First I'll give some background info. I have a small grow light; it's a shop light that has two lights, and the frame is made from PVC plastic pipe. The lights are hung from a chain made of S hooks, so I can adjust the light. The lights are 6500k, and 2,900 lumens each, for a total of 5,800 lumens. The tomato starter plants are grown under the set up I described above; the lights are about 2"-3" above the seedlings, and they are grown indoors. I want to know what the temperature should be for growing the seedlings....both the air temperature, and the soil temperature. I'm NOT talking about germination temperature, I want to know what the temperature should be for GROWING the seedlings. I've read that tomatoes should be grown at 60-65 degrees F. However, I've read that if temperatures are too cool, tomato starter plants will grow really slowly. However, I've also read that if the temperatures are too warm (70-75 degrees) the tomato starter plants could get leggy. So which temperature range should I use? I'm very confused!
At 60 to 65 degrees the plants are just going to sit there. They like it warm. 75 to 78 would be perfect for both soil and air temp in my opinion. I plant some early every year but they just do not get moving until it warms up.
