How to Grow Vegetables With Fluorescent Lighting
Growing vegetables under fluorescent lights allows you to start plants earlier in the season than if you waited until the soil warmed up enough to plant outside. In some parts of the country, starting plants indoors is the only way to give the vegetables time to mature before the days shorten in the fall. Even in areas with a long growing season, starting vegetables indoors allows you to harvest vegetables weeks earlier than if you wait and plant seeds outdoors. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Vegetable seeds
- Containers
- Potting soil
- Scissors
- Fertilizer
Instructions
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Prepare fluorescent lights. There is no reason to purchase specific plant growing lights, according to the University of California, Davis. Instead, use one cool fluorescent light and one warm fluorescent light in the fixture that will provide light for the plants.
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Plant seeds in containers. Fill each container with sterile potting soil, and plant two seeds to each container. Not every seed will germinate. Once the plants emerge from the soil, you can use scissors to cut any extra ones off at soil level.
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Adjust lights so that there is about 3 inches between the top of the soil and the light fixture. Plants growing under fluorescent lights require more intense lighting than plants outside. As the plants grow, gradually raise the light so that it consistently stays between 2 and 6 inches above the seedlings.
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Connect a timer to the lights or turn them on and off manually so that the plants receive between 12 and 16 hours of sunlight each day. Providing enough light is necessary to produce strong, healthy plants, according to South Dakota State University Extension Service.
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Check soil daily, it should be moist, not wet or dry. Before the seeds germinate, you can loosely cover the soil with plastic wrap to help maintain humidity; however, once the seedlings emerge from the soil it is time to remove the covering.
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Apply fertilizer after the plants develop true leaves. The initial leaves that emerge from the ground will look different from the true set that develops as the plant grows. Once the true leaves emerge, fertilize the seedlings lightly.
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Continue to monitor moisture and light levels. Once the seedlings have true leaves, they are well on their way to maturity. You can transplant the seedlings outside when the weather permits or continue to grow them under fluorescent lights.
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References
- Photo Credit plant seedlings image by Shannon Workman from Fotolia.com
