T-5 Clone & Seedling System?

[josh]

Has any one ever tried this growlight setup:

http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc....FELT5D&eq=&Tp=

I've moved to a new house with no south facing windows. And was thinking it might be the best option for seedling starting.

Seems like the bulb produces a lot more light than the average fluorescent, and the price ($40) is nice.

Would I be able to keep seedlings under this until they're ready to move outside (i.e., six weeks):

Thanks for your help. Any other advice on artficial light for seedlings would be great.

- Josh

[username5]

A fluorescent bulb can produce between 50 and 100 lumens per watt.

The light you are considering is at the high end of that range. The 50-100 lumens/watt thing is subject to changes in technology of course.

The temperature color output will vary from bulb to bulb, but in most cases the temp output of generic shop bulbs is entirely suitable for plants.

The length of this bulb you are looking at is 24". Is that the length you want or would a 48" bulb be better for you?

That's really what it all boils down to is what would be best for you. I am sure this unit you are looking at will work just fine for seed starting.

In my opinion for $40 you could go to a hardware store and get 2-3 4' shoplights that hold 2 bulbs each and all the bulbs you need for them (get the cheap ones). This would give you a longer and wider area with useful illumination for around the same money.

[feldon30]

2' x 1' = One flat (72 cells) or 32 4" pots = 2 fluorescent bulbs
2' x 2' = Two flats (144 cells) or 64 4" pots = 4 fluorescent bulbs

If you go for the 2' x 2' you're going to need four of those T5 light fixtures. At $40 a pop that's $160.

[username5]

Originally Posted by feldon27

2' x 1' = One flat (72 cells) or 32 4" pots = 2 fluorescent bulbs
2' x 2' = Two flats (144 cells) or 64 4" pots = 4 fluorescent bulbs

If you go for the 2' x 2' you're going to need four of those T5 light fixtures. At $40 a pop that's $160.

Yup, and for $250 one can get a 400 watt MH setup that will cover a 2'-3'x4' area very well (or choose a square reflector for a different coverage area.

High priced floros make HID lighting a bargain. Cheapy floros tend to work just as well and make HID lighting tougher to justify.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by josh

Would I be able to keep seedlings under this until they're ready to move outside (i.e., six weeks):

Why six weeks? About the longest I care to have seedlings under lights is around three - four weeks max after germination. Then I put them outside for about two weeks or so (sometimes longer), very gradually hardening off and protecting at night if need be.

Output for floros drops off rapidly the further the plants are from the light. What this means for larger plants is that the bottom leaves don't get the light they need (a well grown six week old transplant is huge). Even with the lights you're talking about in the upper range of output, I think this is still going to be a consideration.

My opinion is that the extra expense is not justified for anything other than a basic shoplight setup w/cool tubes.

[username5]

Originally Posted by Suze

Why six weeks? About the longest I care to have seedlings under lights is around three - four weeks max after germination.

Gotta agree here. I use HID lighting so I don't really care how tall my plants get before I set them outside, but when I start seeds 6 weeks before the plant out date I end up with 3 foot tall plants starting to flower under the HID lights.

It is a pain to deal with them. I transplant into 20 ounce cups, but they still get so tall they tend to fall over.

When they go into the garden I end up trenching them so that only 6" or so is above ground.

Pointless.

If you have a decent light source (and I agree that cheapy floros work fine) then starting 3-4 weeks early to end up with 6" transplants is much better than starting 6 weeks early and trying to deal with 3' tall plants.

Yeah, they can grow that much in a couple weeks.

[Tomatovator]

How many tomato plants can I start under a 48" double fluorescent fixture?

[josh]

Thanks for your suggestions. I don't have a ton of gardening space, so one flat that holds 60-72 cells is enough for me.

Maybe I'll go to Home Depot and check out the standard fluorescent options.

And, thanks for the heads-up about how long to keep seedlings in flats. My previous place had a semi-bright south-facing window - seedlings grew slowly so it took about six weeks for them to reach 4-5 inches.

Sounds like lights produce faster results than I've been used to. I'll adjust the timing to allow for 4 weeks in flats before it's warm enough to start moving them outside.

- Josh

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by Tomatovator

How many tomato plants can I start under a 48" double fluorescent fixture?

You can start 2 flats of 72 cells each or 144 plants, BUT when you pot them up to 4" (3" W x 3" L x 4" D), you can only fit 64 4" pots under a 48" dual bulb fluorescent fixture.

I grew my seedlings indoors for a full 6 weeks up until transplant stage. As soon as I brought them outside, they were eaten up with bugs. My photogenic seedlings looked like crap within 1 week. So if you bring them outside, I recommend a floating row cover (remay or other very fine mesh fabric) or keep the trays of seedlings inside a portable greenhouse.

I have to think that bringing the plants outside early depends on climate. Of course you want to bring the plants inside if freezing temps are threatening. And if it's grey and windy and cold, I don't think there would be much benefit to the plants being outside. But if the days are warm, sure I can see the seedlings benefitting.

This was my first year growing tomatoes from seed so I have a lot to learn.

[Tomatovator]

Feldon
Did you transplant the seedlings only once into 4" pots or did you plant into 2" pots then 4". I know I read somewhere that it is best to transplant one time into 2" pots and then plant in the garder after they are hardened off and are as well root bound. I'm tempted to start a few weeks earlier and use 4" pots and skip the 2" pots all together. I'll only be growing 20 or so plants.

[feldon30]

Again, what may work in Houston may not work in Philly.

In Houston, our viable summer tomato growing season may be as short as 4 months in some years. We have to get extraordinarily large transplants in the ground March 1st and the last tomato might set as early as mid-June in ridiculous hot and humid years.

I've heard people say that they tried planting larger plants in the ground earlier, and in the end, the smaller plants planted at the appropriate time caught up and in some cases surpassed the earlies. But I have to think those observations are from up north. I'm still very new to this.

I seed into a 72 cell flat, 2 seeds per cell, and then pot up into 4" pots (3" wide, 4" deep) when I've got a good second set of true leaves. If the size of the plants warrant, I pot up again into a gallon or half-gallon pot or whatever I have lying around. I am more gentle with the last potting up as I am just giving more room for roots. So far I have yet to pull a transplant out and find it rootbound.

The anxious ones:


In less of a hurry: