Philips Light for seedlings question
 

Hi all,

I started seedlings this year (various tomatoes, jalapenos, basil) after not gardening for several years.

I got out my "lighting rig", the bulbs still work -- I am very confused after reading about different lights for seedlings and distance from plants etc.
I have a 72 cell self watering kit, am using 2 lighting systems with 2 bulbs in each, placed a few inches apart to cover the 72 cells. Almost all the tomato seeds have germinated. The window is a west facing (little bit south), and gets pretty strong sun in late afternoon, so I lower the blind.
If anyone can shed some light on this for me, I would be very grateful :)
The info on the bulbs:

Philips F40T12/C50 SUPREME 40 WATT

[IMG]http://tomatoville.com/picture.php?albumid=491&pictureid=3173[/IMG]

Sounds like you are off to a great start.



Just keep those 40 watt tubes directly over and as close to the foliage as possible without touching and you should be fine! Raise the lights (or lower the plants) as they grow. It's harder if you want to mix sun and fluorescents, as it is hard to get the seedlings to grow straight.


Good luck!

Always use natural light as much as possible, especially direct sun.

I would turn the lights off at any time there was direct sun.

You would need some seriously massive high intensity lights to do even a fraction of what direct sun puts out in lumens.

It has been very sunny for a few days in my country and the growth was incredible.

[B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond]Your florescent bulbs are T12s - those haven't been made for about five year now, so any available tubes are old stock. Keep an eye on the seedlings potentially getting leggy from weak (old) light. If that is the case, buy one of those remaining T12 tubes for your plants.
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[B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond]
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[B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond]For T12s, you can put them within a couple of inches from the plant tops without too much worry. But when the sun directly hits that window, I'd keep the shades up as the springtime sun would be a better source of energy for the plants than the florescent tubes.
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How many people here know what the number means with T 12 T 8 and T 5 tubes?

[QUOTE=Worth1;733416]How many people here know what the number means with T 12 T 8 and T 5 tubes?[/QUOTE]

Distance between the pins I think.

Like T5 has 5mm gap ( I think )

T nomenclature is the diameter of the tube.

Tube Diameter in 1/8":
T12 = 1.5"
T8 = 1"
T5 = .625"

Everything you ever wanted to know about these critters.
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp_formats[/url]

Update on lighting
 

Well, I did get a new lighting system -- found a Hydroponic store in Dayton and purchased a Sunblaze brand high output rig, 6 lights that are T5, supposedly 30,000 lumens.
Oddly can't seem to find info on this system and how far to place the light from the seedlings, the fella at the shop said at least 12" away or more as I might burn the seedlings.
I'd welcome any further input, thanks for the info so far!

Re direct sunlight -- the only sunlight available is late afternoon sun and it gets so warm through the window I'm afraid it might burn the seedlings? Or at the least they will lean a lot. Wonder if the new lighting would be almost as good as sunlight at this point?


Jan H.

[QUOTE=jhouse;733473]Well, I did get a new lighting system -- found a Hydroponic store in Dayton and purchased a Sunblaze brand high output rig, 6 lights that are T5, supposedly 30,000 lumens.
Oddly can't seem to find info on this system and how far to place the light from the seedlings, the fella at the shop said at least 12" away or more as I might burn the seedlings.
I'd welcome any further input, thanks for the info so far!

Re direct sunlight -- the only sunlight available is late afternoon sun and it gets so warm through the window I'm afraid it might burn the seedlings? Or at the least they will lean a lot. Wonder if the new lighting would be almost as good as sunlight at this point?


Jan H.[/QUOTE]

I think it is like checking a baby bath water, you put your hand there and if the temp is comfortable for you then likely it will be comfortable for the plant.

Update on lighting
 

wow so simple and so smart thanks.I knew temperature was a factor but wasn't sure about the brightness of the light as well :)

[QUOTE=xellos99;733476]I think it is like checking a baby bath water, you put your hand there and if the temp is comfortable for you then likely it will be comfortable for the plant.[/QUOTE]

Never washed a baby in my life but my hands are like leather and can handle some real heat.
At least for me I would have to use a thermometer.:lol:

[QUOTE=jhouse;733477]wow so simple and so smart thanks.I knew temperature was a factor but wasn't sure about the brightness of the light as well :)[/QUOTE]

I will tell you a trick ;)

You put a fan aimed at the side of the plants.


