My wife and I had horrible results last year with our seed starter attempt so this year we've done research and we'll hopefully get starters in the garden from seed.
I have a 2' fluorescent lamp w/ two T12 20W cool white bulbs w/ a shroud about 1" above my tray. On the side I have an 80mm PC case fan powered with a wall wart to put a slight breeze on things to help strengthen the seedlings. This tray is in my office which is pretty warm during the day(~75ºF) with my PCs running. I would have gone with a 4' lamp due to the increased light output but we don't have the room for it. Built the shroud out of 6mil coroplast (same stuff campaign signs are made with) and painted the inside flat white to reflect the light vs absorb it.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_3.jpg[/img]
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_4.jpg[/img]
My Dahlias are popping up and don't look leggy like other starters I've had in the past. These were planted seven days ago and I put the light over them about four days ago.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_1.jpg[/img]
My first Lettuce Leaf Basil starter...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_2.jpg[/img]
Soil is a bit moist as I just shot a few spots of mold with Chamomile tea as well as the shoot... otherwise I've been letting the surface dry up.
These were planted in a peat/potting soil mix.
We planted Roma & Beefsteak Tomatoes, Genovese, Lettuce & Sweet Basil and Jalapeno Peppers. Also the Dahlias and some other kind of flowers that escapes me. Some of the seeds are a few years old and were planted in a 'can't hurt to try' attempt.
Enjoying watching these grow.
somegeek