Re: Starting seeds (light rack)

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Charlie- You pose a good question on seedling lighting. Last year we constructed our new seedling table. I remember reading about this issue becuase of the significant difference in costs between regular flourescent tubes and the "grow tubes" that do the best job with seedlings. I decided to go with the less costly regular tubes in a cool and a warm set (the fixture holds four tubes- I recommend the four tube'rs over the twin tube fixtures. You can turn your seedling tray sideways under the four tube'r allowing many more seedlings under one light.)
 
If I remember correctly the difference between the grow lights and the regular tubes became significant only after the seedlings reached a certain size, somewhere in the 8-15 weeks of growth stage. (Probably depending on the species, climate, etc.) At that point the "grow tubes" provide us with just a few more weeks time before the plants must be placed in direct sunlight to continue developing unharmed.
 
Charlie, I too read that the choice of mixing the cool and warm tubes is a better choice for seedling growth. I can tell you that my seedlings grew well under the lights but seemed to struggle later in their growth with the size of pots I chose. Bigger pots for tomatoes, etc will be tried this spring. If you are interested you can see a short article on the grow table as built last year at:
 
I will be watching for other member's comments on their successes on seedling lighting.
 
Have a great day,
bill missen.
----- Original Message -----
From: c*@preferred.com
To: s*@listbot.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 4:09 AM
Subject: RE: Starting seeds (light rack)

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It has been suggested on another gardening list that using one cool white
and one warm white tube in each fixture will approximate the spectrum needed
at a fraction of the cost of "gro lights" and be much more effective then
two cool whites at about the same cost.

Comments?

Charlie.



 Lisa thanks for the heads up on that light rack.  I will be building at
least one here and saved money is always spent on seed or pots or seed
starting mix.

Lisa

Toledo ( 46.4400°N, 122.8460°W)
Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 4
5883.77 Miles to go
Watch these numbers decline as I
treadmill thru my videos.


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