indoor Growing indoors using desk lamps

[Skinty]

All the flowers on my Chocolate Habaneros kept falling off this year and I ended up with two fruit in total. I was about to give up on them but when I used one of the Habaneros in a dinner I decided that they were extremely tasty and decided to bring the plants indoors rather than let them perish outside now it's getting late in the season. I only have four of these plants. The rest are Peter Pepper which have done very well. I have brought them in to give the green fruit a chance to ripe and to keep them fresh as long as possible. Also to see if they survive the winter.

Because money has been tight I haven't been able to afford a proper grow tent and lights. So I did a bit of research and figured that I would try some ordinary desk lamps. I ended up buying 3 desk lamps (I thought I already had one but it turned out to be at my parent's house so I will need to pick it up at Christmas). The bulbs I have used are:

- An ordinary 20 watt energy saver from the high street (borrowed, will replace with LED eventually)
- 12 watt, 198 LED's, 1200 lumen, 2900 - 3000K from amazon
- 13 watt, 216 LED's, 1200 lumen, 3200K - 6000K from amazon

All bulbs are E27 fitting. I also bought a cheap timer so they could switch on at 6am and switch off at 10pm.

I have kept them near the patio door window although behind a wall. They are in front of a radiator so I can keep a relatively constant temperature.The plants are still growing new flowers and some are still falling off, but not as much as they used to. I wonder if the pots might be too small.

I was very excited to see that eventually one of the flowers has survived and now is starting to grow a Habanero.

 

[howardsaz9]

wow when did you start these? mine are done for the year but were 3x larger in my garden.. I was surprised about the peter pepper plants i think i got about 150 pods each for each plant. im not sure on the desk lamp thing..I use a halide system to start my plants, but it might work .. keep us posted.

 

[Skinty]

wow when did you start these? mine are done for the year but were 3x larger in my garden.. I was surprised about the peter pepper plants i think i got about 150 pods each for each plant. im not sure on the desk lamp thing..I use a halide system to start my plants, but it might work .. keep us posted.

I normally start planting the seeds indoors in January or February. I just stick them by the window. Then I wait until spring, plant them in big pots and harden them off outside. I grew a bumper crop of Cayenne peppers in a greenhouse the first year I tried in the highlands of Scotland. Here in Bavaria, I just left them outside on the balcony without any covering. The Habaneros have been indoors for a few weeks now, although only under a single desk lamp since two weeks ago, and three desk lamps for less than one week.

 

[badger126]

The lamps should do you well, I'm actually doing the same thing! I prefer the high wattage equivalence CFL bulbs though. I am currently using a 120w equivalent built as a flood light with internal reflectors so more of the light makes it to the plants. thinking of getting some 200w equivalents or higher though.

 

[pepperhog]

hey some mg bloom booster will stop bloom drop also u may have to help polinate,,and if they continue to grow bigger pots, i dont know about the lights( have never grown in doors other than seed starting,) though u may need a few more lights or some reflective material to really get em going, hope Some one with more experiance chimes in, but this is the route i would take based on what i know so far,

 

[smokemaster]

For me 5000k - 6000k work best for all around growth in general.

I don't get good results from 3500k or lower in any lumen.

I think it might be the wrong blue wave lengths,I don't know for sure.

Also anything under 2000-3000 lm. isn't usually bright enough for more than sprouts.

When I played with white LEDs they were either too high a wave length or too low as far as K went.
A lot were 2000K -3000K or 6500-7500K.

Usually red or blue or red and blue panels say what wave lengths the LEDs are and don't give a K rating unless the panel is white LEDs only...I assume by your picture you are using LED white replacement bulbs in your desk lamps not grow light panels.

This is all according to the way I have my shelves set up.Your results may vary greatly,I don't know...I make my own stuff.

 

[Skinty]

Yeah these aren't proper grow lamps or anything. Just normal household items. I looked at buying the specialised equipment but realised that I needed to mount the lights somehow. I also wanted a set-up that I could add to as I get more money. Using desk lamps isn't the most cost-effective way of doing this over the long term but it helps me out for the moment until I get some more money. I also didn't want to add to my electricity bill too much.

