There's an astronomical difference between the amount and type of light
that the sun puts forth, and that of a couple of puny fluorescent bulbs.
The light from the bulbs begins to diffuse with distance--these are not
lasers!--so you need to keep the seedlings within a few inches of them.
Hang the light on hooks from chains, so it is easily adjustable, or if the
light is fixed stack something under the trays so you can lower them
gradually.

HTH,
Sue



"Jeffrey Barker" wrote in message

The whole thing about putting the light so close seems a bit
confusing. (I'd like to use just one or two lights for all of my
plants so I don't have to spend a fortune on lights.) The SUN is
pretty far away, so why is it such an issue to have the lights so
close to the plants? I know the answer is so they don't stretch out
and get spindly, but why does artificial light have that effect? I
know this must seem like a really idiotic question, but none of my
gardening friends seem to know the answer.

Jeffrey