Here is my plan for starting pepper, tomato, and eggplant seedlings.
I'm going to take a box that's about 4 ft. long and 1 ft. high and maybe a 1 1/2 ft. wide and line the bottom and sides with aluminum foil.
In it, I'm going to place two 1020 trays end-to-end with my seedlings.
A 4 ft. fluorescent shop light will be suspended about 3-4 in. above the seedlings and will be moved upwards as they grow. It will be on 16 hrs. during the daytime hours.
The top of the box will be loosely covered with a piece (pieces) of cardboard wrapped in foil. A space will be left open in the middle to allow for convection.
I plan on rotating each flat 180 degrees every three days so that the end plants get to have some time under the strong center light. Since there will be a lack of air movement, I'm going to brush the plants with my hand every day or so to strengthen them somewhat. About two weeks before I plant them, I will take them out from under the lights and begin hardening them off.
It is this lack of air flow that has me concerned, though. I'm considering cutting 1 in. holes around the box at the level of the base of the plants. This should lead to more air circulation, but will also lead to loss of light. Would cutting these holes make a good difference, or would it just defeat the purpose of lining the box with foil to make use all the light?
So, what do you think of my set-up and whether or not I should go with the holes?
Thanks for any comments and suggestions.