![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sla7-BnDZMl0fyEvj1RWiBVYkBIjKNqDIj77Cw2Ze8DMZKZH7nbZhrldrnJK8IZ4CdK7KWIHiXpnprVzAGPNU_o3LFIWkbuO62h5eTSVfApd-j5aZmcGOPA-nrF6jnQVzI8Eon2SvxEY/s320/blacktub.jpg)
The photo associated with this post is the black tub in the post dated January 19, 2008. In less than a month the lettuce is ready to harvest.
These plants were grown using a compact fluorescent rated at 125 watts.
A few short years ago the thinking was that fluorescent lighting was only good for starting seeds. In the last two years there has been a paradigm shift and currently compact, and high output fluorescent lights, such as the T5 tubes, are now being used to grow pretty much any crop to full maturity.
I have read some studies that determined the T5 tubes outperformed metal halide lights in growing peppers in a controlled experiment.
The fluorescents are economical to operate, do not produce a lot of heat, and can be placed close to the plants. In my case the fixture I am using has an output close to 30,000 lumen.