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Finally, my first grow light

highalt

highalt

For the past several years, I've started my peppers with nothing more than a sunny window, so I am so excited to have my first grow light!

My DH built a light set-up for the table that my sprouts are on.
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He frowned a bit when I told him it needed to be adjustable, since he was thinking of a permanently mounted fixture, but then he came up with this:
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Here is a close up of a few of my pepper babies:
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I know I could probably lower the light a little, but I'm waiting until the last few peppers to sprout, and I can remove the tops of the containers. We've had several rainy/snowy gray days this past week, so I'm very thankful for the supplemental light!

Bonnie
 
Looking good, Bonnie! I thought I was happy having 9 shelves with grow lights until I looked at my electric bill yesterday :(

highalt said:
For the past several years, I've started my peppers with nothing more than a sunny window, so I am so excited to have my first grow light!
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midwestchilehead said:
Looking good, Bonnie! I thought I was happy having 9 shelves with grow lights until I looked at my electric bill yesterday :(
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I've been using 18W-56W T8 bulbs for year and they're really cost effective energy-wise. you might wanna go down to lower-wattage bulbs.
 
So for so good!! Quick tip...cause I also use 16oz & 2L pop bottles to grow in. Get a can of spray paint, black works best (the kind that bonds to plastic) and give those containers a thin coat. It will dramatically cut down on algae growth.
 
Louiethe8th said:
So for so good!! Quick tip...cause I also use 16oz & 2L pop bottles to grow in. Get a can of spray paint, black works best (the kind that bonds to plastic) and give those containers a thin coat. It will dramatically cut down on algae growth.
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Do you put that on the inside or outside?
 
Louiethe8th said:
Outside. Ive used white paint also...the sun doesnt heat them up as much as black. Though ive never had a problem with black.
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Thanks for the tip! I like the idea of white, that way I can still use my black paint pen to label the type of pepper in each container.
 
I lowered the light a couple of inches, but need to wait until the last few germinate and I remove their tops, to lower it some more. Have to admit I was afraid I was going to burn my plants with the light at first, but I'm feeling more confident now.

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Here is a close up of a couple of my Alma Paprikas. This is the fourth year I've grown them, and they make such a nice, flavorful mild paprika that I can use on things I'm cooking for the little ones.

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Some more of my babies. I think they are Georgia Flame, Joe E. Parker, and Lemon Drop.

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This is the front row, which isn't visible in the other shots.

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good stuff! I had a similar setup with a single 4 ft T5 bulb units (56 watt) and i just upgraded to a four bulb unit to cover more ground. looks like its workin just fine for you tho :dance:
 
Just thought I'd post a couple of more recent pics of my babies. Even though my set up is not as elaborate as a lot of folks on this forum, I can tell a huge difference in the growth this year. The leaves are bigger and more numerous without excessive plant height.

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I've still got a few small sprouts, but they were all sown later than the rest.

Very happy with the progress!

There are a few that are no shows, even after resowing - NM Espanola Improved, NM Pinata, African Fish, Choricero, and Pimente de Padron. I also sowed three more last week - Puya, Rain Forest, and El Oro De Ecuador. I really am done now, my table is full :(

So here is a list of what has germinated so far:
Alma Paprika
Aji Panca
Aji Yellow
Ancho Gigantia
Ancho San Luis
Chilhaucle Rojo
Chimayo
College 64
Cosa Arrugada
Czechoslovakian Black
Frank's
Fresno
Georgia Flame
Giant Szegedi (always want to call it Giant Spaghetti)
Gourmet
Jalapeno M
Jimmy Nardello
Joe E. Parker
Kalocsai - V2
Lemon Drop
Pasilla Bajio
Peppadew
Sandia
Santa Fe Grande
Serrano Tampiqueno

All of them except for Alma Paprika and Gourmet are new to me this year. Can't wait to start tasting all the new ones!
 
Sorry about that Bonnie, but my results with the Espanola Improved and Pinata were similar to yours. I didn't plant any African Fish yet. Perhaps it is time for me to order a new supply from NMSU. I did manage to overwinter an Espanola Improved, so maybe that one will yield better seeds. I may have harvested the pods too early on those varieties last year - but they were the first to ripen and it was my first year harvesting seeds, so anticipation got the better of me.

highalt said:
There are a few that are no shows, even after resowing - NM Espanola Improved, NM Pinata, African Fish, Choricero, and Pimente de Padron.
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midwestchilehead said:
Sorry about that Bonnie, but my results with the Espanola Improved and Pinata were similar to yours. I didn't plant any African Fish yet. Perhaps it is time for me to order a new supply from NMSU. I did manage to overwinter an Espanola Improved, so maybe that one will yield better seeds. I may have harvested the pods too early on those varieties last year - but they were the first to ripen and it was my first year harvesting seeds, so anticipation got the better of me.
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No worries. It's not like I won't have enough peppers plants or anything, LOL! I am a bit disappointed about Pinata though, as I was really looking forward to that one ... but there's always next year.
 
Everything looks great Bonnie!

You and your husband make a great team. :)

Hope you have a great growing season.

Keep us updated on your progress.
 
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