I'm also experimenting to see what works. It's interesting to hear Smokemaster that you don't get good results from 3500K or lower in any lumen. I might buy two more 3200K - 6000K bulbs next month when I get paid, replace the two lower K bulbs that I have and use them when I get my hands on more desk lamps.

I'm not sure how to fix reflective material around the walls yet. Maybe I'll use blu-tack for the wall. I'm a bit cautious about hanging anything on the radiator in terms of it being a possible fire risk. Maybe tin-foil is the answer.

 

[ThePepperManiac]

i use a desk lamp fo my bronchi

 

[Heatinthecold]

I'm pretty much in the same situation skinty. I live in a condo complex and fortunately I have a rather large south facing window. I started growing in august because I read that habs grow fairly well in the winter when they're indoors and I just couldn't wait for spring! But being in Canada, they're only getting about 7 hours of direct sunlight this time of year, so I try to leave a lamp on next to them for a few hours after sunset, or even all night sometimes. I figure some light is better than no light at all, I don't know, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that.

 

[jonnyb]

I also started mine very early (september) - couldn't wait either and being in England, they need all the light they can get so indoor growing is a must to get them kick started for the spring! I have heard conflicting arguments about how much light to provide, some plants need regular light/dark cycles and irregular or short days can trigger early flowering in some plants, however I havent noticed this to be so much of a problem for peppers.

You can create a compact budget indoor grow area quite easily. Below is my set up for winter growing:

and tin foil removed:

Just using a clip on lamp, splitter and two 36W 5500K CFL bulbs (equiv. to ~200W each) and an uncoiled coat hanger to make a very crude lamp shade frame over which a large piece of tin foil reflects most of the stray light down onto the plants. There are 14 chilli plants there that are almost 3 months old, although I am reaching saturation point in terms of space. However they all look healthy and are growing well. It's not a very high intensity set up, but stronger than the cloudy winter daylight we get in England this time of year and does not cost much to run.

All bought off ebay (from china/HK) cost around £12 in total (~$17).

I've also got a little USB fan (£3 or $5) which helps improve gas exchange for photosynthesis, increases transpiration and therefore aqueous soluble nutrients uptake and helps to remove heat from the bulbs which can damage the leaves if they get too close. It's not that powerful, but then it doesn't need to be, just helps to have a bit of air circulation.

It's very low tech, but cost efficient and seems to be working pretty well, considering this is my first grow attempt.

These plants are illuminated 24hrs a day with no break, and this does not seem to be having any adverse effect on them.
One theory is that the auxins (plant growth hormones) revert from the shoots to the roots at night and the root grow at a faster rate, however each time they have been repotted, they have all had a good root mass relative to their size so I don't believe this to be a significant issue. They certainly grow faster with 24hr light.

In terms of colour temperature, higher Kelvin lights contain more blue light which apparently is more benefitial to vegitative growth, while lower K has more red intensity and is supposedly better for flowering and fruit production - as exploited in countries such as Holland in commercial flower/crop production using LEDs. I don't think it makes a world of difference, although higher Kelvin bulbs tend to have a higher luminous output compared to the same power consumption so this may partially explain poorer results with low Kelvin bulbs.

Hope that's some help. The key is reflecting the light onto the plant to maximise efficiency, cos lets face it, electricity is expensive.

 

[Skinty]

I recognise those clip-on lamps jonnyb! I had a whole bag of them in the UK before I emmigrated, You can't get bayonet bulbs in Germany for some reason. Nor can I find cheap clip on lamps so cheaply either. Impressively cheap set up though

I bought some tin foil and blue-tack (which isn't called blu-tack and isn't blue and is a real pain to describe when your language skills aren't up to scratch) but haven't had a chance to cover the walls yet. My habeno fruit is growing nice and big and I'll do another photo of it soon. Although today I found another fruit growing on another plant! Yay!

 

[jonnyb]

They are screw in bulbs as well! I just bought a bayonett to screw adaptor (B22 to E27) for £1 (again ebay). All a bit DIY but works fine. It's even propped up with a pen as the bayonett fitting makes it lean downwards, it's safe enough though.
Exciting to get some habs, I haven't produced any chillies, yet, ever, so can't wait till they begin to arrive

 

[WalkGood]

While I've never grown indoors, I love to see & read about your and others hard work \o_

 

[Heatinthecold]

Wow that looks like a decent set up. I'm going to have to get something like that going as our days are getting more and more cloudy too (not to mention shorter and shorter). Nice looking plants by the way! I'll have to get some photos up as well.

 

[Skinty]

I came back yesterday after visiting my parents in Britain for 10 days over Christmas. One of the LED light bulbs has failed. I think there is a loose connection as some panels work but many do not. Taking it apart I think there is a loose connection that can be soldered.

On the plus side though, my chocolate Habaneros finally started to ripen! Since my last post I have added an extra desk lamp and a table lamp, put some tin foil on the walls and a safety blanket in front of the radiator stuck to a large piece of cardboard. The table is covered with a reflective car wind screen cover normally used to stop cars getting too hot in summer or frosted up on winter mornings.

We were having a problem with lots of flies buzzing around inside so we also cut up some fly paper and put it on top of the pots and had a fly zapper plugged in. Unfortunately being winter our carnivorous sundew plants aren't that dewed up, although one of our carnivorous plants has still managed to kill far more than it would otherwise during winter. I've also had a problem with these really small fast slugs so I have been collecting egg shells, breaking them up and spreading them on the soil. That might also have helped with the blossom drop. I have also been using slug pellets.

Some of the Peter Peppers (on the right hand side in the green tray) are doing well too even though I was not bothering to specifically light them. I have four chocolate Habanero plants and three of them have given me four fruit. The fourth doesn't seem very productive at all so I might get rid of it.

I'm using a table lamp to grow some seeds that I took from some kind of yellow Habanero / Fatalii type bought from the market. Although the seedlings in the picture might be Naga Jolokia instead. I found some dessicated Naga Jolokia that I bought last year at the back of the drawer that were crumbling to dust. I first tried planting those seeds in the same pot but they didn't come up. I then planted the yellow Habanero / Fatalii seeds in the same pot and loads came up. But then I planted the Habanero / Fatalii seeds in another pot as well and they didn't come up so I don't know what's actually sprouted now. Either way, they're doing really well. Far better than my Aji Limon. All except one of those seeds died and that's the small one in the pot at the back.

I was trying to see if the Chocolate Habanero was ripe and it fell off in my hand. So I'll be cooking it tonight for dinner!

Anyway, I ordered two 45 watt CFL bulbs from Britain because Amazon.de didn't have them, and brought back my old desk lamp as well. I have moved the small table lamp and the seedlings to sit underneath the chilli plants because it was getting quite dark for any new leaves growing below. I figured it would act like ambient daylight and would even out the growth of the plants.

 

[Chewi]

Glad the choc habs are surviving!! I have a Peter I'm saving, bit it didn't grow "Peter" shaped peppers, but the at least are plenty jot and tasty!

 

[Skinty]

I decided that the inbuilt cupboard wasn't really serving much use except to store stuff that should be thrown out. So I turned it into a grow room and moved the chocolate Habaneros in there. They really benefited from being re-potted into large pots (10 litres).

I'm now using the desk lamps for this year's seedlings. I've come to the conclusion from all this that a collection of desk lamps are rather expensive to buy outright (costing a minimum of 20 euros each for cheap ones) but they are useful for being able to redirect the light around as required, especially for small seedlings that grow quite fast. I had started off with LED lights but in the end found it easier to and cheaper to buy large CFL bulbs. I just couldn't find LED bulbs that were bright enough, and as I lost both some CFL and LED bulbs before their time, it makes the initial outlay less of a risk to buy CFL bulbs.

I am also using small table lamps on top of the wooden shelves on the right for the pots of tissue cultured carnivorous plants.

 

[scratchzilla]

So, what kind of light is in the cupboard?

 

[Skinty]

So, what kind of light is in the cupboard?

125 watt CFL bulb from Amazon. I plugged it into a normal light fitting. I intend to put some tin foil on the ceiling sometime but it's probably a bit over kill. All the walls get painted white anyway in Germany. I put some reflective sheeting around the bottom to get more light underneath the canopy.