This is the winter sowing forum but tomatoes can be grown with the winter sowing method--no lights or heat mats needed. I suggest you read the FAQs at the top of the forum, plus any information you find on Wintersown.org, then come back here if you still have questions. Basically we use recycled plastic containers--milk jugs, 2 liter soda bottles, etc.--in which we put a seed starting mix or potting mix, sow the seeds, close the container and set it outside in the snow. The container provides a "mini-greenhouse" that keeps the seeds sheltered from the elements. The openings or vent holes allow moisture to get inside and warm air to escape. Use the search function to find threads on this forum specific to winter sowing tomatoes. Welcome to the madness!

I beleive you have two choices given that you don't have an abundance of natural lighting in your home. One, you can use your grow light over your plant sitting in a warm place to keep it going over the winter. Give the plant some dark time, but try to give it at least 12 hours of light per day. Give it minimal water, just enough to keep the soil from drying out. No fertilizer. Or, when it drops all its leaves, put the plant in a dark place for the winter, giving it just enough water to keep the soil from drying completely. When the weather starts to warm up in the spring, introduce the plant outdoors in the warmer days, and bring it in at night. You can also use the grow light to increase the amount of daylight the plant experiences in the spring as there is evidence that the amount of daylight influences going into and awakening from dormancy. Mike

hermustangs, if you'll read the "new to GW" thread below on this page (or if it's left this page by the time you read this, search for it) you'll find explicit instructions on how to post photos; very easy to do. I think you'll get many more responses if you include photos. I'm not good enough with colors personally to try to answer your questions without seeing the rooms. Good luck!

Ooh those look lovely. I suggest you think about purchasing one of those plastic greenhouse thingies. One that looks something like this : This will help keep the moisture and heat in. Also, you can try using heating mats under the pots and seed trays. I've also heard that old electric blankets work well for this sort of thing. Lastly you need to put the lights as close to the plants as possible without touching them. Otherwise your seedlings will grow very tall and spindly and will become weak plants. The roses would benefit from the stronger light too. also, nor humidity can bring fungus so be prepared to spray them should they get blackspot or mildew and remove any leaves or plants that become infected to avoid spreading of the disease. These things spread fast in such close quarters. You'll soon find that these grow lights are great to have for getting a jump start on seed staring each year. I've had petunia and marigold seedlings even start to bloom under my lights. And like Francis says above, you don't need fancy full spectrum grow lights for this. Any florescent light will do, but the brighter the better and more neutral is better too (not too warm, not too cool) as white as possible. If you are new to seed starting try starting out with Petunias. They are super easy to grow from seed. Also Zinnias, snapdragons and marigolds are all very easy from seed too. Happy growing!