Timeline for How many grow lights do I need for starting tomato seeds?
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| Apr 1, 2018 at 14:01 | comment | added | Jurp | My tests found that best yield was from plants put out May 15th, which were slightly better than those planted May 30. I don't worry about temps unless they're near freezing, which hasn't happened around here in maybe 10 years. Last three winters in southern Wisconsin were Zones 6a, 6a, and 5b. In the 1960s, this was a cold Zone 4. | |
| Apr 1, 2018 at 13:59 | comment | added | Jurp | If you have this light next to a window, then you're getting supplemental light, which may mean you don't need the second set of lights - but watch for legginess. When I was growing up in Milwaukee in the '60s, the rule of thumb was to wait until Memorial Day (May 26th back then); Milwaukee has jumped nearly two full hardiness zones since then. Back in the late 1980s, I ran some tests: 2 plants in "Wall-O-Waters" in mid-April, two plants May 1s (no protection unless frost imminent), 2 plants May 15th, two May 30th. All same varieties, same garden. | |
| Apr 1, 2018 at 13:51 | comment | added | Jurp | One light with two T8 bulbs will be fine when the plants are young, but the plants will probably get leggy as they get older - too many leaves for the amount of light given off by the bulbs. This is why I use two pair of lights (I also have the room for the lights). I put the seedlings into 4" pots when I can see roots popping out the bottom of the cell - usually when they're about 3" tall. All my other repotting is done to provide more room for roots - I plant a little deeper each time to account for some etiolation but mainly to get more roots off the buried stem -- like you guessed :) | |
| Apr 1, 2018 at 4:51 | comment | added | Junebugapril | They're 32W bulbs. I wonder if I should move them away from the window? Why do you wait until mid-April to start your seeds? I usually wait until June 1 to plant. But a couple of years ago I jumped the gun and planted them out early in May. It got down under 40 one night. I bought a bunch of straw bales and mulched them up to the top leaf set. It stayed cold out for weeks. But all the plants were the best tomatoes I've ever grown. Both in taste and quantity. Also disease resistance! | |
| Apr 1, 2018 at 4:31 | comment | added | Junebugapril | Jurp, that is really helpful. I bought one shop light with two T8 bulbs. When do you put them in the 4" pots? I have some 3" pots. I figured maybe after 2 or 3 sets of true leaves? Tomato plants don't seem to have that big of a root system. Why do you need to keep transplanting? I am wondering if it's to keep burying them deeper so they get more roots around the stem? | |
| Apr 1, 2018 at 0:46 | history | answered | Jurp | CC BY-SA 3.0 |