Your shelving unit will need shelves that are wide enough to hold at least three (better if they hold four) of the typical 1020 seed starting trays. 1020 trays are 10” wide x 20” long. These 1020 trays are a standard size if you are growing plugs in the 50, 72, or 128 plug trays. Assuming you are using plug trays of that size, you will want shelves that are 48” wide by 20-24” deep. If you skimp and go 18” deep then the 1020 trays will hang off the edges of the shelf and risk being bumped into. I highly recommend spending the money on the 20-24” deep shelf.
These are good 1020 size plug trays: 50 cell tray, 72 cell tray, 128 cell tray
For a 48” wide by 24” deep shelving unit, with five shelves, you will have space for four shelves of four trays across. You’ll be able to fit (16) 1020 trays in a system like this. You can opt to buy a metal unit or a plastic unit, but you must make sure the shelves on the unit are not solid (you will need openings on the shelves to hang shop lights from). There are lots of options for shelving online or at big box hardware stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. I would shop around for the best price on Amazon, Webstaurant Store, Uline, Lowe’s and Home Depot.
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This is the plastic shelving unit I used for seed starting in 2021: Commander Shelving Unit from Lowe’s. This unit is made of hard plastic and has the openings in the shelves where I can easily hang shop lights with S-Hooks. I would have preferred it to be on casters so it could be easily moved around, but I ultimately chose this unit because it cost less than a metal unit. The downside: I was only able to fit THREE (not four) 1020 trays on each shelf because the vertical posts are thick and take up space inside of the 48” width — this was disappointing at first, but I now use the plastic shelf as storage in my barn. In total, this plastic shelving unit fit up to (12) 1020 plug trays.
In 2022, I bought a metal shelving unit from Home Depot that had 5 shelves measuring 4 feet across. The depth of the shelves was 18 inches. With this unit, I was able to fit (4) 1020 trays across and in total, the unit supported 16 trays.
In 2023, I bought yet another metal shelving unit, this time from Webstaurant Store, that measures 6 feet across with a depth of 18 inches. This unit is substantially larger than the other units I’ve had in the past simply because I need more growing space. The shipping was an astronomical $80.00 to get to my house, but I foresee finally keeping this shelving unit as a seed starting shelf going forward.
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If you are an avid seed starter or farmer that grows a lot of seedlings, buy a bigger (wider) unit than you think you need! I keep going through shelves because they aren’t big enough.
For 1020 trays (typical size plug tray), assume you need 1 foot of shelving width per tray. For instance, four trays per shelf would mean you need a 48-inch wide shelf.
If you prefer to start seeds using a soil blocker, perhaps your trays require less space than the 1020 trays. In that case, you could opt to buy shelves of a different length and width. You’ll have to do the math.
Your shelving units must have holes on the actual shelves, or the shelves must be made of metal wire. This is so you can hang your lighting. No holes means you’ll have no way of hanging the lights.
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