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Flourescent Lights

Hi all.

Read my mail a little late but would like to add my two cents worth on
using fluorescent lights.

For quite a few years I used the standard 2 tube "shop light" fixtures for
my spring seedlings. I found that these fixtures tended to flicker and
have a reduced light output, particularly early in the season when my
basement temperature is low (40-50 deg. f). I was also unaware that some of
these fixtures, even though they were the standard 4 foot tubes, were
rated to operate only 25 watt tubes! Apparently certain fixtures can
overheat or even catch fire if you use 40 watt tubes even of the correct
rapid-start type. So PLEASE BE AWARE of this potential danger.

I was fortunate to have found some used 4 tube commercial fixtures with
the heavy ballasts that I use now. The fixtures are rather cumbersome so
they are mounted rigidly and I adjust the plant height by raising or
lowering the shelves or plant trays as required. I use a combination of
warm white and cool white tubes in each fixture, not because of any
potential benefits from either, but because I was able to get a full case
of warm white bulbs relatively cheaply when I bought the fixtures. I find
that light intensity, not light spectrum, is vastly more important for me
to produce top quality, stocky, deep green and healthy seedlings. I
regulate this intensity by keeping the seedlings within 1-2 inches of the
tubes. Good air circulation is a must, not only for disease prevention but
also to minimize the in inevitable buildup of heat from the tube filaments
and the ballasts themselves.

Although there are at least a few good books on the subject of gardening
under lights, UNH Coop-Ext produced "Indoor Gardening Under Lights", a 7
page, concise guide to plant lighting. It discusses light spectrums and the
benefits of each, though I think those spectrums have validity when plants
are under the lights for a long period of time not for seedling
production. At least that has been my experience over the last 20 years of
raising seedlings under lights.

Well those are my 2 cents on lights. 
Happy growing. ED

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