I've successfully germinated some "Sweet Carneros Pink" seed from Wild Boar Farms after performing the bleach pre-treatment on the seed. In the past, I simply used an incandescent light above the seed trays to grow the seedlings, but it did cause the seedlings to grow towards the light making them a little leggy. It worked because I like to plant my plants deep anyhow.
With the Sweet Carneros Pinks, I want to attempt to make the stems a little more sturdy and hopefully more resistant to damping off. I read somewhere that if the light is coming from the sides as well as the top, the plants will grow more sturdy.
I cut some paneling and formed the sides of a box. I attached the sides of the box with duct tape making them flexible. I covered all four sides with aluminum foil (shiny side in) and placed the seed tray with seedlings inside the reflective box with the light above. I even made some reflective panels which I lay over the box leaving only enough room for the light to shine down. I checked the temperature inside the box and it is staying at 85 F. I also have a ceiling fan above the germinating tray which will help to keep the temperature constant and provide some air circulation within the box.
Now the seedlings are receiving light from every direction and the temperature is staying moderate. Will this work to increase the sturdiness of the seedlings?
What should be the on/off light schedule for the seedlings? I can attach a timer to the light.
Ted
16 hours is pretty common. I have mine on a table in a spare bedroom and the plant lights are on a switched plug, so I just flip the switch on when I get up and flip it off when I go to bed. When I set it up I was too lazy to dig out a timer, and I like to look at the plants at the last minute, which I found to usually be after the timer turned off the lights. I also turn the lights off when the hot sun is coming throuth the window, and a timer gets in the way.