Please critique my diy grow light set-up

This is my first time starting seeds. I was going to start all of my seeds outside following the WS method, but was advised that a few of the things I wanted needed a longer head start to bloom early.

I bought a Jiffy system and my Coleus, impatiens and "avalanche" petunias have germinated. Great!

Then I realized I needed to DO something with these little seedlings! I headed to the home center looking for a 2' plug-in shoplight set up, but couldn't find anything. The on a recent trip to WallyWorld I found this "grow light" and have put my impatiens and petunias under it. The light is held up with yarn (best I could do on short notice) and the plastic "pallets" are being held up close to the light by old VHS tapes. This is literally the only place I have to put this, and the light is a little too long, so it is a not perfectly horozontal. Also, there is only one bulb in the "grow light." It's very low-budg, which is completely fine with me, as long as it works.

So tell me what you think! Do you think this'll work? Does this look about right? Do I need a second bulb? Do I need to change anything? Am I even in the right Forum for this question?

All advice is welcome and will be humbly considered. Thanks!

GreenerBeaner

Oh, GB, I am so glad you started this thread with this question! I have been thinking of trying just what you did there -- but have not gotten that far with it! I sure hope we get some good tips. I just don't quite understand why growlights have to cost so much! I mean, if they really do have to, I'd like to know why..... cause it does seem we ought to be able to come up with budget do-it-yourself versions just like you are attempting.

By the way, I think the book title on the right of the photo may help a whole lot, give the seeds the right idea, you know, green, tomatoes, "fried" as in WARM..... LOL!

Kyla

Congrats on the seed-starting. Indoor sowing is really fun, especially when it's still winter outside.
As for your lighting system, I haven't used real grow lights for years. I typically use a plain old 4 ft. fluorescent shop light fixture with one cool and one warm fluorescent tube in them. There are 2 ft. 2-bulb fixtures out there but they're not as common as 4 ft. fixtures. If you're using only one fixture, I would position the trays length-wise under the fixture and, even then, the plants on the outer edges may lean a bit. Some folks will use mylar to reflect more light back on to the plants. I would also recommend a little clip-on fan (cheap!) to blow VERY gently across the seedlings. They will need the air circulation plus it helps strengthen the stems plus you don't want it to get too hot under the lights. I know there are many gardeners out there that know way more than I do but I'm so cheap, I just stay with what works.
Good luck!

Ah, excellent, the voice of experience speaks! ;-) I read somewhere else, someone using one of those metallic survival blankets for a light reflecting enclosure too, they are pretty cheap.....

GreenBeaner: What kind of bulb is that, a t8, or t5? Can that plastic cover over the tube slide off? I imagine removing it would increase the light output a little.

The fact that you got it at Wally World, seems like it would be pretty cheap, maybe not a bad deal if so. Do you mind telling the price? I could use a small supplemental light, too.

Karen

yay! I am so excited that I got comments!

Kyla: How fun! Hopefully I can make all the diy mistakes first and you can just have the perfect indoor system! My mom always says that life is too short to make all your own mistakes. :D And yes - since my oooooold vcr finally died, I figured those VHS tapes were better than books since I can't even watch them and it won't matter if they get wet. Also I don't feel like I am "cheating" on WSing now since you and Karen are here.

Cindy: My Jiffy trays are 5/5, so I don't really have a "length-wise." Bummer. But I did get a second light, so maybe I can jimmy-rig it up there, too. As for the fan, that room has a ceiling fan, do you think that would do, or would it not be close enough?

Karen: The packaging says that the bulb is a T8 (17W) but I don't know if it's "warm" or "cool" as Cindy mentioned.
And YES! It was very cheap. Here is the info:

Lights of America "Grow Light" Portable Light
75W Light Output, Uses 17W Energy
5ft Plug-in Cord,

At WallyWorld it was $9.95, and on the shelf next to it was another light in exactly the same packaging with exactly the same info but calling itself an "under-counter light" with all the same wattages, etc, and it was $7.95. I got one of each. I mean really. Even in this economy, I can afford that.

Is T8 what I need? Are we thinking I ought to add that other light? Oh, and how long should I leave the light on?

I am so glad you guys are helping me out with this! Thank you!

GreenerBeaner

How long to leave the light on, well, I did read recently that for tomatoes they need light for 14 to 16 hours a day....... but that is the sum of my wisdom so far, LOL! Anyway, that is one big reason I have not tried to start any maters yet, can't figure how to get them that much light.

Hey, Beaner, don't listen to anything I say. I really don't know from crapola about plants and lights! I'm a wintersower at heart, but like you, I'd like to give just a few slow pokes a head start inside. Things like a few peppers, toms, or coleus. My meager attempts years ago to grow from seed indoors always ended in damp-off. That was without lights or heat mats.

Last fall I took cutting of a few coleus to try to overwinter in the house. They did well for months but when the days got really short, the coleus were looking pretty pathetic. I have very little bright natural light in my house. I bought 2 little t5 lights and within days those coleus perked up and looked healthy again. So, I was wondering what yours were.

Are you able to take that plastic cover off? Seems you'd have to in order to change the bulb. It probably would give you more light without the cover. I think I'd remove it if possible.

Karen

Ladies, I appreciate any shared experience, even if you're not a "pro." Maybe we'll get a seasoned indoor sower in here to set us all on the right path. :)

GB

Hi Greener Beaner:
I will try to give you some insight on growing under lights from years of experience in doing so.

ABOUT LIGHTS
All fluorescents are not the same. Grow lights are made up of wavelengths within the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, green, and yellow of the spectrum that are suitable for plant growth that incandescent bulbs don't have. Plant lights are made to resemble full sun very closely and contain the wavelength in colors that plants need to grow. I don't want to get too technical so the above info is a short explanation.
The watt is usually related to the length of the fluorescent bulb. A 48" long tube will produce more light than a 24" one. The only information you need about a fluorescent light tube is that it is a grow light in whatever length you want.

You actually need 2 grow tubes placed side by side with 2-3" from each other in whatever lengths you choose. The reason is that there is a light fall off along the sides of the lights that is not strong enough to support plant growth. The strongest light is in the center. Place your sun loving varieties there and shade lovers more on the outer side. You can increase light at the edges by placing a large, white paper mat or board held up along the edges to reflect the fall off light back on to the plants.

HOW CLOSE? HERE IS A GUIDE:
This guide is suitable for plant lights, not for incandescent light. Measured from the top leaf.
Annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetables---3-6" from the light
Geraniums---4-6"
Begonias---6-8"
Cactus and succulents---3-6"
Impatiense---5-7"
Observe your plants, if not enough light the plant will stretch upwards. Move them closer.

HOW LONG
Use a timer, cheap in Wal-Mart. Lights needs to be on for 24 hours per day for seed flats of annuals, vegetables, herbs and perennials. until germination occurs. Then, cut down to 12-16 hours for flowering plants. 12-14 hours for foliage plants. The light should be on at the same time every days, thus a timer is useful incase you forget.

AIR CIRCULATION
Very important to prevent damping off (rotting) of seeds and fungus. Also to bring carbon dioxide that the plants need for photosynthesis during the day and fresh oxygen which they need to breathe during day and night. You need mild air movement, without a cold draft.

TEMPERATURE
Once the seeds germinate, it is best to grow plants between 65-70 degrees for sturdy seedling. More beneficial is to have a lower temperature when the lights are out at night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY GROWING PLANTS UNDER LIGHTS, 2002
I have grown plants under light for many years. When I first started back in the 70's, I had a big house with plenty of room for a metal plant stand with 4 shelves of double 24" plant lights. In 2002, I bought a small house with no space for the stand. There were no plants in the yard, except for some yellow irises. The winter following the purchase of my house I started sowing seeds. I sowed 54 varieties of perennials that following winter. Here is how I did it!

Luckily I have an extra bedroom that is now my office. I mounted 4, 48" long x 12" wide shelves on adjustable brackets on the wall. I bought 4 shoplights and replaced the tubes with grow lights, each light fixture held 2 tubes. I used light-weighed chains to hold the lights, one on each end. The chains were wrapped around the shelf above so could be raised and lowered easily. I also had small wood scraps that I used to raise individual flats closer to the light, if needed.

Out of 54 varieties, I saved 12 of each variety to share with my daughter. I quickly built a coldframe to transfer them into. Some I potted up for my daughter. Some went in to my nursery garden after hardening off. By fall, those in the coldframe was ready for planting out. I again sowed more seeds that fall and overwintered them in the coldframe.

CAPTION OF PHOTO
These are one part of the shelves I used. I emptied them to show. You can see the chain and how it is wrapped around the shelf. The ends of the chain was attached with S hooks so I could adjust the height.

Never again will I sow indoors. I now use my coldframe. A few flats go in a sunny window in my garage to sprout with warming weather. They are under a plastic dome to prevent drying out. If I need to, I can set up the metal stand in the garage.

I hope you find this information useful.

I've grown plants from seed indoors for several years as well, but my experience is a little bit different. I'm sure grow lights are wonderful, but they are beyond my budget and I use just plain florescents. I have read that, if this is what you do, you should actually use one "cool white" and one "warm white" in each shoplight fixture, but I haven't gotten quite that far (maybe when these bulbs burn out :-))
In addition, I only leave my lights on 12-16 hrs/day, even during germination. Actually, some seeds need darkness to germinate, but that is usually stated on the package.
As you can see from the pic below, I do keep my lights just a couple inches above the flats (lights are on chains so I can raise them as the plants grow), so maybe that is why I 'get away' with just using flourescents- Jill

GreenerBeaner -
I would recommend a little fan closer to the plants. I think the ceiling fan is okay while waiting for germination but it's harder to get the air circulation under the lights. Plus, the little fan will help keep it a little cooler once germination takes place. I know the petunias like it warmer while germinating but you may want to get the temp a little lower once that's happened. As for the length of time, I just use a general 16 hours worth, especially because I'll have 10 to 20 different seed types under the lights. I've never let my lights run 24 hours - guess I'm too cheap. If the light monitoring gets too intense, you can plug the lights into a timer (one of those lamp timers) that plugs into the wall socket. Avianut brings up a good point - you'll want to be able to adjust the height of the lights as the plants grow. If I were growing year-round under lights, I might consider grow lights but I've had rooted impatien cuttings blooming profusely under regular fluorescents.
Avianut -
That's a great setup! Wish I had the space for that. Instead, DH built a 3-tiered stand for me out of 2x4 lumber. We found the plans in a Rodale book years ago and it can be assembled/disassembled as needed (stored in crawl space when not in use). It's 5 ft long by about 18" deep and has 2 - 4 ft fixtures or 4 fluorescents side by side on each level. I'm sure my neighbors wonder what the heck I'm growing when it's all lit up. Depending on where I set it up, I sometimes use landscape fabric to shade the light from the rest of the room.

Thank you avianut and CindyM!

Here is my plan:
-add the second light
-add a small fan instead of depending on the ceiling fan for circulation
-keep the lights on for about 12 hours a day (easy to add to the DD wake up and night-night routines)
-since I suspect my lights are the ordinary fluorescent kind even though they are marketed as "grow lights," I'll keep my seedlings a couple inches away

My lights won't be adjustable (the yarn is not going to hold up, so I'm going to screw them into the shelves) but the seed trays are sitting up on stacked vhs tapes, so I'll lower them away from the lights as they grow.

Thanks for all the input!

GreenerBeaner

Most growers say you don't need special grow lights - basic shop lights with cool or warm or a mix is more than adequate and I have done exactly that - get the cheapest fixtures and basic bulbs. Some say you should replace the bulbs each year but I wait until the bulb is shot or close to it before replacing. I have over 60 shoplights in my basement running about 14 hours a day and most plants are thriving. A few plants could use more light but they will just have to tough it out until danger of frost is past and can be moved outdoors once again.

For adjusting lights - you can always put something under the trays to get them closer to the light such as a cardboard box, scraps of wood, plastic containers, etc.

This message was edited Feb 13, 2009 3:05 PM

Very kind of you folks to share your comments, experience, and knowledge. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a stupid person. I have a high IQ. Really, I do. But for some reason I cannot wrap my brain around this light stuff. I think I lost interest after looking once at fluorescents at Home Cheapo. A salesperson offered help and I found that he knew less about lights than I do, and that's next to nothing. Considering that this guy also has to sell plumbing fixtures, paint, tools, flooring and everything else, I guess that should be expected.

The shop lights I saw, in many cases, didn't give any info other than length of tube and watts. No CRI, no Kelvin rating. In another aisle from the regular t12 shoplights were "fluorescent grow lights". Only one brand displayed it's lights as "warm" or "cool". Again no apparent CRI, Kelvin rating, or anything else except watts on the display or package. Very frustrating. I don't understand how one could make an intelligent purchace based on the available information?

GreenerBeaner: Did that light from Wally World give any of this information- i.e. degrees Kelvin, warm or cool, CRI, or anything else? And where are they in the store? With regular shoplights in the lighting section, or in the garden section?

Karen

Shop lights are typically in the lighting section. Is there a reason to know about CRI and Kelvin rating? Have you tried an internet search for more information on any of the lights available?

Karen -
The cheap fluorescents are in the lighting section. I shop at Menard's for them. As long as the tube wattage matches the fixture requirements, it's just a matter of cool or warm. Sometimes there is a notation for light output but not always so I don't sweat it too much. From what I've read, the cool lights are better for foliage growth while the warm lights will encourage flowering. I may be wrong since I haven't thought anymore about it since I read that. You can tell by looking at the color of the light tubes. The warm lights have a slight peachy color while the cool lights (slightly pale blue/gray) are just your standard garage lighting cheapos.
Hcmcdole -
Wow! What a lighting setup! I could only fantasize over that many plants or the time to plant them all. I do replace my lights when the ends of the tubes start turning dark only because I'm fretting over diminished light output.
GreenerBeaner -
Keep an eye on your impatiens for spider mites as they start getting bigger. I had a real infestation (my first experience with them) when I grew cuttings under lights. Also, usually there's a chain that comes with the fixture for hanging - you can fasten the chain around a wooden pole (like even a closet hanging rod/pole) and prop that up on a stack of books. I've even use zip ties to fasten the lights to a pole. Much easier to adjust the height. Or you can hang the light fixture from shelf brackets with the chain and adjust the height that way. We don't have Wally Worlds here so I have no basis for comparison.

Karen, I too found my Lowes salesperson to be generally unhelpful. I know better than to ask at Walmart, so I just stumbled into the light bulb aisle and there they were. Here is all the info I could find on the packaging: Model 7020 E GL, 24" Fluorescent, Portable Luminaire, 120V 60Hz 17W 300mA, Bulb replacement No. RB17T8GL or F17T8/GL
The packaging also notes that it gives off 70W while only using 17W. I couldn't tell you what that means, but there it is.

CindyM, do I need to worry about the spider mites if I started from seeds? And if so, what should I be looking for? Those shelves are in our bedroom so the thought of an "infestation" grosses me out in a big way.

Thanks for the thoughts on using chains to lower the lights, but my lights didn't come with chains and I think for my purposes (this is a super small set up in an area that I have to look at all the time) the less clutter the better. Not that the stacked vhs tapes aren't a little tacky, but at least they are hiding under the seed trays. :D

GreenerBeaner -
Don't mean to scare you with the spider mites. It just seemed that they loved impatiens. They could have come in with the cuttings since the mother plants were outdoors in the summer. However, indoors where it's dry and warm are really ideal conditions for the little pests, especially if you heat your home in the winter (zone 8a?). Look for very fine web filaments. The pests themselves are very tiny and you may not see them on your seedlings. Spider mites don't exactly like moisture so you could try misting your seedlings every day with water to keep them from settling in. I'm sure you don't want to resort to using any kind of pesticide in your bedroom. IF you should see any, try checking around the appropriate forum for other solutions. Don't worry yet. :)
I think your idea of of securing the lights to the shelf is a good one, especially in the bedroom. Heck, you might be able to use your lights year-round for other purposes. A lighted work area, houseplant collections, etc. Helps "justify" expenses (which I'm always trying to do).

The 17 Watts of fluorescent light output (in lumens) is equivalent to 70 Watts of incandescent light output is what the reference is to. So you get the same amount of light for a lot less energy - you save lots of $$ - its like cutting your lighting bill by 75%. You pay more for the light up front but you save in the long run both in energy costs and typically a fluorescent will last a lot, lot longer than incandescent bulbs.

I just compared one of the first places that was on the Google list when I searched for grow lights. The garden supply store had a T5 system (one bulb, 54 watts) puts out almost as much light as a standard shop light T12 with two bulbs. This system also has a stand if you need it, the fixture, and one bulb for $80. The shop lights plus two bulbs I got at Home Depot were $12. I have over 60 fixtures so my initial cost was over $700. With the special grow light at this on line garden supply store would be almost $5000 for the same set up.

Here is a photo of one of my rooms in the basement.

Thanks for the info on that bulb, GreenerBeaner. So looking at that, how would one know whether that's red or blue wave light, i.e. warm or cool? If you wanted one of each, that's not enough info to know that, is it? If you want one "red" and one "blue" ? I can't make heads or tails out of it.

I have read about this stuff on websites so have a basic understanding of the color thing, I think. Basically the lower Kelvin ratings are more red and the higher Kelvin are blue, right? Blue for vegetative growth, red for blooming. But from the info GreenerBeaner has given, how would I know it's color, warm or cool?

I'm really not this dumb.

Karen

It doesn't matter if you get cool, warm, a combo of both, or grow lights that are supposedly designed for optimum plant growth as long as you have lots of light. I have not seen a plant that hasn't responded to fluorescent light placed a few inches above the plant but I've seen a lot of poor looking or dying plants that were placed in very dim light.

You could get a plant light meter but most if not all just measure the intensity, not the color. A good photo light meter that measures color temps might be the best way to tell the color output but can be quite expensive.

http://www.hhydro.com/cgi-bin/hhydro/LIGHT_METER.html
.
http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/HF1200/

hcmedole: Thanks for your response. I'm glad to hear this. From everything I'd read it on horticultural lights, it seemed important. Judging from the price of those things (meters), I'd guess not many people use them, except for professionals.

And the price of horticultural lights is so much higher than the standard shop lights. And horticultural sites seem to place so much emphasis on light spectrum color.
http://www.homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm
http://www.wormsway.com/senddoc.asp?id={744CFF94-4C19-401D-A03A-D629D5434497}
So if I put a plant like African violet under cool tubes, it would still bloom, as opposed to just growing large with foliage?

Karen

I'm sure African violets would bloom under cool lights. If begonias and episcia bloom under cool lights then I would think African violets would too (I only have 5 AVs but they are on the garden tub so they only get natural light).

Here is Begonia richmondensis cuttings that were started a few weeks ago under cool lights and are growing and blooming.

CindyM, thanks for the info on the spider mites. I'll try to just forget about them until I have evidence that I need to worry. And I like any way of justifying gardening purchases!

hcmcdole, I am humbled by and in awe of your (and avianut's) set up. My $18 dollar, 2 seed tray, under the tv stand set up is looking a little dinky right now. :D Most homes in TX don't have basements (either clay soil thing or a "we have so much land why build down?" thing, I'm not sure) and our little starter house doesn't have a garage or a spare room, so I'll just keep staring longingly at pictures like yours for a long time. Thanks for the information!

Karen - thanks for being our fluorescent tube sleuth and getting to the bottom of this cool light/warm light thing. It sounds a little to me like WSing - you can make it very very complicated if you want to, or you could just use the stuff you can afford and give it a go. Yes, some methods show higher yields than others, but ultimately Mother Nature has been gardening by the "leave it and forget it" method for a long time and she does great work. :D

I'll keep you updated as these little sproutlets get used to their new home.

GreenerBeaner

hcmcdole - those have only been in a few weeks and are big and blooming?! Wow!

-GB

I don't remember the month I started those - December, maybe November.

Here are some more cuttings I started about the same time.

Thanks to all the pros for the comments.

Karen

Update: I finally got around to adding the second light to my set up today, and low and behold, I unintentionally bought a "warm" light and a "cool" light! The WallyWorld light I installed first was labeled a "grow light" and was $2 more than the light in the bin next to it that looked exactly the same, and even had the same packaging, except for being labeled an "under-counter" light. I got one of each to see what the difference might be, and now I know! I plugged them both in and sure enough, the under-counter light is nice and warm (like a soft cream color) and the grow-light looks blue by comparison.

So there you have it - a balanced grow light system for $18 and change.

-GB

GB,

That's good news. You could try an experiment now that you have a "normal" bulb and a "grow light" bulb by planting identical plants under both set ups and compare results. I would suspect that results would be different for different plants.

I have a 30 gallon aquarium with several plants in it and was using a 4 bulb light fixture that seals tightly on top so very little moisture escapes. When I was using 4 bulbs a lot of plants were looking yellow and almost burnt. I removed two bulbs and the color of the leaves are now a healthy looking green and lush. Too much light can be a bad thing? I have a feeling it wasn't so much the amount of light but the heat that was building up inside.

Way to go, Greenerbeaner!

Mind if I ask another really stupid lighting question? I know this is off topic, as it doesn't even pertain to plant lights, just regular household lights. But I don't know the answer. So if I wanted to be energy conscience and convert a household light which says maximum 60 watts, how does that convert to compact fluorescent? Can I use a 60 watt fluorescent, or do I need a fluor. of lower wattage which "equals light output of a 60 watt incandescent?"

I know this is off topic, and I apologize for that.

Karen

GB -
Congrats on your revised set up. Now, if you amortize your cost over the next few years.... :)
Re: your comment about WS - I've always loved starting seeds indoors despite the fretting over lights and space but it does get easier over the years. It's like getting a head-start on spring. And it's easier to monitor progress or problems in the confines of my warm house. I don't have a lot of space either (tri-level and no real basement). While I do start all of my seeds indoors, I can now grow them on out in my little 2 yo lean-to greenhouse even though it's quite a challenge to keep the heat - electric or propane - at the right temperature and monitor for little buggy pests. Space is even more of an issue out there because of all of the large pots of stuff I winter-over. If I could only take over a bedroom....

CindyM: We really live in an ideal wintersowing climate. I know a lot of wintersowers in Indiana. You ought to try a few containers, just for fun. I like it because it allows me to play in the dirt all winter through the snow.

