Can anyone tell me what lights/bulbs are used in the greehouse to extend
the
growing hours for seeds. I have done a 'Google' and there are a great many
different bulbs out there, and they seem to be mainly for growing plants
for
'your own personal use'!!!
I would like to extend the growing hours for my veg seeds so they are well
established possibly for showing this year, fingers crossed.
TIA
Anthony

There is a mystique about growing lights that should not be neccessary. Last
year I researched the subject and made my own light box. I bought a
beautiful Salvia leucantha from Sacha in the summer and took some cuttings
at the end of October. I put the cuttings and other material in the light
box, where they not only rooted and grew, but they are now in flower as
well.

Any light source will do, you do not need expensive designer bulbs. The most
practical is fluorescent tubes. You do need a high light level - about 2000
lux compared with sitting room lights of 50 lux. To achieve this
economically you must treat light in the same way as you treat heat. If you
heat a room you enclose it and insulate it. If you put the heater on the
patio you waste 95%. If you want a high level of light you must enclose it
and use light insulation (ie reflective surfaces), if you don't you waste
95%. My own light box was made to take a growbag tray, and was completely
enclosed with white reflective walls and ceiling. It only needed three3 foot
fluorescent light to achieve the neccessary light level. A total of 90 watts
costing about £5 per month to run 14 hours a day on a time switch.

If anyone is interested, I wrote a short Word document with details, e-mail
me at Peter L Sutton[at]Ntlworld{dot}com for a copy.