I use a 5 tier shelf system from Lowes with 2 4' shop lights on each level. I tend to use the top for storage. I believe the shelves in the link are +/- the same ones I use. I put them together with seedling sizes in mind rather than all the shelves being a uniform distance from one another. As the seedlings grow I use a combination of upside down trays to raise the seedlings along with raising and lowering the lights which are suspended by chains on each level. While I would love to raise and lower the lights via a window-blinds-like pulley system I haven't figured out where to get such a contraption (let me know if you have this one figured out). I have the lumber guys cut a sheet of plywood to form a solid shelf at each level - this also helps to keep spills from dripping directly onto the lights on the level below. Make sure to tell the guy cuting the plywood that he doesn't have to cross cut - this way one sheet will work for the entire unit - otherwise they cross cut for strength and you end up needing an extra piece. I cover the sides of the units with mylar runners blankets purchased at Walmart for next to nothing - they last forever or until I eventually step on and pull at the same time resulting in a big tear. When I start getting stacked up with seedlings I turn the trays perpendicular to the shelf unit - I have the short end of the seedling tray facing me. The ends tend to stick out a little over the edge of the shelf but a lot more will fit on each level. I rotate the plants once in a while since the outside plants will get less light. Your temps, especially with heating mats for germination, should be fine. Perhaps you can reverse day/night and use the lights at night and go 'dark' during the day. The lights, with the mylar blocking will raise the temps for the seedlings above the normal night temp and the day temps will, effectively, be the night for the plants. Good luck. Andrew Here is a link that might be useful: 5 Tier Shelves

Love the indoor grow-light gardens, especially since we've already been down as low as -10C/14F, so if it wasn't for indoor gardening now, I wouldn't be doing any gardening at all. Those peppers were just planted 33 days ago?... wow, that's impressive. I started my indoor winter peppers in mid-July (Nagas) and mid-August (some unknown Thai-type), and the plants aren't much bigger than yours, though I do have lots of peppers set (very green, nowhere near ripe). I grew mixed-greens inside a few years ago (spinach, lettuce, etc) in a big tray... I did get several salads from it but didn't think it was worth repeating. I have never tried radish or celery indoors. Parsley does fantastic under fluorescent lights (I have 2 pots of it now)... basil is another grow-light success story you should try (I have Thai basil growing now, but every kind of basil I've tried under lights has done well).

Dave, I think I will be fine now with the extra room I got from moving the herbs and peppers to under the artist lamp and getting rid of the extra Green when ripes and yellows. (Very sad to toss them, but I did) They all have plenty of room under the lights now. I started seeds on the 18th of February, 8 weeks before the last frost date. Which I have always done and believe that is what is recommended. I do dense seeding (well, not real dense, probably 4 seeds to a cell) so as soon as the first true leaves are showing, I transplant them to the dixie cups. That way the roots don't get tangled together as they would if I left them until later. They are tiny, but they always survive. They are tough little plants. I plant them in a cup only half full of potting mix, this allows me to fill in with more mix as they grow and gives them a stronger root system. Here in North Carolina, our springs are generally warm so I will start hardening them off about two weeks before plant out. And they are going into containers, so if it is an unusually cold spring, they can come be moved into the garage during a cold snap. This is how I have always done it since moving to North Carolina and it has worked for me. I was worried about not enough room under the lights, but have solved that problem so I think they will do fine now. Jennie

I'd say Silica is correct about the ratio of light to soil temperature. This is only meant to simplify the balance of the relationship between leaves and roots. Leaves use light to start the process of making food. The leaves will tell the roots that it needs all the ingredients of the photosynthesis "recipe" to finish making food. So in normal ideal outdoor conditions, the roots provide and send up water+nutrients needed to complete the food being made in the leaves. Imagine that to citrus roots 55F and lower is considered to be like frostbite to the roots. The roots cannot do anything when the soil is cooler than 55F. It cannot absorb water, it cannot function at all and so it basically sleeps to conserve its energy. However if the leaves are having a blast above the soil and getting a sunny Hawaii vacation thanks to strong indoor lighting, it will try to make food. The leaves cannot stop itself from reacting to light. When light hits the leaves and warms the leaves enough for it to function, the leaves will react to light no matter what and must start photosynthesis. But if the roots are too cold, it cannot send up the missing ingredients because it will be in hibernation. Eventually the leaves will lose moisture since it is in active mode. While the leaves are active and losing moisture, the roots are inactive and cannot send water up to hydrate the active leaves. Like running a marathon without any sustenance. The tree will sacrifice it's own leaves if it cannot provide itself the water or nutrients that is needed to continue with the process. Sorry if my post was long. I feel that it can be simple to understand if I try to compare it to thing we already understand. So to answer your question Mike, when the tree is getting plenty of sunlight that means leaf activity goes up and therefore root activity must also go up in order to keep the balance in their relationship. In order to make the root function as much as the leaves, temperatures of the soil surrounding the roots must increase. If root temperatures (and therefore root activity) cannot be increased because heating is too expensive, then the activity levels of both root and leaves must be in balance. Either the root or leaves will have to follow the other. If root activity cannot go up to parallel the leaves then inevitably is it up to the leaves to follow the roots footsteps and also be very inactive. That means reducing light levels to reduce leaf activity for the sake of matching the cold/inactive roots. I think of the leaves and roots as two parts of one living creature. It cannot live without one or their other. Both parts must follow each other because they are two halves of a whole. One is the pie crust and the other the pie filling. You cannot have a pie with a very thick crust but 2 teaspoons of filling and vice versa! It just wouldn't make any sense. You would have a very disfigured and unappetizing pie! They must both contribute the same amount to create a balanced and delicious food! I can get creative when I need to when it comes to explaining things so if this still wasn't easy to understand at all, feel free to let me know. I hope this helped anyone confused about the whole roots and leaves matter