Fill your transplant pot with a quality potting soil, then gently transfer your seedling or cutting into the new pot at the same depth at which the seedling naturally emerges. If you bury your seedling too deep it could rot. There are a few exceptions, such as tomatoes, that can be planted deeper.

Now that your transplants are actively photosynthesizing and growing, they will take up water faster and can dry out quickly under grow lights. Check their water needs more frequently than when the tiny seedlings were safe under a humidity dome.

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Dual-band LEDs that mix primarily red and blue light produce light that looks pink to purple in color. You can use this mixture for continuous growth through vegetative and flowering stages.

You can also use single-band nanometer-specific blue LEDs for vegetative growth, then add red if your plants need to flower. Or bulk up young vegetative plants using single-band red LEDs, then add in blue light to encourage flowering.

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Are you in love with succulents? How about silver plants? If the answer is yes, then you must check out a genus of succulent plants called Senecio. Senecios produce beautiful foliage in shades of blue to silver, some smooth - some fuzzy.

Senecios are one of my favorite plant groups. There are many different interesting forms in this succulent genus. Some species are day-neutral, while others may be short-day or long-day plants.

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Depending on the crop you’re growing, temperatures that are too hot or too cold can hinder growth and development. Every type of plant has an optimal temperature range for producing healthy foliage and flowers.

If you grow a cool-season crop such as spinach or broccoli in temperatures that are too warm or with daylengths that are too long, the plants will bolt. If you have ever harvested bitter-tasting lettuce, temperatures were too hot for your plants.

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Fluorescents are typically labeled T5, T8, or T12. The T designates size by diameter. T5 tubes are about the diameter of a dime, while a T8 is closer to a nickel. T12 tubes are the largest. As their diameter grows smaller, fluorescent lamps get more efficient. A T8 fluorescent tube will be more efficient than a T12, and the T5 tubes are more efficient than both.

I use a large 8-lamp HO T5 fluorescent fixture to light and grow a rotating group of houseplants, herbs, orchids, and young transplants.

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Plants need only a small percentage of their light delivered in the blue spectrum to be able to grow and function well. Red light, despite its longer wavelength and lower energy value, is more efficient at driving photosynthesis than blue light. While red light may deliver less energy, the plant uses much more of it efficiently to fuel photosynthesis and produce sugars.

The spectrum of light an outdoor garden receives will vary according to geographical location. Sunlight that reaches areas north of the Fortieth Parallel contains more blue light, while sunlight at the equator delivers more red. The atmosphere absorbs light at different levels in each area.

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Soggy seed trays can drown your small seedlings. Capillary mats keep adequate and consistent moisture at the root level for your seedlings without drowning them.

Set these mats, which resemble felt, in the bottom of a solid seed tray, and place seed plugs or seed pots on top. Add just enough water to saturate the mat. Capillary mats are also handy for growing microgreens.

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Echeveria are some of the most popular succulents to grow. Plants need bright light or they will quickly stretch and go into decline. You can vegetatively propagate plants from leaves and stem cuttings.

The variety, 'Pink Frills' has lovely rosettes with a pink hue. To maintain healthy plants indoors year-round or in winter, provide supplemental light from grow lamps for 12-hours a day.

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