Too much heat from light?

wxcrawler · February 17, 2015

This is my first year growing tomatoes from seed. I got a 2-foot, 4 bulb T5 fixture for my growing light. After 3 days, I got my first germination from a Super Sweet 100 seed today. Woohoo! I put my small container under the light fixture earlier this evening, with the top of the container about 3-4" from the bulbs. It felt a little warm under there, so I put in a thermometer. It's now reading 91 degrees about 6" below the bulbs. With this fixture, I can turn on 2 or 4 bulbs, and I only have 2 bulbs on. I checked the soil temperature at the top of my container, and it was only 79, which is what it was before germination.

Is this temperature too hot under the lights?

If it is, what can I do to keep it cooler?

Thank you very much.

Lee

February 17, 2015	#1
wxcrawler Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 115	Too much heat from light? This is my first year growing tomatoes from seed. I got a 2-foot, 4 bulb T5 fixture for my growing light. After 3 days, I got my first germination from a Super Sweet 100 seed today. Woohoo! I put my small container under the light fixture earlier this evening, with the top of the container about 3-4" from the bulbs. It felt a little warm under there, so I put in a thermometer. It's now reading 91 degrees about 6" below the bulbs. With this fixture, I can turn on 2 or 4 bulbs, and I only have 2 bulbs on. I checked the soil temperature at the top of my container, and it was only 79, which is what it was before germination. Is this temperature too hot under the lights? If it is, what can I do to keep it cooler? Thank you very much. Lee