The starts beefed up and recovered once they got out to the greenhouse and replanted in deeper pots, but this year I thought I would try a simple light setup to see if the starts don't get as spindly. I would like a setup that's as simple as possible and not too bulky looking because it is in my living room which isn't that big.

I have read mostly about T5s and T8s, with fixtures that are either 2' or 4' long and have 2 to 4 tubes in them. I am also open to other suggestions. The T's just sounded the most economical from my first glance around. What is the smallest fixture that would provide some improvement for a 6' long table of starts?

Input greatly appreciated!

Uma

For your table, you really need at least six 4' long tubes so that you have light directly above the entire area, and that still doesn't deal with the ends of your table, since it is six feet long. You could use 2' fixtures there, but they are not quite as efficient as the 4' long ones.

Keep the seedlings within about 2" of the bulbs by propping them up on whatever is handy (boxes, wood, milk crates, old phone books, etc.) Depending on the size of the plants you want to grow, this setup should be good for 6 to 8 weeks of growth, after that they will need more light.