misc Do plants care about getting their light all at once?

[Simcows]

I finally took a peek at when the new electricity usage peak rates are and they've changed slightly for my area. Off peak is 19h-7h (7-7 for 12 hour clock users), mid peak from 11h-17h (11-5) and peak is from 7h-11h and 17h-19h. If I give them the full 18 hours but split between the 12 hr block and the 6 hr non peak times, would that impact their growth a lot? Or should I stomach the extra few dollars over the next few months?

 

[growyourown]

i don't have an answer, but i just wanted to jump in and say that out of necessity, i have been running my light exclusively at night. the wife did give it to me at this time last year about our hydro bill going up, and now the room where the plants live is also set up to be our daughter's play room, so i don't want it flooded with bright light when she's in there (although the cardboard shielding would mitigate the utter blinding-ness of it).

i had tried to ask about this situation here last year, but maybe i posted it in my glog so it didn't get the same attention a forum post would get.

so my plants are getting no fully dark periods, due to two nearby windows (covered partially by curtains) and a regular lamp used in the early evening when a child is playing there. but they are also getting only 8-10 hours of grow light time per 24h. the only other option for me is to run the light from 6am-5pm when we are all at work/daycare, but it would be during all of those peak hours.

didn't mean to hijack, but as we are in the same relative location and our grow lists are similar, i thought i'd let you know what i was doing. no idea if it is for better or worse, though.

 

[Bou]

If the idea is to grow plants that'll end up in your garden next spring they sure don't need 18 jours of light, unless you have unlimited indoor grow space and want very big plants by May or June. Mine are under a 12/12 regimen and they are doing just fine!

 

[Bou]

i don't have an answer, but i just wanted to jump in and say that out of necessity, i have been running my light exclusively at night. the wife did give it to me at this time last year about our hydro bill going up, and now the room where the plants live is also set up to be our daughter's play room, so i don't want it flooded with bright light when she's in there (although the cardboard shielding would mitigate the utter blinding-ness of it).

i had tried to ask about this situation here last year, but maybe i posted it in my glog so it didn't get the same attention a forum post would get.

so my plants are getting no fully dark periods, due to two nearby windows (covered partially by curtains) and a regular lamp used in the early evening when a child is playing there. but they are also getting only 8-10 hours of grow light time per 24h. the only other option for me is to run the light from 6am-5pm when we are all at work/daycare, but it would be during all of those peak hours.

didn't mean to hijack, but as we are in the same relative location and our grow lists are similar, i thought i'd let you know what i was doing. no idea if it is for better or worse, though.

You'll find tons of relevant infos about grow lights and lighting in general here: https://thehotpepper.com/forums/hot-pepper-growing.4/?prefix_id=104

 

[spicy.curry]

If the idea is to grow plants that'll end up in your garden next spring they sure don't need 18 jours of light, unless you have unlimited indoor grow space and want very big plants by May or June. Mine are under a 12/12 regimen and they are doing just fine!

Alternatively, you could do the 18 hours, but start later in the year.

Energy efficiency can be improved with a reflective grow tent or other method of reflectors.