Starting seeds indoors

Light System to Raise the Plants

If you want to start a few garden vegetables or flowers indoors this year, you will need some form of light system to raise the plants until you are ready to set them outdoors. If you start plants in March, you just can not reliably put the new seedling outdoors. It will be too cold, and the days are still too short. But you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a light system.

Diy Plant Rack


The simplest way to use a four-foot utility light over the small plants on a table or floor. You can make a light tray with multiple levels and hang the lights on the different levels. On a four-level tray rack, you can have over 32 square feet of growing area on a 2’ X 4’ floor space.


The utility lights come with cool white, fluorescent light tubes which are fine for starting and growing seedlings. I like to use the special grow lights made for growing plants. They cost more than the regular fluorescent tubes, but I think the plants do better in the long run. Make sure the grow lights will fit into your utility light fixture, the light ends could be different.

Grow Light Setup

The lights should be placed from 2 to 3 inches from the top of the seedlings and ran for 15 hours a day. I use a light timer. I use a chain to raise and lower the light fixture as the plants grow. Rotate the seed trays to make sure all the plants get adequate light. Also, a cool room around 60 to 65 degrees is fine for most plants. In doing these procedures, you will not get leggy plants that fall over.

LED Grow Lights

I use LED tubes for starting the garden and flower plants. They provide a higher quality of light with lower energy requirements. The actual grow lights have more of the red and blue spectrum of light which growing plants need. Since LEDs are brighter in the blue and red hues, have them 6 inches above the plant tops.

Home Improvement

Types of Beds

There are more types of beds than the basic frame with box springs and mattress. If you have a small bedroom, try a Murphy bed. This is the bed that is hinged and goes up vertical into a cabinet. Another bed type is the trundle bed, which is a regular bed with another bed underneath that can be rolled out when needed. Of course, there are bunk beds for the kids.

Futon bed


I never knew what a futon bed was until I slept in one. It is a wood or metal couch that will side into a regular bed with the regular sofa padding for the mattress. Like a futon is a sofa bed that is a sofa with the bottom opening into a bed with its own mattress.

Bed with bottom storage


If you do not want your bedroom to be cluttered with storage areas, there are beds with drawers on the end and sides. Do not forget the headboard with shelves for books.

Canopy bed

If the room space is not a problem, a poster bed with four ornate pillars might look good. A canopy bed allows you to drape fabric on the ends and sides.

Smart be


Now for the ultimate bed. There are smart beds that are coming out now. They adapt to your sleeping positions with temperature controls. They even will make the bed after you get up by using motion rails tied to the sheets. Controls with internet integration allow you to start the coffee maker, turn on the TV, and other things.

Fruit trees and fruit shrubs

Fruit Trees for Zone 4

You can grow certain varieties of plums, cherries, and pears in South Dakota as fruit trees for zone 4 on the hardiness map.

Sour Cherry Tree

With cherries, there are two types: sweet and sour. The sweet varieties are not reliable in this state unless you have a very sheltered area, you can try. The two best sour cherries are North Star and Meteor. Both grow around 10 feet tall. Another hardy cultivar is Sweet Cherry Pie which is a little sweeter than the other sour cherries. Sour cherries are self-fruitful, so you need only one variety to get fruit.

American plum

There is also three types of plums: European, Japanese, and American. The American plums are hardy but require two varieties to increase pollination. Varieties include Toka, Superior, Black Ice, LaCrescent, Pipestone, and Waneta. Most ripen in late August.

Parker Pear

Pears also need at least two varieties for pollination. Hardy varieties include Summercrisp developed in UMN which ripens in mid-August. Ure pear develop in Manitoba bears in mid-August. Gourmet and Luscious pears, both developed at SDSU ripen in mid to late September. Instead of using the Parker pear which has poor winter hardiness, use Patten for fresh eating.

Moongold apricot

Two varieties of apricots are Moongold and Sungold which should be used together. The problem with apricots is they bloom early, so the frost tends to kill the flower blossoms. To varieties that bloom later is Harcot, Harogem, and Brookcot. The hardiness in South Dakota has not been established.

Reliance Peach

A few peaches are grown in town in their own micro-climate in a sheltered area. Most peaches are grown in zone 5 and we are in zone 4. Some of the tougher varieties are Reliance, Contender, and Intrepid. They are self-compatible but a second variety will increase fruit yield.