I use the plant/aquarium bulbs on my light stands. Check Wal-mart they are cheapest there, if they have them.

Sierra

I use the $14 shop light units from Home Depot (that was the price last year anyway), looks like a regular shop light but has a small hood and no pull chain to turn on/off. I just plug 4 of them into a power bar and put it on a timer, no problem.

I bought one set of full spectrum grow-lights from Lee Valley Tools, since then I have just bought the Philips 40W Cool fluorescent bulbs and there is no difference for seedlings. Make sure you don't get the energy saver 35 watts or whatever, make sure it is actually 40W. Just an aside, people on other forums from Ontario have said that they can't find actual 40 watt bulbs anywhere, so I suspect there is energy saving legislation involved.

Laurie, that salvia sounds interesting! I have only ever grown the red and the red/white/coral mix.

Oooh also in case anyone's looking for shelving, I picked up a $25 pine 4-shelf unit from Walmart the other day. The quality's rough but the dimesions are right for seed starting ;0)

40W cool fluorescent bulbs, look at Walmart, they come packaged in doubles.

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the info! I'm pretty sure that DH said he had some fluorescent hoods kicking around somewhere, so as long as they are still in working order, I should be good to go. If not, then I may have to make a trip to Home Depot. Thanks Gil for that info too.

As for shelving, I'm going to use the shelving unit from my mini-greenhouse. I'll only use 1 light hood on the top for now and see how things go after that. Might go for more next year, but we'll see.....

The salvia was in a McKenzie seed package with "New" printed on it, so you can check it out at their display, or maybe they've got in on their website or catalogue
.

Laurie, I checked out the Salvia Mojito at their website, it says that the species is S. horminum which is the same as S. viridis (Annual Clary).

Save room under your lights, these guys are very easy to wintersow, once you get a patch going you'll have them self-seeding every year.

Sharon

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia Mojito

Laurie, I just googled up Salvia Mojito and this website says the species is a Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica alba cultivar? If so, ÂMojito is not an annual, but rather a biennial and border line hardy in our zone.

Which is it, sclarea or horminum? LOL
Maybe a letter to McKenzie is in order ;)

Sharon

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia - Clary Sage 'Mojito'

I also use the 40 watt cool whites, and prefer them to the full spectrum only because they don't generate as much heat. After I seed the flats I lower the lights to almost touching the dome cover. The temperature inside the dome is about a perfect 72F. After the seeds germinate and I remove the dome, the growing temperature is then lower, providing for nice stocky seedlings. Back when I used the full spectrum lights I often had trouble with plants growing too fast and a bit wild.

We started out using one grow light and one 40 watt cheapie fluerescent bulb in each shop fixture we have..but I dont think it makes much differnce in the long run. I do move my plants out to the greenhouse sometime in March so they arent under the lights for long anyway..savona

Sharon, the text on the website is exactly what's printed on the back of the seed package. I think this may be a trial and error type of seed. If it blooms the first year, then I'm sure it'll self seed, if not, then I'll mulch the heck out of it and see if it'll survive. I just hope I'll get something that looks close to what's on the picture!LOL

Pudge, that's very interesting about your observation of the full spectrum vs the 40 watt cool lights. I'm glad that I'll be able to go the cheapest route and (hopefully) still get good results.

So Savona, are you telling me that the next step after getting 1 grow light is that I'll be looking for a greenhouse?LOL Shhhh......don't tell my hubby, as he won't get the light up for me! ;^)

No Laurie, what will happen is you will have one grow light, then you will get 20 more grow lights and run out of space, then you will be looking for a greenhouse... LOL! I'm at the final phase, DH is actually offering me a greenhouse but I'm not sure exactly what I want yet. I want a nice clean one with nice neat plants that all look perfect like Savona has ;0)

This one is pretty nice lookin'

Here is a link that might be useful: greenhouse at Costco.ca

Laurie, i do the same as the rest, with the regular fluorescent lights. I'm not sure of the wattage (and the cat is laying on my lap so i can't get up to check!), but they work fine. I also use my mini greenhouse for shelves. Dh built some things that i attach the lights to - i get the kind that are attachable, about 19" long, i think. I don't know how well you can see them in this pic, but look close and you'll see how they sit on the top bar of the shelf.

Laurie it is a three step program..you need the lights first and then the greenhouse..lol..and then you need a wood heater or some other source of heat in the greenhouse for early spring..then after that you start looking for easier ways to water etc..it really is a long proceedure..just dont let DH know ahead of time what the proceedure is (he can only handle on step at a time)...lol..savona

LOL!!!! That is sooooo true Savona.

I was looking for a pic of my first light set up...I started with one..shop light propped up on boxes...then I added 3 more....I used this set up for years. I couldn't find the pics.

Then I added this
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Then I added this
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and then this
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I don't put my plants out in the greenhouse as early as Savona, because I just use a small heater to keep it warm enough.

Sierra :-)

This thread has migrated to greenhouses... but Sierra did you get your greenhouse temperatures sorted out last year? We're really thinking of putting something up this year and need to know what to look for or avoid. I like the idea of the 2x4 frame and plastic sheeting.

Gil, yes I think so....I just had to wait a bit longer to put the plants out, than what I wanted to. I didn't lose any plants. I was a bit worried each morning going out to the greenhouse.....but all was fine. I'll be a little more relaxed this year after having the experience of last year.

I don't think I could handle a woodstove in the greenhouse and getting up at 2 or 4 am to make sure its still going. I'm not that dedicated. LOL!

Sierra

P.S. had to add something to the title for it to accept my message....said I already responded to this.

Ok, now you guys have me all worried that I'm going to be dropping $1,600 for a greenhouse in a couple of years! That means that I'll definitely have to be digging more flowerbeds.........oh, what a non-stop cycle this can lead too!LOL

Btw, thanks everyone for posting pics of your set-ups. I'll post a pic of mine once it's up. Just so happens that DH did have a hood light with the appropriate bulbs, but just didn't have any chain to hang it with. My shelving will be stationary and the light will be able to be raised and lowered. Which brings me to my next question, of how high should the lights be above the seedlings?

An inch or two above the soil until they sprout, and then +/- inch just so then leaves don't touch the bulbs when they appear. See how close Sierra's are, that's how mine were. Also, I did the same thing with different sized boxes you can add and remove to fine-tune the height for flats of seedlings of unequal height.

Laurie, don't worry about that greenhouse, when the time comes you will find some way to justify it... mmmwahahahaha hahahaha hah ha sucker.

Gill, I think you'd better change your name from Northspruce to "The Enabler"!LOL

Ok, so the light is kept as close to the plants as possible without frying them. Got it! :)

Well DH picked up some chain yesterday and hung the light for me. What a sweetheart he is!

Here is the finished product:

{{gwi:727867}}

It's not as fancy as some set ups, but it should work. And with 2, 1,500 gallon water tanks so close by, my seedlings should never go thirsty ;^) Now to get some planting done.....

Looks great Laurie! I want to see the "after" pictures when you have 15 of them. LOL! (BTW, hey no fair, everyone else enables just as much as me!)

I set up my new shelves and planted my tuberous begonias last night. My new high efficiency furnace has a hose that drains condensation water, so I re-routed it from the drain and am collecting it in a tub to use for the seedlings. The plumber told me it can produce up to 5 gallons a day!

Grrrrrrr I'm so mad, I lost my lights timer when I moved and I can't find the same one for sale now!!!

You have your grow lights on a timer? You're just WAY too high-tech for me!LOL Which now leads to another question. Just how many hours of light do you give your seedlings? The more the better? Or do they need a darkness break?

Btw, yes, there are dozens of very good enablers here, but it's your fiendishly evil laugh is why I nominate you to be "The Enabler"! Heeeheeee ;^)

I had my grow lights on a timer. But now I can't find it, so the lights are on all night. Before the seedlings sprout it's not a bad idea to have them on all the time, it keeps the trays a little warmer.

The jury's out on whether or not a darkness break is needed (seems it is, in some plants), but the general consensus last year was that 16 hours of light is pretty good and saves some electricity. Some people rotate two trays under one light to save space, in which case the lights would run all the time and each tray would get 12 hours.

(Rotating two trays... more seedlings... that sounds like... enabling! Mwahahahah!)

Just another aside, fluorescent lights really don't use all that much electricity. You would use more electricity from one fan than the whole lights setup. I ran 7 or 8 lights for 3+ months last spring, and didn't notice it on my hydro bill. Watering sod all August, now don't even ask me about that bill. @%&*%#!

(Rotating two trays... more seedlings... that sounds like... enabling! Mwahahahah!)

You are just terrible!!LOL But that does get me thinking, hmmmmm.............

