Melinda's Garden Moment Radio Tips

Melinda Myers

Nationally known gardening expert, TV/Radio host, author & columnist with over 30 years of horticulture experience and tons of gardening information to share! www.melindamyers.com

Melinda's Garden Moment videos will help you create that beautiful landscape you’ve always wanted. Each week throughout the growing season, a new gardening video will be added right here, so be sure to stop back. You can also watch Melinda’s Garden Moments on your local network TV station affiliate.

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It’s time to break out the seeds and potting mix to start your garden plants indoors.  You’ll save money, increase your variety of plants and jump start the growing season when you start seeds under LED grow lights. 

Fluorescent tubes used to be the standard because they provided a wide spectrum of light needed for plant growth and flowering. They were relatively inexpensive and readily available. Unfortunately, they used significant amounts of electricity and needed to be replaced every few years. Then many gardeners shifted to full spectrum fluorescent grow lights.  Many last longer than the older and larger fluorescent tubes, but new LED grow lights provide even better light intensity with much less energy. 

Fortunately, LED light prices have dropped. And if you consider they typically use half the energy of fluorescent tubes, provide consistent light quality and last up to five times longer, the long-term savings outweighs the initial investment.

A bit more information: The longevity of LED’s means less waste. Plus, these lights are mercury-free and won’t add contaminates to landfills.