indoors on the cheap

[ivan3]

This is our winter setup (going on fifteen years). The lighting consists of three 48" dual shop light fixtures with six GE Sunshine F40's. The cost for those items should run around $80.00. We use the `personal soothing devices', i.e., misters as cleaning the fountains got to be rather onerous, better humidity when the wood stove has to be fired up (not very often!). Cass has a thing for Fuschia Princess and they have taken over. The Angel Wing Begonia is going on twenty five years with us. Fluorescents are cheap and perfectly adequate for this sort of project.

 

[Tutter]

Welcome!

What's the total wattage at any given time?

Wait, would that be 240 watts?

 

[ivan3]

Thanx ! (finally got over this way - time is an ugly vector).

Yes, that's correct. Running 12hr. per day, cost per month ~$10.00.

Have used both power-twists and gro-lux in past, but these do just fine in the stem/leaf growth ratio (nothing but mints get too leggy if at maximum distance - on floor).

Specs on Sunshine F40's:

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=COMMERCIALSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=12224

Hope to be dropping by more often.

 

[Tutter]

Thank you for the link!

The reason I asked, is because I have to calculate my energy use differently than many people, as we use alternative sources.

I hope you will be back, you have some thought provoking ideas. Thanks again.

 

[1acrefarm]

I like it. Do you get those lights local or do you have to order them online. Have you ever tried growing peppers and tomatoes under them? I would like to grow a winter veggie garden in my house. Fresh homegrown tomatoes year round sound great.

 

[ivan3]

Yes, the fixture is attached to walkway above (only worry is that rampaging cats might take the Big Leap!) and can be lowered or raised as needed. We've started both tomatoes and peppers, in years past (lights within three inches of the seedlings). Cass has several cactus she started from seeds (in the back corner) that are seven years old (never been closer to the lights that two ft.).

If I were going to use these to produce tomatoes, I'd probably attach two more shop lights hinged to either side of the set of three - total of ten bulbs (so they can be moved up and down like wings) to provide additional boost, as well as something reflective (mylar sheeting?) on the floor/bench to reflect back up into plants.

The lights come in boxes of six. We bought the last box at Lowes, IIRC the price (without tax) was just shy of $50.00.

Now, I'm happy in the fluorescent `bush league', but depending on how big/many tomatoes you'd like over X amount of time, you might consider looking into halide lamps.

Ed: fluorescents WILL produce an excellent herb garden!

 

[lavacaw]

Before you get real excited about growing tomatoes in the winter, keep in mind they need to be kept between 60 and 90 degrees to set fruit....tried for two years and got one tomato before I found out keeping them from freezing at night just isn't enough.

 

[patandchickens]

I've grown winter tomatoes on the windowsill of an extremely large full-sun window in a very sunny room, and they were pretty lousy. No better than winter supermarket tomatoes. I don't know why though.

(Actually I think we had a discussion of this here on TEG shortly after the forum was born and I seem to recall someone coming up with a plausible sounding answer but now I have no recollection whatsoever what it was )

Pat

 

[WIkalanchoe]

Yeah, I'd imagine warm weather vegetables wouldn't do too good indoors during the winter. But cold tolerant veggies I imagine would do great. At least it would provide you with a steady supply of root vegetables, spinach, peas, onions, you get the idea. It all depends on how much space you have and your level of effort.