[KUXJ]

My light is with 5 inches, but I have kept the towel over the top.

Why? To protect them from the heat of the halogens?

Should I take the towel off??

Yes, take the towel off, and get rid of those halogens.

Or should I wait until all have sprouted? It is just a Halogen light for warmth. It's not really sun light
or does that not matter?

Yes, it matters. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear earlier.
What your trying to do is replicate the Sun's spectrum, indoors. The warmth is initially needed to germinate the seeds. After they germinate, and start their true leaves, the temperature can be lower.

This is a good read, especially the section on lighting:
Starting Seeds Indoors: Part 3

Don't use regular incandescent bulbs ("grow bulbs") or halogens to start or grow any plants, this type of light generates huge inter-node spacing, poor vegetative growth, skimpy yields, and could set your house on fire due to the dangerous amounts of heat these lights produce, and is the reason your plants are "leggy".

Spend your money wisely, invest in Fluorescent lighting (good), or High Intensity Discharge lamps (HID-- recommended). HID lighting such as Metal Halide (MH) or High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) supply the high-intensity light that plants need for good growth.

Halogen lighting is a poor choice for plant cultivation because they don't have good spectral output for plant growth.

This is a little technical:
A good way to measure plant growth efficiency of different types of lighting is PAReff. PAR stands for Photosynthetic Active Radiation: the wavelength range of light between 400 and 700 nm that can be absorbed by leafs for plant photosynthesis. PAReff is the PAR/Watt efficiency ratio over a certain area.

Some examples, they don't have to be Phillips just try to match the values:

Philips Advantage Fluorescent, 5000K: 1.44 PAReff

Philips High Pressure Sodium deluxe: 1.38 PAReff

Philips Dense-Line Emitter Metal Halide, 4100K: 1.38 PAReff

People usually choose halogen for the "low start-up" costs of a halogen light.
The real cost of halogens result from its low efficiency.
500 Watt halogen lighting produces about 0.08 Watt/s/nm in the green-yellow spectral region which is about the same as 80 watts of cfl's.

A 500w halogen grow will cost approx $63 for electricity, whereas a more efficient light source generates the same par value for around $10 (depending on your local prices).

I got the pictures of the beautiful snow, but haven't had a chance to look at them all closely. (I did like the one of you starting down the porch (sidewalk) Like an Eskimo:D
My G-D Daughter is spending the weekend. I'm using her as a slave:) We have already got rid of the mushroom on the rug and will start on our list at 7 am.

Glad you received the pix's.

Don't you two work too hard, make sure you both take the time to smell the Dahlia's :)

[Just Dahlia]

It hasn't been a really good day and now I feel I have messed up my seedlings, when all I was trying to do was save money.:(

I took the lid off and turned off the 'death' light.

:(:(:(

Thanks for the link:)

[KUXJ]

Stay strong, you wouldn't want to transfer your sadness to your seedlings.

Keep the seedlings going, you can still plant "leggies", and start new ones. They will understand as long as you don't despair :)

You workin' tomorrow or are you off for president's day, and have your helper for one more day?

[Just Dahlia]

Stay strong, you wouldn't want to transfer your sadness to your seedlings.

Keep the seedlings going, you can still plant "leggies", and start new ones. They will understand as long as you don't despair :)

You workin' tomorrow or are you off for president's day, and have your helper for one more day?

I have no one:( It's a sad day and I'm going to work on Monday
:(
Thank you so much:) I'm really sad, I need to 'buck up' with my plants.

I can 'DO IT':D

[KUXJ]

Borrowed from:
Leggy seedlings aren t necessarily a lost cause
Some plants, particularly those with "hairy" stems, such as tomatoes, can be buried deeper in the soil to approximate their normal height. They then develop roots along the buried stem. In fact, this is something worth trying with any seedling because depending on the age, even some non-hairy-stemmed plants will continue to grow when buried deeper. If you try this technique, be aware that the root zone is now lower and you may want to water from the bottom to reach it without soaking the buried stem area as you would watering from the top.

Check this out, he's even starting Dahlia's:
My First Starter attempt...

[Just Dahlia]

That guys stuff grew pretty fast:)

I still have time and seeds and extra pods, maybe I will start new and move everything into the garage and lower my fluorescent light.

