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Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

I've never had a lot of luck starting tomato seeds. they seem to get leggy right off the bat. what am I doing wrong?

2/9/2011 4:51:41 PM

Wv

Keep the light right on top of them , keep poting up. TT

2/9/2011 8:40:07 PM

As far as I know, the ratio between the available light and the temperature of the room the plants stand in, plays an important role: The higher the room temperature is, the higher the amount of provided light has to be, so that they don't get leggy.
This is why many people keep their seedlings in cooler conditions after they've sprouted out of the earth.
However, the plants must not stand too cold of course.

2/10/2011 6:48:20 AM

East Carbon, Utah

I keep mine in a warm room (75-80°F) to sprout, which usually takes 4-7 days. At the first sign of emergence, I move them to another room and place them about 12" under 400 watt metal halide (MH) lights. At this distance, the temperature is about 70°. I use mylar ("space") blankets or aluminum foil to reflect light back onto the plants. I also keep a window cracked and a fan blowing for good air circulation and to strengthen the plant tissues.
One 400 watt MH puts out about 50,000 lumens, the equivalent of 42 40-watt T12 fluorescent bulbs. This works out to an efficacy (lumens per watt) from MH bulbs that is 4.2 times greater than fluorescent bulbs. Power bills are based on watt usage, so you're paying 4X as much for fluorescent lights compared to MH for a given amount of light.
Under MH lights, my seedlings grew twice as fast and were stocky from the outset. I'm never going back to fluorescent!
Of course the drawback is up front cost of MH. LED's are another very energy efficient option, emitting virtually all light and no heat. But it is VERY expensive to get a setup of LED's with enough light output to grow seedlings well. I got lucky, as my MH lights were free - rescued from a warehouse that was switching over to T5 bulbs...

2/11/2011 12:38:16 PM

Layton, UT

SEAMSFASTER email me at mltovar@wooden-clockworks.com

Marc
Layton, UT

2/16/2011 5:40:30 PM