In this video, I walk you through 28 common indoor seed starting mistakes I’ve seen (and made) over decades of doing this. The big three are lighting problems: starting on a windowsill (it doesn’t work), not running your lights long enough (I use 16 hours on, 8 hours off), and not keeping the lights close enough during germination (I start around 2 inches and adjust). I also share a simple tip that saves time—raise the trays instead of constantly raising and lowering the light fixture. Then I get into watering and seed-starting mix, because that’s where a lot of frustration comes from. I recommend bottom watering to reduce mess and disease spread, and I don’t keep the mix saturated 24/7—let the surface dry lighter between waterings. For mix, I’m blunt: avoid anything with “forest product/wood product.” Indoors I want a sterile setup, and I hydrate peat-based mixes with boiling water to knock out fungus gnat eggs. Finally, I cover feeding (slow, steady water-soluble fertilizer starting about 5–7 days after germination), timing (don’t start warm crops too early), hardening off (the sun can kill indoor plants fast), and why timers and budgets make seed starting a lot more enjoyable.