The Best Grow Lights for Vegetable Seedlings: What to Look For
If you’re seed starting for the first time, you may wonder, what are the best grow lights for vegetable seedlings? There are basic tenets to look for when you choose one. Experienced gardener and seed starter, Sarah Jay, covers what to look for to ensure your seedlings are ready to thrive.
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Maybe you’re new to seed starting, or maybe you know your setup needs an upgrade. Either way, it’s good to know about the best grow lights for vegetable seedlings. With this, you’ll be well on your way to a successful growing season.
We certainly prefer the Epic grow light, which we’ll cover in this piece. But we’ll also touch on the particulars of what any grow light good for seed starting. Of course, we’re biased. We spent a long time developing our grow light, and it shows.
Aside from purchasing the Epic Seed Starting Grow Light, there are alternatives. We’ll cover the ins and outs of those, and what you can do if you don’t have the time or resources to buy a professional-grade grow light right now.
The Container Collection Seed Bundle
The Container Collection Seed Bundle
Best Grow Lights for Vegetable Seedlings
What’s so great about the Epic Seed Starting Grow Light? The experts in our product development team spent a long time working on these to ensure they worked optimally for multiple uses.
They also work best with our seed starting kits, providing success with your seedlings from seed to harvest.
Each light has ultra-bright, full-spectrum LEDs that are engineered for perfect seedlings. One has an integrated bottom tray, which allows you to nest a tray smaller than a 1020 UBT. Our smaller grow light fits around a UBT at its tallest height. The bulbs in our grow lights are better than fluorescent bulbs, because they last longer (at least 25,000 hours) and use less energy.
While the smaller grow light is not adjustable, the larger one is, from 6.8 inches to 19 inches. That gives you use throughout multiple stages of plant growth. Both lights work for seed starting or for providing light for full-grown houseplants when placed appropriately.
Red and Blue Light
Plants rely on photons from sunlight to carry out their normal growth and photosynthesis. The best light for plants involves photons from both longer wavelengths (closer to the red end of the spectrum) and shorter ones (closer to the violet end). You need a good mix of both for the best growth.
Therefore, the best grow lights for vegetable seedlings have a good mix of both red and blue light. You can always mix regular light bulbs that give off red and blue light. However, grow lights are specially designed to include both. These wavelengths support both the vegetative and fruiting growth cycles.
T5 fluorescent bulbs have been the industry standard for some time, due to the wavelengths they provide and their affordability. Growers can easily replace these annually if needed. LEDs are becoming more desirable lately, because they’re more energy-efficient and also provide the right kinds of light.
Adjustabiilty
The best grow lights for vegetable seedlings are adjustable, so seedlings get enough light – but not too much – over their initial growth cycles. Our grow lights can be adjusted from several inches to almost a foot tall to compensate for seedling growth.
Other grow lights clip onto the side of a countertop or shelf, and have pliable arms that you can adjust as your seedlings grow. Often, T5 tube lights lack this adjustability and are generally zip-tied to the shelf above seedlings. Still, they are sound lights to choose for seed starting.
If your light itself does not have an adjustable feature, you should prepare to adjust as your seedlings get taller. Growing too close to the light can cause singed leaves. This is hard for seedlings, which are incredibly tender in these early stages. Too far away, and seedlings reach upward toward the light, growing in a spindly manner.
Power Saving
Even my cheap grow lights have a built-in timer. This, along with LED bulbs, prevents excessive energy use. Most seedlings need 16 to 18 hours of light per day in their early stages. And most timed lights are programmed to stay on for that amount of time.
Our grow lights have built-in timers, but plenty of lights do not. If you buy a light that doesn’t have one, get a separate timer that turns your light on and off at the right time. Of course, if you’re at home often, you can simply turn the light on and off as needed. In the past, I’d set a daily alarm to let me know when to turn them on and off.
Non-Grow Light Alternatives
While having a professional-grade grow light has its benefits, you don’t have to have one to start seeds. There are alternatives that work in a pinch. They’re not the best grow lights for vegetable seedlings, but they work. The location of your seed starting station determines which ones are most effective for your purposes.
Use a south-facing window that receives at least 16 hours of sunlight throughout the day. This recommendation is for our northern hemisphere growers. If you live in the southern hemisphere, use a north-facing window.
There are other options without a sunny window. If you have shop lights, hang them light-side down over your seedlings. These don’t provide the full spectrum of light, but they will help. If you can’t spring for a cheap grow light from online distributors, even a string of Christmas lights thoughtfully placed works too.
Key Takeaways
Grow lights don’t have to be super fancy, professional lights. They can be as simple as a repurposed shop light. But you will get better results from lights that cover all the basics. As you’re shopping for the best grow lights for vegetable seedlings, remember the following:
- Find a light that covers red and blue light spectrums. These support both vegetative and fruit-bearing life cycles.
- Choose LED lights that save energy over fluorescent bulbs. Less energy usage means a smaller electricity bill.
- If you know you won’t be able to turn the lights on and off manually, employ a light with a built-in timer or find a timer to plug your light into.
- Seedlings need 16 to 18 hours of light per day in their early stages. As they grow, they need less.
- If you don’t have the time or money for a new grow light, repurpose a light you already have. It will suffice!
