I like fluorescents because they provide a little heat. I start seedlings in winter in a converted garage, so if you cover the whole setup with a sheet or blanket, they can be very comfy temperature-wise, even higher than room temperature, which is nice for summer veggie starts. Partial covering to regulate temperature. Unless you're doing commercial gardening with mature plants indoors, I don't think grow-bulbs are worth the cost. Certainly not for seedlings. Go Daylight.

I have heated mats and they are in a room with my furnace so heat is not an issue BUT it never hurts! I keep thinking they did pretty good before............ that said occasionally they had weak stems - not bad.

I don't need heated mats, because of the covered fluorescents. With a thick covering, you can raise the internal temp a lot. Some people want to conserve energy with LEDs, but then need to add heated mats. In the end, the same amount of energy is being used. LEDs have better lifetime than fluorescents, but that's a minor consideration.

I use LEDs everywhere else in my house, but I'm sticking to fluorescents for seedlings.

Interesting. I was expecting everyone to say the full spectrum LED bulbs are a lot better.

P.S. It is said that to optimize the spectral coverage in a fluorescent setup, you can have half of your bulbs "warm-white", and half "daylight". Blue light, which the "daylight" bulbs have more of, is supposed to make seedling stems stronger.

I wouldn't waste any money on more T8 style bulbs unless you get them for really cheap. they're obsolete.. I find it pathetic fixtures for them are still being sold and for a similar price of the more efficient T5 bulbs/fixture.

if you're considering replacing the T8s, It would be much better to just get the T5, (although if you have a T8 fixture, that means replacing the whole fixture as the bulbs/fixture aren't compatible).. T5 produce almost twice the amount of light. Lowes has a decent 4-bulb fixture with bulbs for about $100, item #786517. you'd just need to wire a plug to it which is relatively easy.

In general, that's the problem with all fluorescents. They're getting obsolete, and eventually won't be available at all. They're all pretty much being phased out right now. So get 'em while you can.

partly true, but places like Homedepot don't even carry T5 in local stores anymore, at least not here and they've phased them all out, but they're still stocking plenty of T8s still, and even have "new" display models for T8s.

they have really nice LED fixtures (not advertised as grow lights) however, while they may work, the color temp is not optimal (5000K). link

it's too bad because it would be a great price for such powerful lights coming from only a 2ft fixture had they been closer to 6000-6500k.

tempted to buy one and test it for seed starting purposes. if i recall, HIDs were used in greenhouses as supplemental lighting many years ago and last i remember, their color temp is closer to 4300-4500k, at least for vegetative purposes (not on flowering/tomato plants).

Again, if you're just going to use them for seedlings, breadth of spectrum just isn't that big a deal. This 5000K LED would work marvelously for them. My seedlings go gangbusters with plain old fluorescents. Fruiting vegetables are more particular about light spectrum, however. Commercial indoor growers prefer grow-lights, presumably for that reason. Their bottom line is optimal productivity, and they need optimal spectrum lights to get it.

purlslandgarden THANKS that is EXACTLY what I was looking for! I figured I could get a lot more bang for my buck doing exactly that I just needed the info

I get mine from bulbs.com I can't believe they can ship fluorescent tubes without breakage, but they do! I start my seeds under shop lights, then when the nights warm up, I put them on my window sills..they do just fine.

https://www.wish.com/product/5d65ff30c8580025b345f3ac?from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=US&_force_currency_code=USD&pid=googleadwords_int&c=%7BcampaignId%7D&ad_cid=5d65ff30c8580025b345f3ac&ad_cc=US&ad_curr=USD&ad_price=17.34&campaign_id=7203534630&gclid=CjwKCAjwp-X0BRAFEiwAheRuixp0p93uDjDG_GZJ517BLmDGWGUvLOJXuAdoCrztLpANc5xFI06OqhoCNQAQAvD_BwE&hide_login_modal=true&share=web

Above seems to good to be true......

Pretty tiny. That's not going to replace your 48" fluorescents. Less than half the size. 50x9x5cm is sorta itsy bitsy. But I guess you could get a few of them. I'm a little surprised that you can get a tiny fixture like this to suck up 200W. I wonder if they really mean 200W incandescent-equivalent. They also don't list the radiant intensity, which is somewhat of a red flag.

I was thinking the same thing, the fact that it also have 2 plug types did not help. Does anyone have some ideas for a reasonably price LED grow light?

Real "grow-lights" tend to be pricey, and are perhaps most justified if you're actually doing indoor gardening from start-to-finish. For seedling starting, I can't imagine they're worth the expense. Just go "daylight" with commercial T8s as you've been doing with fluorescents and be done with it.

I was thinking that but I just go an aerogarden. The basil in it is younger then the basil I have under my fluorescent bulbs and significantly bigger. It got my thinking.

I do not plan to grow inside only so I do not need true grow lights. I am hoping for a reasonable alternative.