Starting Seeds Inside: Grow Lights

I live in New Jersey and am not a fan of the winter.  It is sooooooooooo cold and that make me stay inside, the plants and trees are no longer green, and that the days are dark by 4:30pm.  To help break up the winter months a bit, I began starting my plants that I use in my garden from seed inside my home.  I have started many different plants from seed including: basil, rosemary, dill, oregano, cilantro, bell peppers, varieties of hot peppers, varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers pickles, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelon, eggplant, johnny jump ups, pansies, petunias, calibrachoa, vinca, and marigolds.

There are so many different options for grow lights.  When I first bought a grow light, I bought a miniature one, forgetting how excessive I become when I really love something.  Fortunately I was able to exchange it for a bigger one and boy was I impressed.  I buy a lot of my gardening equipment and accessories from https://www.gardeners.com/  They have very high quality products, are so nice, and are so knowledgeable.    Below is a picture of my grow lights.

Here is the link to the grow lights that I personally own: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/t5-grow-light-stand-three-shelves/39-357.html  

I also have a light fixture that I hung from my basement ceiling.  What I love about this grow light is that you can set it up on a table like I did and then use the cords to lower it and raise it, just like with my other grow lights.  But... with this one, you have so much more room to raise and lower it for taller plants.  I use this one for when either my plants get to large and cannot fit under these lights (sometimes they grow quicker than I expected) or I use them for plants I order online that come earlier than I expect, despite the companies always saying that they ship out specific to our grow zones.  This year I had peonies and climbing rose bushes under this grow light..  Below is a picture of my ceiling grow light.

Here is the link for my ceiling light: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/high-intensity-grow-light-fixture/8587079.html  

There are so many different options for you to choose from, so choose what is best for you and if you get confused, you can always call them and explain what you are trying to do and they can give you some suggestions. My best recommendation for you when shopping for grow lights is to be realistic.  Think about what you plant outside, think about something you have always wanted to plant but did not and then base it on that.  It is basically thinking backwards so that you will buy something big enough to accommodate your needs. Thinking backwards sometimes helps with planning.  I will talk more about this concept when discussing how to set up your first veggie garden.