13 Essential Supplies for Growing Sarracenia from Seed

When I began growing Sarracenia from seed 5 years ago, I was totally overwhelmed at all the options (and the cost of materials). The unfortunate result was that I purchased and added things as I had the time and money without a cohesive strategy for what to do as my plants grew larger. While things have come a long way since then for our seed growing operation, a little more time researching on the front end would have helped me not to purchase supplies that looked ugly, didn’t match, or were flimsy and didn’t survive long. Most of all, the biggest mistake I made was not properly planning for how to handle the hundreds of seedlings when they quickly grew large enough to require their own space.

That’s why we thought we’d go over some of our favorite supplies, and suppliers, for the Sarracenia seed grower. This is our process for growing out Sarracenia from seed and while not perfect these supplies are a great starting point to get a system in place for growing hundreds of plants year-round! We are in no way affiliated with any of the suppliers listed here. We do not receive any benefit, financial or otherwise from these suggestions so you can rest assured these are truly unbiased. These are the result of our own trial and error to get to where we are today.

Initial Considerations

The first thing to consider is an area in which to grow your seedlings. We will assume you have a space which remains between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round and focus on the equipment needed for your grow space. Make sure you will have at least 12 inches of height, however 18-24 is preferred if you plan on growing the seedlings indoors their first 2 years, as we do. The setup we recommend utilizes shelving units that require a footprint of 2 ft wide. x 4 ft long x 6 ft high and has 5 shelves.

If you plan on starting a good crop of seed it is very important at this stage to consider how much room you will need as the plants mature and are transplanted into their own containers. What might only start out as seed taking up a single shelf can easily require five times as much space when plants are ready to move outdoors. We recommend starting a full shelf because, after all, you are going to be investing 2 years before the plants begin to look mature, so it makes sense to start with a lot of seed to ensure you get a few winners.

The Basics – Infrastructure

1. Shelving Unit
   • Our Choice: Edsal 4′ Steel Shelving Unit – Lowe’s – $109

• Why we like it:
  • 5 adjustable-height shelves: The perfect size for starting out a healthy crop of seedlings with plenty of room to grow. Make sure not to fill all the shelves as you start seed unless you plan to add several units later on. The standardized size makes it easy to utilize several units and only takes up a 4′ x 2′ footprint – and at 6′ high even shorter growers should have no issue seeing the top shelf. The shelves are also the perfect depth for the industry standard 1020 trays used by most growers.
  • All-metal construction: Made of a steel frame with wire mesh shelves, this unit is sturdy enough to hold 4 fully-filled 1020 trays per shelf and the metal construction is unaffected by water and humidity, unlike particle board counterparts. When I bought my first shelf I made the mistake of purchasing a particle board unit which quickly warped and became unsightly. As an added plus, the mesh shelves make adding lighting fixtures underneath simple – I just use S-hooks which can be purchased at any home improvement store and add small chains if I need to adjust the height.

2. Lighting
   • Our Choice: Byingo 64 Watt 4′ Full-Spectrum LED – Amazon – $45
   • Currently unavailable due to COVID-19 Supply issues, if unavailable this is a good alternative

• Why we like it:
  • Affordable, low heat/electricity usage: LED grow lights have become increasingly popular as they use less electricity (important for a full grow rack) and generate less heat than the traditional high-output fluorescent fixtures. When we first began growing we used T-5 high output fixtures which we still use but are phasing out due to their high heat output and inferior results. Be sure to stock up on S-hooks ($0.47/each at Lowe’s) and Small daisy chains ($10/15 ft at Lowe’s) in order to be able to hang fixtures and adjust your height as the plants grow.
  • Great results: The #1 consideration for any grower is the results! With these fixtures we see exceptional color on our seedlings, allowing us to determine what a seedling will look like much earlier in the process. Additionally, the plants grow noticeably faster under these fixtures than our fluorescents. This fixture puts off a pleasant, bright white light which is much more attractive than the standard red-blue LED fixtures (which we initially purchased).

3. Transplanting Station
   • Our choice: Fish Cleaning Table – Amazon – $85

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• Why we like it:
  • Makes transplanting AND cleanup a breeze: This idea came to us as a gift from my wonderful mother-in-law! We removed the screen going to the drain so that soil wouldn’t clog the hose, put a large bucket underneath when in use and hook up our garden hose to have a functioning sink for washing up. Pull up a tall stool and get busy planting!

4. Large Mixing Tub
   • Our choice: 2′ x 3′ Large Mixing Tub – Lowe’s – $13.50

• Why we like it:
  • An essential item for mixing soil: Every grower should have a few of these lying around! The large size makes mixing soil in large batches a possibility. Mixing large batches saves a considerable amount of time – a chore we like to only do as little as possible! Many growers use these to grow out plants once they get larger as large, outdoor community tubs.

