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As we gardeners put our gardens to bed for the winter, we are already planning what we will plant and grow next year. We eagerly await the arrival of the first seed catalogs so we can sit at our cozy kitchen tables with a steaming cup of herbal tea, repeatedly flipping through its glossy pages, jotting down the names of vegetable, flower, and herb names on a piece of paper. After the first of the year, we place our orders and start preparing our designated area for starting our seeds indoors. Everyone knows that there is not enough light during the last of the winter months to produce healthy seedlings, so the next best thing to getting a head start on spring planting is the use of grow lights.
The types of grow lights that I am familiar with are incandescent, fluorescent, metal halide, and high-pressure sodium. Fluorescent grow lights are by far my favorite. Gardeners can choose from several types of fluorescent plant grow lights, which range from a low or standard output to a higher intensity.
Standard fluorescent plant grow lights produce little heat, so it is recommended placing them approximately four to five inches above the top of the plants. They work well as display lights for houseplants such as kitchen herbs, cacti, and violets. They can even be used year round for varieties of lettuce or other plants. Standard fluorescent tube lights are double the efficiency of incandescent lights. In addition, they will last up to 25 times longer.
If you need more light, high output fluorescent lights are recommended. They do not last as long as standard fluorescent plant grow lights, only about 10,000 hours, but they do not radiate much heat, thus burning very cool.
Compact fluorescent plant grow lights burn cool while producing a focused, high output of light. They are good for plant propagation and for being able to direct light on to specific parts of larger plants. They also last approximately 10,000 hours.
For a mixture of the above, try high output fluorescent plant grow lights. These bulbs are a combination of the cool burning lights and the high output lights. This blend of lighting makes it an excellent hybrid light for a broad even coverage.
When hanging plant grow lights over plants, make sure the light is directly over the plants in order for the plants to grow tall and straight. If this is not possible, be sure to rotate your plants to avoid stem curvature.
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Author Bio Box: Agnes Farside
 Please check out my other articles at http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/110407/agnes_farside.html
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