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Best wire shelving for seed starting: what to check

Choose the shelf by what it holds: trays, lights and the gap between shelves.

This is a buying checklist with one Amazon listing at the end. Check its load rating and shelf gap against the points below.

Size

A 48 x 24 inch shelf takes four 1020 trays and two 4-foot light bars, which matches the University of Saskatchewan layout. A 48 x 18 inch shelf takes the same two rows by our planning rule but fewer trays. See the 4-foot shelf page and trays per shelf.

What else to check

  1. Gap between shelves. It must fit the tray, a dome, the seedlings and the hanging distance. See hanging height.
  2. Adjustable shelves. You will want to move shelves as plants grow.
  3. Load rating. Wet trays are heavy. Read the per-shelf rating on the listing.
  4. Wire spacing. Trays with flat bottoms sit evenly on wire. Small pots can tip.
  5. Where the light hangs. Lights hang from the shelf above, so the top tier needs something to hang from. See hanging lights.
  6. Floor protection. Put a tray or liner under the bottom shelf.

On Amazon

These are links to Amazon product pages, not affiliate links. We chose them from Amazon search results by title and customer rating. We have not checked their specifications line by line, so read the current listing before you buy. Prices change, so none are shown here.

Sources checked 2026-10-14. Pages on this site are researched, not hands-on tested.

Sources

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