New Life

AlabamaJack · Feb 26, 2009

well done Patrick....by the way...walmart has an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer with a remote sensor for like 9 bucks...

TXCG · Feb 26, 2009

Nice, PVC makes great cages. And I have that exact same fan

Use it for everything from cooling lights to drying beef jerky.

patrick · Feb 26, 2009

Thanks all and thanks for the thermometer tip AJ.

chicagofire · Feb 26, 2009

That fan is just like mine too.

patrick · Feb 27, 2009

Picked up the thermometer you tipped me to AJ, seems to be working just fine. It appears the two florescent lights are not generating enough heat though as temps are staying the same on the outside as on the inside of the MSG (Make Shift Greenhouse). I've added a regular 75W bulb in a heat lamp fixture to see if that will do the job. I did it about 20 minutes ago and the temp has risen 3 degrees already.

I also picked up a very small fan, four inches to be exact, at Walmart for $7. It's perfect.

patrick · Mar 1, 2009

The 75W bulb test failed, temps dropped to 62F at night when I lowered the thermostat. I am now experimenting with a 125W infra red lamp and when I checked it this morning the house temp was 62F and the interior of the MSG was 72F. Looks like this could be a winner.

Does anybody know if an IR lamp is good/bad for plants? Sure would hate to grow a Hulk like plant and have it step out of the box and kick my ass.

groeatrepeat · Mar 1, 2009

patrick said:
The 75W bulb test failed, temps dropped to 62F at night when I lowered the thermostat. I am now experimenting with a 125W infra red lamp and when I checked it this morning the house temp was 62F and the interior of the MSG was 72F. Looks like this could be a winner.

Does anybody know if an IR lamp is good/bad for plants? Sure would hate to grow a Hulk like plant and have it step out of the box and kick my ass.

I read somewhere that IR lampsgive off a lot of light in a spectrum that plants cannot use. Other than that, coupled with your fluoros, it should give off enough, if not too much, heat.

patrick · Mar 2, 2009

So far it's keeping the temps about ten degrees warmer than the room, staying right around 76F. I can live with the temps above 70 and I think the plants can too.

I wasn't aware that IR light wasn't useful for plants, thanks groeatrepeat.

Pam · Mar 2, 2009

patrick said:
So far it's keeping the temps about ten degrees warmer than the room, staying right around 76F. I can live with the temps above 70 and I think the plants can too.

I wasn't aware that IR light wasn't useful for plants, thanks groeatrepeat.

You know, I'm noticing that a couple of my seed starting mats are raising the temps to the 80F that I prefer, and that they're the newer ones. There is no apparent difference in the pads, so I'm thinking perhaps they're not being made as well.

patrick · Mar 6, 2009

Pam said:
You know, I'm noticing that a couple of my seed starting mats are raising the temps to the 80F that I prefer, and that they're the newer ones. There is no apparent difference in the pads, so I'm thinking perhaps they're not being made as well.

Pam did you mean that the pads keeping the temps at 80F are the older mats?

I've added a medium sized heat mat that is placed in the middle of the two trays of seedlings. It's brought the temps up a couple more degrees. I think this is going to work.

My next problem is where in the heck am I going to put the next 50 seedlings?

Pam · Mar 6, 2009

patrick said:
Pam did you mean that the pads keeping the temps at 80F are the older mats?

Sometimes it's so hard to be a blond.

Yes, that's what I meant.

I've added a medium sized heat mat that is placed in the middle of the two trays of seedlings. It's brought the temps up a couple more degrees. I think this is going to work.

My next problem is where in the heck am I going to put the next 50 seedlings?

Can't help you there, I'm already bursting at the seams.

patrick · Mar 7, 2009

Thought I would post a picture of one of my favorite peppers, the Red Savina. So far it's the hottest pepper I've ever eaten. I really hated myself for a few minutes there.

It is growing well for me so far.

caroltlw · Mar 7, 2009

patrick said:
Thought I would post a picture of one of my favorite peppers, the Red Savina. So far it's the hottest pepper I've ever eaten. I really hated myself for a few minutes there.

From chileman.org:
"At around 50 times as hot as a Jalapeno, it is one of the prime ingredients in the manufacture of the disabling Pepper spray used by Police forces around the world."

I get scared to touch things that come with warnings like this.

They're probably very similar to the Caribbean Reds I'm growing this year. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I get them to bear fruit.