lighting Fluorescent Lights

[RedThumb]

Would peppers grow ok under regular fluorescent lights (not the ones designed for growing)? I'm thinking of bringing some ornamentals into the office to put on my desk. I'm not near a window though.

 

[habman]

Would peppers grow ok under regular fluorescent lights (not the ones designed for growing)? I'm thinking of bringing some ornamentals into the office to put on my desk. I'm not near a window though.

Regular fluorescent will work fine.You actually don't see a significant growth diffrence between gro-lux and regular fluoro.
The question is will they get enough light.
You may want to buy a cheap fixture and put in a 40 watts CFL.
Keep it an 1 inch or 2 from the leaves.

 

[Guy Holman]

Hi

The problem with fluorescents is that wilst excellent for staring off seedlings and getting them going for a short time. They soon dont provide enough light. With a larger plant the light penetration is just not good enough, unless used perhaps to supplement natural light from a window. If artificial light is the only source of lumens, then only a fraction of the plant can be covered. Whilst this may be useful as a way of overwintering a few plants, it will not be a good way to flower and ripen fruit.

All the best

Guy