indoor garden light
- Thread starter Naughty
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DigginWithJon
Leafing Out
CFL for sure. Incandescent bulbs don't produce the enough of the light plants like, and they get hot and will burn your plants.. Back to the CFL's... you need to have about 4 - 100 Watt, or 8 - 60 watt equivalents for a 48" shelf. Here is a picture of something we made up to contain the bulbs. (Grow fixtures can be expensive, but all you really need is the sockets) We found this fixture at HOBO for $5, we found the lights at Walmart - 4 for $1.89 (60 watt equivalent) You want the Daylight bulbs, At least 5,000K higher the better.
If you have the space you should go for HID lights. I prefer metal halide. Check craigslist for high bay fixtures. Try to get the 400Watt ones. I found mine for $20 a piece bulb and all. Try to find one with a plug already wired, or else you will need to know someone that knows electrical to wire in a plug for them.
If you have the space you should go for HID lights. I prefer metal halide. Check craigslist for high bay fixtures. Try to get the 400Watt ones. I found mine for $20 a piece bulb and all. Try to find one with a plug already wired, or else you will need to know someone that knows electrical to wire in a plug for them.
897tgigvib
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Anything is better than incandescent for plants.
What diggin says is right.
the simpler version is, incandescent lights make more heat than light
The light they do make is mostly on the red side of things
Red light tends to make the stems lengthen
and that's almost always what you don't want.
even the so called plant gro incandescents are not much better
those would work in a pinch only to keep the plants warm
T5 fluorescents are great!
Speaking of lights,
right now electricians are installing strips of led lights in the bathrooms...we are off grid here...
these puppies use a 12 volt batter charged with a 111w solar panel, and they light up the bathouse big time!!!
wow, for sipping electricity, led looks like the way to go.
What diggin says is right.
the simpler version is, incandescent lights make more heat than light
The light they do make is mostly on the red side of things
Red light tends to make the stems lengthen
and that's almost always what you don't want.
even the so called plant gro incandescents are not much better
those would work in a pinch only to keep the plants warm
T5 fluorescents are great!
Speaking of lights,
right now electricians are installing strips of led lights in the bathrooms...we are off grid here...
these puppies use a 12 volt batter charged with a 111w solar panel, and they light up the bathouse big time!!!
wow, for sipping electricity, led looks like the way to go.
journey11
Garden Master
I use fluorescent shop lights (the tube kind), which are very affordable and easy to adjust the height as the plants grow. Jon is right about the lumens...higher is better.
DigginWithJon
Leafing Out
Do you use the T12's journey? I have many shelves that still use them, but since they are now being phased out I am switching over to this CFL setup per shelf as the T12s run outta life. Them being phased out means that they no longer make new T12 bulbs, so the price will go up fast as current stock sells out. T-8's and T-5's are around - T-5 being better, but the cost is still quite high. One of the things that seem to really make these CFL's smart is that you can change out some of the bulbs for different spectrum and more or less light. So you can use the 60 Watt equivalent for things requiring less light, and the 100 watt equivalent for the plants requiring lots of light. They are super bright so you need some kind of reflector or blocker to keep them from blinding you.
897tgigvib
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Diggin, that cost you talk about for t5's is not really much for us small gardeners who might use 2 to maybe 6 of the short ones for starting a few plants. Plus, as an added thing, when not starting plants they wind up getting used at other places.
Also, I know there are a few all out greenhouse and hydroponic indoor growers here, but most of us are only using these for starts for a month or 2 of the seedling's life, so the full plant life's preferred spectrums are not a concern.
Yes, for early life, mostly blue, small red in the spectrum is desired. That imitates natural spring light.
For preharvest, equalling blue, yellow, and red seems to imitate natural august light,
and for harvest heavy on the red supposedly imitates post autumnal equinox.
That pretty much only matters for the serious indoor growers using artificial light.
t5 is great, and I do see the advantage of cfl, also because if a person makes their own frame for the fixrtures the spotting of light can be made more to desired placements, like down around the sides.
I'm not sure what the t8 is, but i'll look it up in the hydroponic or local hydropacific sites.
A couple years ago my t5 tubes with fixtgure were like 38 dollars each, and me being poor, I still think that was a good deal since I only had to get 2 sets, and since I've been using them for other things besides plant starts. I believe I will get 2 more sets soon. I can affort 76 or 80 bucks, well, unless I have to repair my old car again
Also, I know there are a few all out greenhouse and hydroponic indoor growers here, but most of us are only using these for starts for a month or 2 of the seedling's life, so the full plant life's preferred spectrums are not a concern.
Yes, for early life, mostly blue, small red in the spectrum is desired. That imitates natural spring light.
For preharvest, equalling blue, yellow, and red seems to imitate natural august light,
and for harvest heavy on the red supposedly imitates post autumnal equinox.
That pretty much only matters for the serious indoor growers using artificial light.
t5 is great, and I do see the advantage of cfl, also because if a person makes their own frame for the fixrtures the spotting of light can be made more to desired placements, like down around the sides.
I'm not sure what the t8 is, but i'll look it up in the hydroponic or local hydropacific sites.
A couple years ago my t5 tubes with fixtgure were like 38 dollars each, and me being poor, I still think that was a good deal since I only had to get 2 sets, and since I've been using them for other things besides plant starts. I believe I will get 2 more sets soon. I can affort 76 or 80 bucks, well, unless I have to repair my old car again
journey11
Garden Master
Mine are T-8's. Are the T-12's the thicker ones?DigginWithJon said:
You know what gets me is the racket they run in the gardening catalogs where the light set ups are so expensive and so small you could only stick one or two plants under them. They make it sound like that is the only way to do it or that it is by far superior. I think a lot of people are intimidated away from starting their own seedlings because it appears to be so expensive to do so.
Aside from all the other reasons not to use incandescent bulbs, I am certain I would burn my house down rigging up as many as I would need. That and the cost of the electricity to run them!
Smart Red
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My seed starting set up consists of three 4-tiered plant racks ($45 each) with plastic zip-covers. To that, I added a two-foot florescent light fixture ($8 each) per level plugged into a surge protector ($3-6) strip.
Each tier will hold 5 of my plant starter trays. Closing the plastic covers keeps the temps warm and the space humid - great for germination. It has been a very successful way to start seedlings for me. Of course, once the seedlings get a bit big for their space, I have the sun room for them to continue their growth.
Love, Smart Red
Each tier will hold 5 of my plant starter trays. Closing the plastic covers keeps the temps warm and the space humid - great for germination. It has been a very successful way to start seedlings for me. Of course, once the seedlings get a bit big for their space, I have the sun room for them to continue their growth.
Love, Smart Red
DigginWithJon
Leafing Out
Journey- Yes the T12s are the thicker ones. I have never tried to use the T8s or the T5s. The quality made grow fixtures usually will have 4-6 T5 bulbs in them. And that will do 2 flats.
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Thank you for all the answers. Last spring I started lettuce in this little 4 shelf greenhouse and harvested a little every night for salad... it was great!q. So I decided to try hooking it up again for winter... too cold for anything outside... maybe this will feed my addiction until I can start my seeds next month....lol... and until spring
