Fluorescent lighting permits you to develop tomato plants inside even when sufficient all-natural light is inaccessible. Although the foliage can touch fluorescent bulbs without scorching, damage can still occur due to coverage and mild intensity issues. Learning the proper spacing and usage requirements for fluorescent grow lights helps ensure the continuing health and future growth of the tomato plants.
Light Supply
Incandescent light bulbs create heat, which can burn tomato leaf and make the plants to dry out too fast. Standard fluorescent lighting bulbs are usually cool to the touch, so they won’t overheat plants. If the leaf touches these bulbs for a brief while, damage won’t usually occur. A dual-tube fluorescent fixture featuring a warm white and a cool white fluorescent light tube provides the correct lighting spectrum for growing tomato seedlings. To grow plants to maturity under lights, then you require fluorescent grow lights, which provide the entire lighting spectrum for plant development.
Light Height
It is ideal to keep a space between the tomato plants as well as the light source so they do not touch. If you use incandescent lights, then you must leave a 12-inch space between the tomatoes and the lights, otherwise the heat from the lights scorches the leaf. Fluorescent tubes require only 4 to 6 inches of space between the lighting and the leaf, and if the plants grow quickly and touch the tubes, the leaf is not likely to suffer damage. The primary concern with the tomato plants touching fluorescent lights is the leaves block the light, keeping the plant in being evenly exposed to it.
Coverage
Rumors growing too near the light fixture stop the light from reaching all parts of the plant, which can lead to inferior or leggy development. All sides of this tomato plant needs to receive even lighting to generate complete, bushy foliage and strong, stocky stems. Placing the lights also high above the plants calculates the light reaching the leaves, so the plants may create weak, spindly stems as they reach to the lighting. Reflectors put on either side of the lighting fixture help spread the lighting, providing even coverage into the plants.
Lighting Tips
Proper lighting duration is equally as important as the lighting intensity. Tomatoes need at least eight hours of direct sunlight each day or 16 hours of artificial light daily. If you are growing seedlings inside in spring if they do not get eight hours of sunlight, you can supplement the natural sunlight with artificial light after sunset to equal 16 hours. Sunlight provides a narrower light spectrum, therefore less is necessary unless you are supplementing. Attaching a timer to the lighting fixture ensures that the lights turn on and off at the correct times. A flexible light stand simplifies the job of raising the lights as the plants develop, so the tomato leaf touching the lights doesn’t become a problem.