Woofie said:
>> the CFLs got too hot close up. You can put the seedlings much closer to those long tubes. Everything I've read says that you want the seedlings just inches away from the artificial light source.
I agree that you get much more light intensity within inches of linear tubes, and you need it. The CFLs (with reflectors) are more like searchlights that don't drop off AS fast, but still need plants to be near a bulb or in the overlapping light from several bulbs..
But the linear tubes are better for wide areas, if you have the fixtures and can mount them.
I try to compensate for the disadvantage of the CFLs by using 5, each rated as 100W-equivalent. But some day I hope to get 2-3 4' fixtures and help hanging them from the ceiling - or, better, a 4-shelf rack like Jan's, but one where I can set up 8 trays.
I checked Home Depot again, and there were 4' T8 fixtures on sale, $18 marked down from $20. Even $20 was much less than i recall from a few years ago, but I was probably looking at T5 only.
'Sungold' cherry tomatoes fruited sooner and more prolifically for me than 'Stupice'. And 'Stupice' is said to be quite early. 'Supersweet 100' did almost nothing for me. These were all bought as 1 quart plants from a nursery, and moved indoors each night until nights stayed att or over 50. But it was cool all summer: like highs around 70 and lows around 60.
This year I hope to try some of these, probably mostly in 5 gal buckets:
Sungold again (orange-gold cherry)
Ildi (yellow grape pear)
Gold Nugget (yellow cherry)
Glacier
Oregon Spring
Manitoba
Sub-Artic Plenty
Beaverlodge
Matina,
Stupice again?
Sophie's Choice,