[Just Dahlia]

This is my plan now..
I will pick up a warm white and cool white bulbs.
Start fresh with the seeds
Move evrything to the garage
Put a heating pad underneath at 70' while germinating with the dome on.
Hang the light 3-4 inches above and raise as they grow.
Take off the dome when they sprout and turn off heating pad. Because the lights should be enough heat, even though they are in the garage right?
Only leave the lights on for 14-16 hours a day.

Am I forgetting anything?:)

[KUXJ]

This is my plan now..
I will pick up a warm white and cool white bulbs.

Make sure they are 40watt.

Start fresh with the seeds
move evrything to the garage
Put a heating pad underneath at 70' while germinating with the dome on.
Hang the light 3-4 inches above and raise as they grow.

Start at 2inches above.

Take off the dome when they sprout and turn off heating pad. because the lights should be enough heat, even though they are in the garage right?

Only if the temp drops to 45°F or below, then add supplemental heating.

Only leave the lights on for 14-16 hours a day.

16hours.

[Just Dahlia]

I am going to change to 2":)
I already set up everything this afternoon.
:)Yes, 40 watts

And I put a tin foil tent on top.
Timer set to go on at 4 pm off at 6 am;):confused: I need to re-check your notes:)
Also my heating pad doesn't have temps.. just low medium and high. Right now I have it on high, but it is covered and I put a towel over that. I feel the warmth with my hand, but not anywhere close to hot.

It was 68 today outside, not in the garage:D

[Just Dahlia]

Done!:d

[Just Dahlia]

I edited my post, but nothing happened:confused: I changed the time to 6 am:rolleyes:

[KUXJ]

I am going to change to 2"
I already set up everything this afternoon.
:)Yes, 40 watts

and I put a tin foil tent on top.

Distance, and wattage... good.
And The foil tent is for increased light reflection?

timer set to go on at 4 pm off at 6 am;):confused: I need to re-check your notes:)

What you are trying to accomplish is the Sun's natural rhythm from late Spring to Late summer.

In that time frame the Sun rises in the fifth hour (5am), and sets in the 20th (8pm).
Set your timer to on at 5am, and off at 9pm, that will give you your 16hours.

Also my heating pad doesn't have temps.. just low medium and high. Right now I have it on high, but it is covered and I put a towel over that. I feel the warmth with my hand, but not anywhere close to hot.

It was 68 today outside, not in the garage:D

You need to know what the temperature is, you just can not gauge it with your hand.
A few degrees up or down can make all the difference.

And you really should use an outdoor thermometer to check what the ambient temperatures are in your garage.

What I like to use is one of those indoor/outdoor digital thermometers with memory, the ones I use have a 6foot or better wire lead for the outdoor sensor.

Lay the outdoor sensor between the center, and the edge of the seedling tray, and stretch the display case away from the trays.

That way any time you check on the seedlings you can tell what the previous min/max temps have been.

You'll have to set up your own schedule for when to check an clear.
$10bucks at better drug stores nationwide.

[Just Dahlia]

:eek:
Changing the times! Thanks;)
Brains not working enough to think about the thermometer at this point... needs fuel... :)

[Just Dahlia]

The foil according to the sites you gave me 'might give it a 20' warmer reading. I took the fridge thermometer out of the fridge and shoved it against the towel (can't afford a real one right now) I'll check the temp in the morning.
The ambient temp in the garage is cold, according to my toes.:rolleyes:
I turned the heat pad to medium:)

[KUXJ]

The foil according to the sites you gave me 'might give it a 20' warmer reading.

Okay, I just wanted to be clear why you were doing it.
I have been known to set foil under my pots so the light can bounce up to the underside of the seedlings.
Sometimes it helps, others, I can't tell the difference.

Keep the lighting close (2") until the seedlings grow their third set of true leaves, and you begin to thin-out.
Then you can raise the lighting only another inch to 3"...

Check them within 4 to 8hours.
If you see any signs of bolting/legginess/falling over, go back to the 2" distance.

I took the fridge thermometer out of the fridge and shoved it against the towel (can't afford a real one right now) I'll check the temp in the morning.
The ambient temp in the garage is cold, according to my toes.:rolleyes:
I turned the heat pad to medium:)

Medium heat should be okay for now, but you still have to know for sure what temps your running.