Laurie it looks like you are on your way!..It comes with a warning though..one success of a sprouting tray of seedlings leads to more and more...hahaha..and it becomes the hot topic with all your friends and family..they all get to see the new "babies" and all the "baby" talk..lol..hmmm..maybe that is why people start avoiding me in the spring...ahahaah..savona

LOL! Savona, my family and friends already know my living room turns into a seedling room come late winter/early spring. The best thing about having some lights in the basement, is that we can actually fit a couple of people in the living room during seedling time now........maybe. ;^)

Lol Laurie..I had my light stand in my living room one year and my son's cat plucked every tomato seedling up and left them in a heap on the floor..he wasnt offended by any other seedlings..lucky for me it was still early enough to start more..savona

Ahem, now no laughing, but I just picked up a 2 foot long light fixture. Now the bulb that's in it is only an 18 watt bulb, and on the fixture it says that 18 watts is max. Will this still work for plants? Or do I take it back?

Unless you want to overload it and take a chance, take it back. I personally wouldn't bother with anything but a double-bulb, four-foot long hood fixture with a plug. I think some people here use smaller fixtures but 18 watts isn't enough to sustain most seedlings for very long without getting leggy.

:0( Sorry, just MHO.

Take it back, get yourself a 4' double fixture and 4' 40 watt cool tubes. Heck buy two fixtures!

I have a couple of the 2 footers that arent very effective..I have used them over my begonias in late winter..and a couple times when I was desperate I have put seeds under them untill I have room under the other light fixtures..you might as well bite the bullet and take them back to get another shop fixture..you know you are going to do it anyways...lol..savona

Hmmm, well I guess back it goes then. The interesting part was that at Superstore, where I picked it up, they had 3 different sizes of these fixtures. A 12", an 18", and this 24" one, but on the 18" one, it had on the label that it was good for growing plants and that it had a full spectrum bulb, but when you read the back it had the exact same bulb as the 24" model, but it was only 15 watts and the price was $5 more. So go figure. Does anyone know if they even make a 40 watt 24" bulb? I suppose even if they do, this fixture can only handle 18 watts apparently. Darn it, it would have fit very nicely onto the greenhouse frame. :( But, on the bright side, I'm sure that DH or my Dad will have another 4 footer kicking around, so the price will be right.

Thanks everyone!

Mine are the ones that say they're good for grow-lights and they're about 18" as well. I use two bulbs for each shelf and things have grown okay with them. Not sure of the wattage, though - have to check.

Marcia, would you mind checking for me please? I'd be really interested to know.

Laurie, all i can find on them is "GE Bright Stick Gro & Sho". Can't find any wattage anywhere. It was probably on the package. They're the kind with the little plug-in attached. I got them at Walmart for about $20 apiece (i think - don't quote me on that).

Thanks Marcia for checking for me. I did talk to my brother in law, who's an electrician, this weekend and he didn't know for sure, but he's thinking that the wattage of the bulb may correlate witht the length of the bulb. This would mean that the same amount of light insensity would come from a 24", 20 watt bulb, as from a 48", 40 watt bulb. This is a theory that sounded plausible to us anyway. I still think I'll take this one back and go for another 4 footer, just because of the extra growing room, but I'm thinking that the shorter fixtures should work just as well.

From what I've read, the "typical" fluorescent bulb has a wattage of about 10 watts per foot. So, 4-foot shop light uses 40-watt bulbs, and a 2-foot shop light uses 20 (or 18) watt bulbs. The ends of the bulbs, nearest the ballasts, aren't as efficient as the middle, even when the bulb is new. So, for a 4-foot shop light, the last 4-6 inches aren't receiving as much light as the center (I try to compensate for this by switching the flats around every few days). This also makes the shorter fixtures less effective in delivering light to your plants--if the last 6-inches of the each end is weaker light, a large chunk of your 2-foot fixture is less effective, compared to a 4-foot fixture.

Speaking of which, I'm off to buy more shop lights, since several died on me last spring (guess I should try to be more careful and not spill so much water on the darn things!!)
Emily in FRIGID Fairbanks

Thanks for that info Emily. I didn't realize that the 6" on either end didn't give off as much light. I'll have to switch the plants around every now and again so that they're all happy.

Laurie

I use a combination of 1 cool white and 1 warm white florescent bulb in each fixture. I have also used bathroom/aquarium ones. They all work great for plants and the AVs in particular love them.

HTH,

BJ in SW MB

I use the warm white/cool white combo too. My old plant books claimed that the combo gave a broader spectrum of light - don't know if that's true or not.
Connie