And it blows the heat away so you can put the lights closer for faster growth.

8-)

what temp would be optimal, like 75 degrees or so?

thanks for the fan tip!

[QUOTE=jhouse;733480]what temp would be optimal, like 75 degrees or so?

thanks for the fan tip![/QUOTE]

Something like that yes, certainly under 85 - 90 I think

With T 12 you can almost touch the plants.
75 at least in my house would be a pipe dream without some serious airflow.
Mostly because I put reflective sides on the contraption.'
But it really is hard to explain what I or other people do with words.
I went to 100 watt CFL lights spaced in about a 1 foot grid on a homemade frame.
12 of them.
4 in each row of three.
Paper plate reflectors above each bulb.
Total current draw 2.7 amps at 324 watts of actual power consumption.
Which allowed me to put 1,200 watts of energy in a 3x4 space.

Here are a few pictuers of the contraption from the thread here I started some time ago.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=54849&d=1449373213[/IMG]
Really bright garage lights.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=54850&d=1449375438[/IMG]
The contraption turned on.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=54851&d=1449375438[/IMG]
Plants under lights.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55219&d=1450753275[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55592&d=1452625606[/IMG]
cheapo containers before plant out.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55621&d=1452744725[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56314&d=1455221530[/IMG]

I also use the sunblaze t5 florecents 4ft single bulb. The hand thing is my way also. The change that I liked was using a LED bloom bulb. After 3 weeks of grow, just change the bulds and wait for fruit.

Wow, thanks all!! Worth1 those are some pics! The plants look awesome, not to mention your container choices give us an interesting insight into your culinary skills.
And thanks Tomzhawaii, it's always nice to hear someone else having success with an item just purchased. I'm setting it up today -- I'll be setting these plants out in the garden late May here in Ohio, so after that the focus changes to the Blight Wars. :)

[B][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=4]jhouse - Are your T5 tubes normal output, high output (noted by the 'HO' designation), or VHO ('Very High Output')?[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

Tomato seedlings
 

They are listed as HO so high output I believe.
They are quite warm, just got them set up today to replace the T5's. I have them about 12" above the highest seedlings, and the temp according to a handheld humidifier readout that also does temp says about 84, so I don't want to get them closer. I have a small fan running, will get an oscillating fan, read somewhere to nor have the fan directly at the seedlings -- these are only about a week old, the jalapenos are just now coming up.

Seems like the light source is a bit far from the babies, but those lights do throw some heat.

[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/picture.php?albumid=491&pictureid=3175[/IMG]

Is a cloudy day outside in the spring as good as mediocre grow lights?:?!?:
Pete

[QUOTE=tryno12;733635]Is a cloudy day outside in the spring as good as mediocre grow lights?:?!?:
Pete[/QUOTE]


Maybe even better!

Almost always any outdoor natural light will be better than man made lighting unless you have some sort of crazy bright hings going on.:lol:

Thank you!! I will put them out then!!:)
Pete

I thought about that. . .wonder about outdoor diseases hitting them early? We are mighty, mighty blighty where I live. . .

[QUOTE=Worth1;733659]Almost always any outdoor natural light will be better than man made lighting[/QUOTE]


How true. Yet early sowing needs artificial light as it's too cold outside. If you can keep your seedlings close to a window facing south you may get enough lignt but not under every latitude.
Instead of buying T5/8 tubes I wonder if it wouldn't be more sensible to buy LED lights, they emit practically no heat, you don't need fans and need very little electricity.
Visiting Amazon can be helpful, some lights (110V) designed for lighting a room can fit a tomato nursery perfectly.

I wondered about LEDs -- thought I read somewhere that they weren't as good as flourescents yet, but there are so many opinions on the internet!
In any case I've got the T5s for now -- other than the early germinating variety, the remaining seedlings are getting their true leaves and are not leggy. The seedlings had T12s a few inches away until a few days ago. . .
Not sure how much I should put a gentle fan on them this early, but I like fans to mimic a breeze to strengthen them some of the time. .

I can speak to LED lights. This is my second year starting my own seeds. Pepper and tomatoes. I purchased LED's off Amazon and they worked great for me last year and so far this year my plants are doing very well. I use these lights.

[URL="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CY2HHC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CY2HHC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/URL]