Seedlings Need Bright Direct Light

Starting and growing seeds indoors is so much fun: you plant the seeds, they germinate, sprout and grow under lights. (See How to Start Seeds Indoors for simple step by step instructions.) But too often our seedlings fail to thrive and the results are so disappointing. Why? The “secret” to healthy seedling growth: light. Your seedlings need lots of bright direct light as soon as they germinate or come up. To achieve that, you really do need to grow your indoor seedlings and transplants under lights. The good news is you can use ordinary shop lights or fluorescent lights to grow your seedlings.

Windowsill is NOT Bright Enough

You might have a sunny windowsill, but in a northern climate a window is just not bright enough to keep the seedlings stocky and vigorous. Instead, they grow leggy and keep leaning toward the light. This makes them weak. Avoid this problem by providing supplemental light.

Special Bulb, Gro Lite or Fluorescent?

For seedlings, you could purchase special growing lights or tables and there are some nice set-ups on the market. But such special equipment really is not necessary. The simplest and least expensive way to light seedlings is an ordinary fluorescent shop light. These may not look the greatest, but they do the job just fine. Shop lights are inexpensive and widely available.

What Kind of Light Bulb to Use

Since the seedlings are indoors for such a short time, ordinary fluorescent bulbs are fine. Some gardeners like to use one warm and one cool bulb. Save the specialty bulbs for plants that are being grown permanently indoors.

Keep Bulbs Close to Plants

The light bulbs need to be very close to the seedlings, just an inch or two above the foliage. To maintain the correct distance, adjust the height of the bulbs upward or lower the plants as the plants grow taller. Hanging the shop light hoods using chain makes link by link height adjustment easy.

How Many Lights Do I Need?

Two standard (22 inch long) nursery flats fit end to end under one standard four foot hood. The light is more intense or stronger toward the center of the bulb, so rotate the plants regularly to even out their exposure. Keep in mind also that new bulbs are brighter than old ones, so you will need to replace them over time. For maximum brightness, clean any dust off the bulbs.

How Many Hours of Light?

Turn the lights on about 16 hours a day. Unless you live a very ordered life, you will probably want a timer to turn the lights on and off on schedule.

At first, seedlings have only seed leaves but soon enough true leaves begin to develop and suddenly you have … little baby plants! With good light as described here and good care, seedlings should grow steadily and will soon be sturdy transplants ready for hardening off and then planting in the garden.

Happy Gardening!

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