Starting your garden indoors

Growing plants need maximum light from the time they first peek their heads above ground. If all you have is the Grow-Lights, they need to be on at least 16 hours per day, every day, with the lights 1" from the plant leaves. Growing with Grow-Lights is just a temporary measure, however, until you have access to real sunlight!Eight to twelve hours of direct sunlight - even through greenhouse plastic - is better than 16 hours of the best Grow-Lights.So, you use the Grow-Lights until you have direct sunlight, and then use direct sunlight. If you have sunlight, but it doesn't amount to 8-10 hours, then supplement with the Grow-Lights. You need two hours of Grow-Lights for each hour of needed sunlight.Tomatoes should be in the greenhouse about 8 weeks before putting out in the garden. If it is going to be longer than that before you can put them out, decrease the daytime temperatures a bit to slow the growth down. Under normal conditions you want temperatures of 65-85 degrees in the greenhouse during the daytime, to promote fast, healthy growth.Jim Kennard