Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

New to growing your own tomatoes? This is the forum to learn the successful techniques used by seasoned tomato growers. Questions are welcome, too.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old March 29, 2018   #31
ginger2778
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
Default

Enchant don't forget to rotate the cells everyday, turn them around so all seedlings get light exposure. You might want to get new bulbs or new shoplights which are cheap. I think your lights themselves are weakish.
1&1/2 inches from the bulb is fine as far as distance.
ginger2778 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #32
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

Good advice, Marsha. I actually do that multiple times a day. Once I see the seedlings bending toward the light, I know it's time to rotate them.

I was going to research this on my own, but plain old fluorescent from Lowes are just as good as expensive "grow lights" sold at a nursery, right?
enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #33
ginger2778
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
Default

A new shop light is only $40.
But most like a light that is about 6500K, 4 ft long, 4 tube bulbs or more, t5 or t8 wide bulbs.This will cost more, but I think it's worth it. Mine us so strong that my seedlings can't get closer than about 4 inches, because it puts out some heat too. I have to watch the water in the seedling mix carefully.I spent about $120 on it, but its a one time expense, might need new replacement bulbs in a few years, but those are cheap.
In my opinion, grow lights are NOT the place to economize.

And you do not need to micromanage every single seedling's growth, just keep the light closest to the tallest. Once you get that leggyness under control, and you see how much stronger they are from the getgo, you will never go back to the philosophy that leggy is OK because they get strong after transplant. You will see the permanent differencd a great start gives them.
ginger2778 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #34
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

4' long is probably a lot more than I need. I only have 36 plants. I don't see anything locally that would serve me well. But I'm seeing this at amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-4lamps-.../dp/B009GU4RMC
enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #35
ginger2778
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enchant View Post
4' long is probably a lot more than I need. I only have 36 plants. I don't see anything locally that would serve me well. But I'm seeing this at amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-4lamps-.../dp/B009GU4RMC
Looks perfect
ginger2778 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #36
mobiledynamics
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
Default

I hear ya enchant. I suppose it depends on what your temps are, but I've never needed a dome to germinate. Just sow seeds, sprinkle a bit of soil - and literally, they go under the lights immediate. I adjust the lights as they go. You might get's some stragglers that take longer to germinate but usually you just keep the light at the highest one per se.....

Having the light immediate IMO plays a huge role on
mobiledynamics is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #37
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
but I've never needed a dome to germinate.
I honestly don't know that I absolutely need the dome, but I figure it does a couple of things. It keeps them moister longer and it keeps the heat from the heating pad contained more.
enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #38
oakley
Tomatovillian™
 
oakley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NewYork 5a
Posts: 2,303
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ginger2778 View Post
Looks perfect
Agree, perfect.
oakley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #39
ginger2778
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enchant View Post
I honestly don't know that I absolutely need the dome, but I figure it does a couple of things. It keeps them moister longer and it keeps the heat from the heating pad contained more.
And it increases the damping off danger by like 1000X. I hate domes.
ginger2778 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #40
Ricky Shaw
Tomatovillian™
 
Ricky Shaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro
Posts: 1,910
Default

Hard to tell, but it looks like diffuser shields over the bulbs. If so, I'd remove them. Also what's your lighting schedule? On seedlings I'm a minimum of 12on and 12off, and prefer 16on/8off.
Ricky Shaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #41
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw View Post
Hard to tell, but it looks like diffuser shields over the bulbs. If so, I'd remove them. Also what's your lighting schedule? On seedlings I'm a minimum of 12on and 12off, and prefer 16on/8off.
No, there are no diffuser shields over the bulbs. The bulbs might be custom-constructed with diffusion material, but the entire thing is molded down into the electrical sockets at the ends. However, the point is moot as I'm either going to buy new lights today or get them delivered on Saturday from Amazon.

I turn the lights on when I get up in the morning and off on my way to bed. So 16on/8off.
enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #42
ginger2778
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enchant View Post

I turn the lights on when I get up in the morning and off on my way to bed. So 16on/8off.
Perfect
ginger2778 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #43
Nan_PA_6b
Tomatovillian™
 
Nan_PA_6b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
Default

When the first seedling pops, put them under lights. The rest will sprout just fine.

Nan
Nan_PA_6b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2018   #44
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

Lots of notes for next year's crop. Thanks again!
enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 8, 2018   #45
enchant
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 142
Default

A quick progress report.

Well, it appears my babies were definitely starved for light. That's the thing about fluorescents. They don't just pop out like incandescent lights. They slowly fade away. Over the years, I didn't realize how much they must have faded. When I turned this new light on, it was shockingly bright and white. The plants love it. Their stems are getting thick and hairy, the real leaves are coming in strong, and in general, they just look a lot stronger than they have at this point in their life cycle over past years (I keep copious logs).

The only thing is that now that they're transplanted into pots, I could really use another of these lights to fully cover all of them. But when I mentioned to my wife that I'd like to buy another light, she gave me that look. Apparently I've spent enough for this year, especially after having to buy 36 pairs of teeny tiny sunglasses.

So thanks again everyone for the suggestions.

enchant is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:09 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★