Expert Pick: The Best Lights for Indoor Seed-Starting

One of the secrets to gardening success in North Texas is to take advantage of the fall growing season when days are still warm, but nights are starting to cool off.

Start seeds for fall transplants indoors

In order to have plants like cold hardy annual flowers, fall veggies, and perennials ready to go in the ground in September and October, you need to start seeds indoors in August. I detail the entire indoor seed-starting process for August in my Blossom Brilliance class, and I go over some of my essential seed-starting supplies as well.

Must-have lights for indoor seed starting

The can’t-live-without supplies I review in class include my favorite LED lights for seed-starting. Seedlings require 16 hours of very bright light in order to grow into healthy, viable transplants. The natural light in our homes or through a window isn’t enough.

You don’t need “grow lights“

Grow lights are completely unneccesary for indoor seed-starting. They are intended for use with plants that spend their entire life indoors, and that’s not our goal.

Basic LED tube lights with a lumen count of at least 4000 can provide your baby seedlings with all the necessary light they need to thrive.

LED tube lights are cheap and effective

After years of testing, the best lights for indoor seed-starting (I own 22 of them) are BBOUNDER LED tube lights. These lights weigh practically nothing, can be linked together to save outlet space, and come with chains for hanging above the seedlings. Their 4-foot length accommodates two full-size cell trays. (You will need at least two lights per shelf.)

Here is a photo of one of my summer seed-starting stations.

Okay, gotta run. My display garden is in dire need of deadheading, and I need to thin my brassica seedlings.

Till next “thyme”,
CWL

My Pick

LED Tube Lights for Indoor Seed-Starting

~~$43.99~~ $39.99

This is our number one recommended lighting system for indoor seed-starting. The tubes are feather-light and produce very bright light that young seedlings need to thrive. We also love that the lights can be linked together saving precious outlet space.

Buy Now

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09/12/2026 07:31 am GMT

Fall planting plan

Wait, before you go, don’t forget to download our Fall Planting Plan so you know exactly when to plant what. Timing is the key to a great garden!!

Click here to download the free fall planting plan.

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Callie Works-Leary

Founder of The Dallas Garden School, Callie is an expert garden educator with 20 years of personal and professional gardening experience. She specializes in growing food, small-space gardening, managing community gardens, and plant propagation. She has an MBA from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor's degree from Skidmore College, and served as a horticulture intern for the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Callie is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, The Herb Society of America, the National Garden Bureau, and is a Certified Texas Master Gardener.

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