Growing Supplies

5. Soil Mix
   • Our Choice:
   • Peat Moss – Majestic Earth 2.5 cu ft. bale – Lowe’s – $12.50
   • All-purpose (or play) sand 50 lb. bag – Lowe’s – $4.50

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• Why we like it:
  • High quality sphagnum peat, bulk size saves money: Generally our soil mix consists of roughly 2/3 Canadian sphagnum peat moss and 1/3 all-purpose sand. We are lucky that our local home improvement store carries this brand of peat moss, which is high quality and a fine texture without many chunks or twigs. Purchasing the peat moss in a bulk size also saves money and allows us to mix lots of soil at one time. Generally, any peat moss you find at a home improvement store or nursery should be safe to use, but check the label for added fertilizers which we do not want. When evaluating peat moss, look for a product with a consistent, fine texture and few twigs, debris and other matter. For sand, the more coarse the better generally however feel free to give your sand a good wash before mixing if you are worried about quality. Pool filter sand also works great for us.

6. Containers
   • Our choice: Square form pots – Greenhouse Megastore – various prices

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• Why we like them:
  • Single vendor ensures uniform pot sizes, system for bumping up: GH Megastore is our preferred vendor for any pots and/or trays throughout the garden. Typically when we start seeds in a community pot (“compot”), we use something large with a lot of surface area, like the 4.5″ square pots. After germinating we let the seedlings grow for a while before spreading them out into more compots. Once they are showing mature pitchers, we transplant them into their own 2.5″ square containers. Before moving outside, we will bump them up into the 3.5″ deep containers and they are ready to go! As with everything, ordering in bulk saves a lot of money and GH megastore offers free shipping for any orders above $90 at this time.

7. Trays
   • Our choice: GH Megastore 1020 Trays – Mega Sturdy – $35/10-pack

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• Why we like them:
  • Heavy duty trays save money: If you are succesful growing your Sarracenia from seed, they will be with you for at least 2 years in your setup, so purchasing heavy duty trays only makes sense. There are many different strengths available and availability can fluctuate, so snag some other strong trays if these are sold out. You can fit 4 of these trays on a shelf, and all the container sizes we mentioned are designed to fit perfectly within them. Flimsier 1020 trays generally only last us about 1.5 years before they begin to crack under stress and need to be thrown out.

8. Labels
   • Our choice:
   • Label Maker: Dymo 160 Label Maker – Amazon – $26
   • Labels: Kensizer Plastic Nursery tags – Amazon – $22/1,000 labels

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• Why we like them:
  • Automate your labeling process, ability to print indoors: Handwriting labels is such a pain! At just $26, this basic labelmaker is great for printing small-medium quantities and saving us time. Purchasing the labels in bulk saves money, and while these labels feel flimsy, they hold up outside and the smooth surface allows the labels to adhere perfectly (any textured tags will not allow the labels to stick). We like to print our labels in batches and stick them to the tags from the comfort of our living room.

Miscellaneous Supplies

9. Mixing Attachment for Drills
   • Our choice: 30″ Cast Aluminum Mixing Arm – Lowe’s – $13

• Why we like them:
  • Save time and energy mixing soil batches: There are many options for these and all of them are great, but the larger the better. Mixing by hand, while a great workout, takes considerably longer and tires us out!

10. Humidity Domes
    • Our choice: 7″ Tall vented humidity domes – GH Megastore – $24/5-pack

• Why we like them:
  • Ventilation! While the height on these domes is a plus, it’s not necessary for us as we remove them when the seedlings are only a few inches tall. Humidity domes are needed to germinate seedlings but to avoid fungal and other humidity-related issues, these are the best because of their multiple, adjustable vent holes. They also fit a 1020 tray, perfect for your new shelf!

11. Timers
    • Our choice: Wi-Fi Enabled Smart Plugs – Amazon – $24/4-pack

• Why we like them:
  • Automated timing from your smart phone: These run about the same price as the standard outlet timers, but with the added capability of being managed by an app on your phone. There are many options here so explore your needs and purchase the ones that make sense for you. If you are concerned about water and durability, you may want a heavier-duty outdoor option such as this Mechanical outdoor timer for $10 on Amazon.

12. Fertilizer
    • Our choice: MaxSea Seaweed-based Fertilizer – Amazon – $32/1.5 lbs

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• Why we like it:
  • Foolproof Carnivorous Plant fertilizer that will last a lifetime! This has been the go-to fertilizer of choice for enthusiast since the revised Savage Garden was published in 2013. I’ve found it to be the only 100% safe option for carnivorous plants and apply it at half-strength. This can be applied to seedlings as foliar feed (sprayed on the leaves), through the soil (although this can cause algae if not managed) or our personal favorite, applied directly into the pitchers! If applied from a young age, this fertilizer can result in much faster growth of seedlings. If you are worried about the price tag – we have been using our same container of MaxSea for 5 years now with plenty left. Be sure to pick up a few syringes to apply into the small pitchers!

13. Ventilation
    • Our choice: Clip-on Office Fans – Amazon – $10-$15

• Why we like them:
  • Adaptable ventilation that can be targeted to carry heat away: We clip these onto our shelves in the summer, pointed across the bulbs on our lights as an efficient way of venting away the built up heat and notice great results. In our Georgia summers, they are a lifesaver!