I really would like to try again on a few slow growing seeds indoors, though. Things like coleus can be wintersown but it takes months before they're big enough to be pretty. My meager attempts at indoor seed starting many years ago, in a sunny window with no heat mats or lights, always ended in damp-off. At least with wintersowing, damp off is not an issue so I have to try hard to kill off those hardy little buggers born outside :-)

Karen

CFL (compact fluorescent lights) should show the equivalency of light output (in lumens) on their packaging. Basically a 26W CFL is equivalent to a 100W incandescent. A 34W CFL about 150W incandescent. We've replaced almost all of our incandescent bulbs with CFL if there is enough space to fit it in due to their bigger sizes. For table lamps you might have to get taller harps than what came with the lamp (fairly cheap and usually sold in 3 or 4 sizes and maybe a couple of colors to choose from). They even have 3 way CFL bulbs which don't burn out like the incandescent lights they replace. For aesthetic reasons, CFLs may not look too nice especially if it is a bare bulb over a bathroom mirror so we still use incandescent for that and spot lights.

I replaced the dim short fluorescent fixture the builder put in our closet with a bathroom fixture (3 lights) but used CFL instead. The fixture was rated for no more than a 60W bulb so the total light would've been 180W of incandescent. I used 26W CFL instead which is equivalent to 100W incandescent so now the closet has the light of 300W but only uses 78W.

One of the most annoying things about fluorescent is it takes a few minutes for them to get to full intensity but after a while you get used to it. Some may get flicker and hum which is usually a sign to replace them if they get annoying enough.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12060

Thank you. The reason I asked is I replaced 2 60W indandescents in my basement to CFL, I think 20 watt, and it's dark! I can't see with them, wondered if I could replace those with bigger CFLs. I guess not.

Again, my apologies for going off topic here and let us return to regularly scheduled programming: plant lights.

Karen

Karen -
Your invitation to partake of WSing is tempting but after the winter we've had, the last thing I want to do is burrow through the snow. I'm happy enough to see what's self-seeded in the spring. With indoor seed starting, I can sit at my computer (while it's zero outside) and glance over to my table of plastic tubs (at least 5 times a day) to see if anything new has popped up. Instant gratification for me and I'm spoiled. :)

Cindy you can fill the containers inside and then just place them outside when full... I do both inside & outside sowing

hey instead of the mylar to reflect light couldn't you just use tin foil?

I have 8 gro light stands for rooting hoyas, growing from seed, propagating African violets by leaf, growing streptocarpus from leaf and growing all kinds of plants. Babies up to fully maturity. I use the full spectrum lights for 6.00 each at Walmart and have wonderful plants. From what I have heard , the cool and warm combination is fine (you need another light just like what you have and long hours for seeds) until the plant reaches maturity. You really can't grow African violets well under anything but full spectrum lighting I don't think.

Now I buy more fixtures at Wally World but order bulbs for 4 foot fixtures holding 2 lights at Indoor Growing Supplies on line...........I think they might be better than the ones at walmart??? However I did fine with the Wally World lights until I found the other.

Air circulation is critical all the time.............both with seeds and fully grown plants inside........
Once the seeds germinate I take mine out in the shade during the day and bring them in at night when it is cold. (not on gesneriads, but annuals like you have planted)

According to my book "Parks Success With Seeds", it is not the wattage that is a concern for plant growth, but the wavelenght of color in the spectrum. See my post here on Sept 12, 09. That information came from Parks book. If anyone knows about seeds/plants, it is Park Seed Co. And, they wrote the book.

According to Park, what type of light you need depends upon what you are growing. Warm-white and cool-white combined are fine for low to medium light plants---African Violets, Begonias, etc.

Gro-Lux Wide Spectrum, Agro-Lite, or Vita-Lite are high intensity light with the high intensity needed by Geraniums, all annuals, succulents. I have used both Gro-Lux and Vita-Lite when I sowed seeds indoors.

I know that grow lights are higher in price. However you can combine them with a non grow light side-by-side if your budget is tight. Then place your plants or seeds accordingly.

I came across this web site during a seach for a plant. It is excellent for information on growing and sowing seeds of different varieties. You can search varieties by common or Latin names. Also cover all forms of propagation. Thought I'd pass it along.

http://grow.ars-informatica.ca/

nice site... thanks