Weather conditions won't be good until mid June, what's the best light to use from now until June 15, to jump start my babies? Thank you for the help.
T5 rack and make it 2.. each 4 feet long, hang on chains, you too will become a closet grower...AT LAST ...LOL LOL "V"
Each 4 foot T5 tube kicks out 36 watts, er... I think, I'm more into lumens anyways but check at the shop "V"
The grow bulbs in my 4 foot 8 bulb T5 light are 54 watts each. Hydrofarm - Hydrofarm FLP48 T5 4Ft/8-Tube Designer System w/ Bulbs
I Grow Trees: Since you asked, if you've been watching the new TV series on National Geographic called, "AMERICAN WEED," you may have seen one of the commercial growers lighting his vegging goods with a rack of T-5's. Dollar for dollar I don't think you can beat 'em. I use them from seed propagation all the way up to harvest. Some folks veg under them and then switch to HPS or HID, but I'm a personal use medical grower, not commercial. You can hang them real close without frying your plants and you can readily get 5,000K, 6,000K, 2,700K and 2,800K lamps for all three stages of growth from most well stocked hydro stores. Each 4' long tube uses only 54 watts per hour and the two footers use only 38! They won't put you in the poor house for electricity. Just make sure you buy one big enough to cover your whole grow. They don't illuminate well beyond the size of the fixture. But underneath you'll like what you get. I hope that helps. Hank
To veg 18-24 what will become relatively large plants well before mid June I'd go with a 1000w MH over several (at least 3) T5s. Particularly if they'll be moved outdoors later, the plants will suffer less shock and UVB burn in transition to bright sunlight than if they had been under weaker T5 lighting.