With this discussion 'bout temps, and lighting, don't forget to make sure the soil medium remains damp/moist, but not wet.

And no fertilizer until you plant them into your garden.

If you could get hold of some good mountain spring water, and I don't mean the store bought kind, actually know of a mountain spring where you could draw 50gallons for yourself.
You could use that in place of the city water your probably using now.

It would be free of all processing chemicals, and have organic nutrients, and minerals that would be beneficial.

Can you smell chlorine when you draw a glass of tap water? If so, you could let a gallon, uncapped, sit in the garage for a day to let the chlorine dissipate.

[Just Dahlia]

I moved them back in to the house, got worried. I will try to get a thermometer on my way home today.:)

[Just Dahlia]

I couldn't find the type with the cord attachment, they were all remote and that thing wouldn't fit under. I bought a fish tank thermometer and stuck it on the side and put a older little basic one on the other side.:rolleyes:
They are both reading about 77.

Some of the things you are telling me are not quite the same as what I read, so now I need to know if I'm supposed to have the dome on at this point? It's clear plastic and according to the sites, I leave it on until true leaves appear. But they also said at that point to raise the light 5-6 inches.:eek:

So, in your opinion (because our food and Eddy's for the summer is depending on you;)) lid on or off?

We are having some good weather right now:)
I planted my onions outdoors in my new raised beds and re-did my watering system today, getting ready for when other things will be planted.

I added... beets, cherry tomatoes and a mix of bell peppers to the drama:cool:

I hope your having a wonderful time with a good book and Hot Toddy by the fire. I miss my Chicago winters, living here you feel like you need to be doing something all the time. It gets tiring.:(

[KUXJ]

I couldn't find the type with the cord attachment, they were all remote and that thing wouldn't fit under. I bought a fish tank thermometer and stuck it on the side and put a older little basic one on the other side.:rolleyes:
They are both reading about 77.

Good, maintain the setting you are using with the heat pad. Medium? was the last I remember you saying.

That temperature although good for the herbs, and onions, it is a little low for the vegetables, but don't fret. All that means is the vegetable seedlings will take a little bit longer to mature into viable plants.

Some of the things you are telling me are not quite the same as what I read, so now I need to know if I'm supposed to have the dome on at this point? It's clear plastic and according to the sites, I leave it on until true leaves appear. But they also said at that point to raise the light 5-6 inches.:eek:

So, in your opinion (because our food and Eddy's for the summer is depending on you;)) lid on or off?

Leave it on. It will help in maintaining warmth, and humidity.

The light distance rule is arbitrary. It depends on what amount of ambient (Natural) light there is in the surrounding area.
Basements, and garages can be darker than kitchens or porches.

With my system I follow what I stated...
2inches of separation, until the third set. By then the seedlings should/will be taller than the dome, then 3inches of separation until the seedlings are 6inches tall.
Then I move the light to 5 to 6inches of separation.

We are having some good weather right now:)
I planted my onions outdoors in my new raised beds and re-did my watering system today, getting ready for when other things will be planted.

I added...beets, cherry tomatoes and a mix of bell peppers to the drama:cool:

Our weather's not too bad, this week we'll still be 3°F below normal this week (41°F - 5°C) with highs only 38°F - 3°C

Are those onion seeds or sets? In any event you would do well to mulch them especially if your night time temps fall below 50°F - 10°C

I hope your having a wonderful time with a good book and Hot Toddy by the fire. I miss my Chicago winters, living here you feel like you need to be doing something all the time. It gets tiring.:(

You need to schedule in some quiet time... Woman does not live by gardening alone....

[Just Dahlia]

Are those onion seeds or sets? In any event you would do well to mulch them especially if your night time temps fall below 50°F - 10°C

They are sets, the package said after danger of frost:eek: I'll mulch when I get home today. Thanks:)

[KUXJ]

I wrote that after I checked the NWS for seasonal averages for your area...
It shows your night time temps should hover around 45°F - 7°C for this time of year.

So... You should be okay, but still, anything below 50°F is still :eek: chilly for :eek: animal, :eek: vegetable :eek: or mineral. :eek: