Lighting for seedlings

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whuffie Powell River, Canada Mar 24, 2007

I saved some seeds and started them in peat pellets. They are growing! I have put lights over them approximately 12 inches above the seedlings, and everybody seems very happy. What I would appreciate knowing is whether or not I should turn the lights out at night, or just leave them on 24/7? Help for my darling little babies, please.

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Mar 24, 2007

Are they fluorescent lights? They should be very close, as in within an inch or three, to the plants. Don't put incandescent(hot) lights that close!
They can be one anywhere from say 16 hours a day, to 24, and they will grow faster the more time they get in lights. I think most home growers lean toward the 16 hour end of that scale.

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PQBaggs Windsor, VT Apr 02, 2007

I spoke to my brother-in-law who is a lighting engineer about using fluorescent vs incandescent lights. He said the incadescent do not give out the UV light that plants need and to use fluorescent lights. I leave the lights on for 18 hours a day (and have them an inch or two above the seedlings).

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 02, 2007

I would leave the lights on for 16-18 hrs and keep them no more than 3-4 inches above the seedlings. They may look happy now right after they sprouted, but having the lights too far away will make them get leggy eventually as they stretch to reach the light.

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