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Start Seeds Step-by-Step
Step 2 – Grow Lights
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| Check temperature under the grow lights |
Plant timer |
Seedlings coming up |
Place the seed trays, with their domes on, under the grow (florescent) lights. Monitor the temperature, because we have found that if you enclose the seed trays and florescent lights with plastic, it can get really hot inside of the trays. We keep the lights ON 24 hours a day until a majority of the seeds germinate and leaves begin to appear. Keep the domes on the trays and put your lights on a timer so that the lights are ON for 16-18 hours a day and OFF for the remainder, remembering that darkness is now important to the plants. Water the plants from time to time, but never overwater them, as you risk the damping off fungus destroying the young seeds. When they are about 2” high, we normally remove the domes as the plants can now tolerate less humid conditions and the cooler air currents in the basement.
Do not fertilize the plants until you remove the domes and the plants appear to be establishing themselves. Remember that each plant grows from a seed called a cotyledon, which contains all of the nutrients the plant needs until it develops its first set of leaves and a root system. Until the plant develops roots it cannot really absorb fertilizer, so skip fertilizing until leaves appear and the plant appears to have a nominal root structure.
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