That amount of light is fine for germination, which should be very fast with a heat mat. Very bright light is needed after germination, otherwise your seedlings will start stretching towards the light source and get leggy quickly. I use Jiffy pellets and a heat mat (plus a thermostat) and most things come up in 1-7 days. Tomatoes will also outgrow a Jiffy pellet quickly. If you have a yard or balcony and your temps are warm now, you can just pot up the seedlings, harden them off and move them outside at that point though.

I have not heard of anyone successfully starting carrots inside and transplanting them - you should seed them directly in your garden.

I have no light source but I do have a cold greenhouse and manage pretty well. I use a heat mat to get tomatoes going and cover the seed trays with a lid at night. If temperatures drop too low, I throw a bit of horticultural fleece over the seed trays.

Mandolls is right - sow the carrots directly in the soil, they really won't transplant (although it is possible with Jiffys but very costly). They do not require extra heat or light.

So, start tomato seeds, but not carrot seeds. I plan on growing the tomato plants in 20 gallon containers.

Is the below correct?
I grow the tomato seeds in the jiffy pods over the heat mat next to a window. Then after germination occurs, repot, jiffy pod and all, into a larger 1 gallon container that I use to slowly harden the plants off to direct sunlight. Then repot again into the permanent 20 gallon?

If you live in southern California, then you can start the seeds outdoors now, where they will grow.No need to bother with indoors.

It's less trouble for me to plant the seed directly into the permanent container.

Can someone explain the how to sow directly into the pot for tomato seeds? Am I filling the pot only slightly, then waiting for the seed to germinate. And as the stem grows, I add more soil?

or do i fill the entire container with soil and amendments and plant the seed towards the surface of the mix?

This post was edited by gardenweb88 on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 21:21

Am I filling the pot only slightly, then waiting for the seed to germinate. And as the stem grows, I add more soil?

Just like that. Check out all the FAQs here too. They cover all the basics.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs