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Finally, my first grow light

Thanks, Downriver! DH teases me about needing a 12 step program, but he continues to enable me, so it's working for me so far.

Very thankful for the grow light this weekend. It drizzled all day yesterday, gray and chilly. Then today it snowed, the sun came out for a few minutes, then it sleeted, the sun peeked out, etc. I do see more progress on a sunny day, but at least the extra light is keeping the plants content.
 
The largest of my babies went outside for the first time on Wednesday. Just for a couple of hours, because the winds started getting crazy. Today was a little too cool for them outside, but tomorrow it's supposed to reach 60, so they are going to have another field trip :)

Both Puya seeds sprouted, and one El Oro de Ecuador. I reseeded Rain Forest, and finally threw out the others that hadn't germinated. Don't have space for slackers. Anyway, my total count is now 46. I can probably only squeeze in 30 - 32, but I never have any trouble giving away the leftovers.
 
The largest of my pepper plants took a little field trip outside today. After a couple of hours, another storm started to blow through, so they had to come back inside. A couple of leaves got torn, but the plants will recover. I noticed teeny buds forming on one of the largest plants. I'm guessing I should pinch those off?

Peppersonafieldtrip.jpg


Okay, this is totally not pepper related, but they're the first blooms of the season, so I had to take their picture :lol:

TulipsDaffodils11.jpg
 
Grrrr ... my growlight went out at the end of the week. DH said the lamp was burn out, but it's supposed to be good for something like 20,000 hours, and it had only been on for ~800. It was a used fixture, but he already replaced the ballast and sockets when he brought it home, and the bulb was brand new. He's going to pick up another bulb, but not sure if that will solve the problem or not.

The weather has been very overcast and rainy the past few days, so I am kind of panicking about the lack of light.
 
Hopefully the new bulb will fix the problem. Plants are looking great! Keep up the good work and good luck on your garden.

Charles
 
highalt said:
Grrrr ... my growlight went out at the end of the week. DH said the lamp was burn out, but it's supposed to be good for something like 20,000 hours, and it had only been on for ~800. It was a used fixture, but he already replaced the ballast and sockets when he brought it home, and the bulb was brand new. He's going to pick up another bulb, but not sure if that will solve the problem or not.

The weather has been very overcast and rainy the past few days, so I am kind of panicking about the lack of light.
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with the same lights I use on my fish tanks. No matter what the bulb life says I usually get a LOT less. One of the main reasons I switched over to HID lights and now use a 400 watt MH for my seedlings.
 
LGHT said:
I have the same problem with the same lights I use on my fish tanks. No matter what the bulb life says I usually get a LOT less. One of the main reasons I switched over to HID lights and now use a 400 watt MH for my seedlings.
Click to expand...
What is an HID light?
 
Thanks, Mike! When I asked DH that question, he gave me the exact same answer :lol:

Here are a couple of pictures taken this evening. I raised the light fixture up to allow more sunlight to reach the plants, not that we've actually had any sunlight recently, but I'll lower it back down after it's working again.

Peppers11007.jpg


Peppers11003.jpg


I've been rotating them each day to keep them from growing sideways, and it seems to be working.
 
So we took the fixture down, put a new bulb in, and it worked. Then we put it back in place, and the light went out. Turning and jiggling the bulb managed to get it working again, but DH's conclusion is that the fixture is too tight in the frame, and it's pressing on the pins that make contact. When he gets a chance, he's going to shave 1/4" or so off of the wood posts that hold the fixture in place, and hopefully that will resolve the issue.

So happy to have light again !!!

Had to pinch off a couple of flower buds on one of my Alma Paprikas today, and potted up the peppers that still had two or three sprouts in their container. The last sprouts, a couple of Rain Forest's, are still trying to shed their seedcoat, and then I'll have my final count. Looks like it's going to be a nice even 50 plants. May have to buy some more pots. Did I mention my veggie bed is only ~ 60 sq. ft.? I do rent a community garden plot that gives me another 200 sq.ft., but that is where the space hogs, like melons and squash tend to go. Last year, I got so desparate, I started sticking peppers plants in the flower beds!
 
I love the way you recycled the bottles as pots and humidity covers to germinate!
You obviously have to be careful about over watering them because there is no drainage. If I did it I would drill a few little holes in the bottoms and stand them in a tray. I would also make a lot more mess :P

They are looking very happy, some ready to go outside soon?
 
Thought I would revisit this thread, rather than start a new one.

Megamoo, there were holes in the bottom of those bottles. Used a soldering iron. Cut through them like butter.

Well, my husband never got around to shaving down those posts, so the light started acting up again this week. With all of my sprouts finally coming up, it is not a good time to go without a light, so I broke down and bought a cheap $10 shop light from Walmart, which says it puts out more light with 2 - 32WT8's, than a fixture using 2 - 40WT12's. Don't really understand all the technical stuff, so here's my question. The old fixture had only one bulb, an expensive "growlight" bulb, that I believe was a T12. So are my plants better off than before with the two T8's, rather than one T12?
 
Sure, with twice as many bulbs you'll get twice as much light. Each bulb will put out around 2800 lumens. T8s are a little more efficient than T12. Look for T8 bulbs that are marked with 6500K in fine print on the packaging. That's the best vegetative 'color temperature' range for early growth.

Home Depot has a 2-pack of the T8 6500K bulbs for $7--not sure about Walmart.

Your setup by the window is sweet.... :cool:
 
The 2 pack of T8's at Walmart was almost $10, which was the exact same price as ONE of the T12 bulbs labeled specifically for plants. So are the T12's not worth the extra expense?

Went and dug the wrapper out of the trash, and the color temperature on these is only 3,000K, but at least I know what to look for next time. Thanks for the help!
 
It seems like sometimes they throw a 'growlight' label on a bulb and double the price. Just look for the "K" temperature instead. The 3000K you now have are good for flowering and fruiting--who knows, with the real sun coming in from your window and the 3000K bulbs as supplemental, you might have a great combo. I think I recall one of your posts you had an overwinter plant setting fruit...a 3000K would help that effort, I think. I'll let the smarter "light people" debate that!

They are phasing out T12s starting this year. There are some sales on them and they are still a good lamp. Some people are buying them and stocking up on bulbs. I have one older T12 (has some 5000K bulbs) in my lineup and it's still kicking. It has developed a bit of a hummmm, and it will probably be retired end of this year, to live out its days in the garage. For now, it's doing its duty next to my T8s growing stuff. You could do the same in your window setup, if still functioning, but I'd be reluctant to pay $10 for one bulb, esp if the fixture is 'acting up' (common for older units).
 
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