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Canada

Once the seeds have sprouted what type of Light/Dark Hours do you give your plants before transfering them outdoors?

I will be starting my Seeds on May 1st of this year and would like to keep them on a timer like 12 hours light 12 hours dark once they sprout, is this about right or would you make the dark period a tad longer or shorter?

at the same time I'll have heating pads under the pots so the soil always stays about the same temp ( 75-80 F) light and dark periods

thanks
Dave

2/19/2006 10:42:05 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Once they sprout I prefer a good window with heat mat..try to harden em off as quick as possible...with the right weather they'll be outside in less then a week....

2/19/2006 10:53:28 PM

Indiana

I leave it on 24 hrs so they dont get leggy

2/20/2006 8:34:25 AM

Syracuse, NY

INITIALLY, i put the flourescent lights on them; one is a grow light and the other is a full-spectrum bulb, both in the same fixture and 4' long, suspended over the seedlings' leaves so that the bulbs'surface is at two inches from the actual leaves of the seedlings. my lights are thankfully
suspended by thin ropes that are easily adjustable---
this is a MUST! for bi- and tri-daily height adjustment.
i have ropes, which are attached
one to each end of the fixture....these run through screweyes that are screwed into the floor-rafters of the house above a table (this is in the basement), and therefore the ropes slide easily within the screweyes' openings. the other ends of the ropes (2) are simultaneously and together knotted,
and there are many knots made along the length of the ropes.
i have a couple of screws sticking out near where the ends of the ropes end up, and i just slip the knotted rope over the end of the screw to make the height adjustment.
two screws side by side very close together is better for
more security. think of it as tossing a rope over the branch of a tree to lift something, and then slipping the noosed end of the rope over a branch to hold that something up.

2/20/2006 1:19:27 PM

Syracuse, NY

additionally, you want to keep the lights on the tomato seedlings 24/7, YES, to avoid the plants' becoming leggy.
i personally keep a very small, desktop fan gently blowing on the seedlings to help prevent the formation of fungus---and, acclimates them to the outdoor breeeze. i feel this is also a MUST. until you are almost ready to put them out to be hardened-off, the plants will continue to grow and form and remain somewhat stocky; once you are nearing planting them out, THEN i would consider starting to reduce the number of illuminated hours, like start creating a gap in the middle of the night and increase the number of hours outward until it matches up with the outside conditions. i am sure there will be other opinions on doing this, but this is mine. eric

2/20/2006 1:25:27 PM