Emily,

I'm not familiar with the T-5 bulbs, but it would appear that they are the better way to go. Please have a look at this link. They (littlegreenhouse) do a fantastic job of explaining the different bulbs.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.co...

Emily,

For what it's worth, I use the t5 lights and they seem to work well for this novice.

The set-up that you are looking at is definitely better looking than what I use. Mine was diy which costs a whole lot less but doesn't look as nice.

Karen

Emily: I have several of Gardener's Supply T-8 bulbs (as well as a couple of their table top and floor stand). These are several years old, before the T-5 technology was common. I have to say that the quality has been excellent, and Gardener's customer service has been great.

When I added additional shelving units, I found some great ones at Sam's Club, and took advantage of the cosmetic "seconds" T-8 fixtures that GS was selling last year. I really like the GS light fixtures because they have 3 bulbs, and a nice wide hood to give me coverage over the entire width (18") of my shelves.

This year, I bought my first T-5 fixture (not from GS)--it has 4 bulbs and I'm using it over my large herb pots I'm overwintering. The light it puts out is amazing. I don't think you will regret your purchase from GS. Even my APS systems that came with my shelving units are still going strong.

I never really looked at what the flora garden system spec'd out in comparison to others in today's market & technology. I have had my shelves/light for a few years so things have changed.

Guess they are T12's and the bulb mfg is "Verilux® full-spectrum fluorescent lights as they have a high color-rendering index (94.5) and a color temperature of 6280 Kelvin, making them the closest match to natural sunlight of any fluorescent lights. Rated at 26,000 hours (which is about 10 years for the average gardener)."

This has been REALLY helpful. I've finally learned about T-bulbs, after all these years LOL!
I may hang in with my back-ordered T-5 system and make do with the home-made system that I presently have set up in the basement to get the early seeds started. What I've learned from this informative thread (thanks, guys) is that I might splurge on purchasing some of the Verilux full-apectrum T-12 lights that Joanna mentions above.

I found this on the net, $50 for a four-pack). Perhaps I could find it cheaper if I look around more:

40 Watt, 48" (F40T12VLX4 - T12)
Natural Spectrum Lighting
Each case of Full Spectrum Medium Bipin 40 Watt, 48" Fluorescent Tubes contains 4 tubes.

What I'm wondering is whether I could just use these in the inexpensive Phillips two-bulb 48" shop-light fixtures from Home Depot (rated T-12) that I presently have? Or do I need to purchase new, more up-graded fixtures to handle these new lights?

Ah yes, germinating your own seed for your garden saves you SO much money!! ;-)

This is my windowsill set up.

This is our make shift set up in the basement. I think that I started too early again because the vines and ornamental rhubarb and bergenia are already way to big.

These pictures are from last year and show my set up. I used inexpensive shelves and shop lights from Lowes. I used inexpensive cool light bulbs. Everything worked great! I have it set up again now and have planted my early seeds. They're already sprouting. Yippee! I'm still a beginner and get so excited when things grow.

Donna,

Your set up looks fantastic. We also buy the ordinary lights and they work out fine. I think that our shelves are deeper because my DH said that we needed 2 sets of lights for each shelf. It is a space saver but a little difficult to get to the back of the shelves with my baster. I baste water on everything that is not getting bottom watered. I found that spraying sometimes knocks down the small seedlings. This doesn't happen it I hold the baster onto the soil instead of dropping on the tops of the plants. Got any tips for me??

Teri,

That baster idea is great. I just watered my sprouts this morning. I used a watering can on the trays and was gentle, but the poor babies went flat and I'm worried about them. Yesterday I tried spraying them and that wasn't ideal either. The seed starters that have individual cells are easier because I can water from the bottom.

Thanks for the tip.

I haven't planted my tomatoes and peppers yet. They are my main seed projects. Deciding when to start things is the most difficult part of this for me. What is your plant out date?

Hi everybody--
Yesterday Mr. Fed-EX delivered my back-ordered T5 3-tier indoor lights setup from Gardeners Supply, much to my surprise, 'cause it wasn't supposed to get here till mid-March! Needless to say, I was thrilled because it's almost time to start some 12-weeks-till-planting-out seeds. Anyway, DH and I spent 3 1/2 hours in the sun-room working on "can be assembled in one hour by two people." What insanely optimistic proto-engineer determines these times? And DH went to Cal Tech! (And I read directions!) Maybe if we did this sort of thing more often we'd be faster, but then, could the marriage take it? ;-)
I'm pawing the ground to start my indoor seeds--have to remember that those darling little seedlings grow up into gangling teenagers sooner than I ever expect!

Donna,

Our plant out date is after mid May. I always consider the forecast at this time.

Good for you Emily

Thanks, Joanne; I'll post a photo of the setup when I have something set up on it!
Donna, the hardest part for me (still a relative newbie) is determining when to start my seeds indoors. Our plant-out date here on the Cape is the last weekend of May, a LOOONG slow spring! In three years of indoor seed starting, I've had tomatoes that bumped their little heads on the lights way too early, and impatiens that weren't impatient enough.
(That's what good about winter-sowing; Mother Nature sets her own schedule and the seedlings take their own time. They are smaller at first, but catch up.) I like doing both methods.

That's great Emily. Those units look really nice. I considered those but was too cheap to spend that much.

Karen

I live in a small mountain community and we tell ourselves not to plant out anything until Mother's Day. It's hard not to get impatient, but we can get snow even into June. However, I am going to transplant some veggies outside in late April. I have started broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce inside and outside with wintersowing and I am going to transplant them earlier than I have been because I keep reading that they can handle the cold. I also bought a frost blanket, just in case.

I started wintersowing last year, with flower seeds. It worked great and I am doing more this year, including veggies. But, I am also planting backups inside just in case. I am especially skeptical about WSing tomatoes and peppers, but I'm going to try it. But I get such a kick watching my inside seeds sprouting and growing, so I'll probably continue that too.

I'm hooked!

It's so great to be retired and have the time to do this.

I generally plant out annuals around mid May and often have to cover things for late frost.

Always makes me wonder how they come up with these dates.
Here Cincinnati last frost date is given as April 14 http://www.almanac.com/content...
Here, it's May 18. http://www.victoryseeds.com/fr...
That's a big difference.

Karen

Keep us posted on your results, Donna. I've WS some perennials, but am starting my veggies and herbs indoors. In fact, I've already got my peppers started, as they were so slow to germinate last year.

those sure are great set ups
and what beautiful coleous and all the other purdy plants.
learning a lot
i have a shelf unit and lights
i can squeeze 4 trays on one shelf
i have two lights on each shelf. T12 48 " daylight ones .
i wish i had more lights to start on more things .

Just wait, Sue. I started with a single 4' tabletop fixture. Next year, I added a 2nd tier. Year after that, 2 7' tall racks, each with 3 or 4 lighting units on them. It becomes quite addicting!!

What are you starting with under your lights this year?