If anyone is getting nervous about keeping their plants over the winter, FarmTek is offering their high-output, full spectrum compact fluorescents at a discount right now - 150W (CRI 93, uses a standard medium Edison base) is $36, 200W (CRI 90, Mogul base) $110. They also have them available with a good reflector fixture that can accommodate either.
I use a single 150-watt fixture for a 4' x 5' seedling and flask bench in my basement, and it works great.
Ray,
I know there have been discussions in the past when these bulbs came out. How often do you replace this type of bulb? For HID and tube fluorescents they should be replaced annually.
The 125W bulbs for $36 could be interesting when I start my garden seedlings in March. I have a basement full of cheap shop lights from "BG" (Before Greenhouse). They are pretty dirty looking and one by one I throw them away as they stop working each spring. Each 125W bulb would be 3 of the tube type which makes them about twice the price. The advatage I see would be that they could be more flexible with setting them up.
Gene
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