otherwise be improvising.
Why seedlings go leggy
A leggy seedling is one that has stretched: a long pale stem, small leaves, and a tendency to keel over. It is not a sign that something went wrong with the seed. It is the plant doing exactly what it should, which is spending everything it has on getting closer to the light.
That is why a warm windowsill in February is such a trap. The warmth germinates the seed quickly, so you get a satisfying flush of green in a few days. But February daylight through glass, at a low angle, for eight hours, is nothing like what that seedling needs next. Within a fortnight it has doubled in height and halved in strength.
The remedy is light that is close and consistent. A bar a few inches above the tray, on a timer, gives a seedling no reason to stretch, and you get short stocky plants that survive being potted on.
If seedlings do stretch, tomatoes forgive it â they root along a buried stem, so you can plant them deeper. Most other things do not, and it is easier to sow a fresh cell than to rescue one.
A quick guide for your growing space
Warmth
Seeds germinate within a temperature range rather than at one magic number, and a cold windowsill in February is often the whole reason nothing comes up. Somewhere that stays at normal room temperature is usually enough.
Humidity
A clear dome holds moisture around seedlings while they root, but still, damp air is also how mould gets started. Open the vent once the seedlings are up, and let the surface dry a little between waterings.
Short days
Winter is when a grow light earns its keep. Put it on a timer and give a consistent day length rather than leaving it on around the clock, because plants use the dark hours too.
Small spaces
Growing indoors is mostly a question of surface. A tray on a shelf, a light clipped over one pot, or a tower that stacks upward all trade floor space for height.
