Gardening Under Lights: Use HO T5 Lamps for Seedlings
June 17, 2020
Seedlings Need Bright Light
Once a seedling emerges from beneath the soil, both the amount of bright light and the duration of light are important. Seedlings need 14-16 hours of bright light to grow strong & study. If you notice your seedlings are elongating & stretching, they are not receiving enough light.
Look for HO T5 fluorescents when you’re shopping for growing lamps; skip the standard shop lights.
PC: Leslie F. Halleck
When I am growing seedlings, I use HO T5 fluorescent of LED fixtures that hold up to four lamps. These setups will provide the intense light that young seedlings need. The goal is to deliver even amounts of light to the entire seed tray - even the edges.
One of my grow shelves.
PC: Leslie F. Halleck
My Seedling Grow Light Set-up
I like to create grow shelves for my seedlings and cuttings with an adjustable shelving unit. I make shelves different heights for different sized plants, so I can move them around as they grow. I use large 4-foot fluorescent light fixtures (which can hold both HO T5 fluorescent and T5 LEDs) on these shelves in my garage, where there is no ambient light available.
If you have wire shelving in your garage, be sure to purchase plastic shelf covers so they will contain any water drainage.
