• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

My growing chamber for 2009

W

wordwiz

I'm afraid I'm going AJ like - I plan to start about 860 plants this winter. The exact time I will start depends on some more grow tests I need to do. Most of these will be toms, as peppers are not hugely popular in Cincy, but I will still have a couple hundred of them.

The chamber will be eight feet wide by three feet deep which should give me room for 12 72-cell trays. The light will be supplied by 12 13-watt Red/Blue LED lights, the heat from two waterbed heaters. The top will be stationary, but the sides will fold down so I can remove the trays for watering. Presently, I plan on sowing the seeds in 1x2 inch cells that are two inches deep, probably two seeds per cell, just in case one doesn't sell.

I plan on planting only heirloom seeds, since my son is convinced I can sell each plant for 50¢ more. Looking at (for toms) $2.50 per plant, six for $12. $3.50 per plant in a three or four inch container or six for $15.

Come early spring, I will build a cold frame so I can stick the plants outside and harden them off. Haven't decided on a design for it yet, but looking at maybe a 32 sq. ft. frame with plastic sidewalls and tops that can be lifted if the temps or sunlight get significant. More than likely will have a couple of lamps inside so if the temps drop too low, I can keep it warm.

Mike
 
Sounds like a plan, and you have everything you needed worked out. One question though, will just 12 LEDs be enough?
 
millworkman,

Last year, I had one in a chamber that was 20 inches wide. The plants didn't take up the full 20 inches but a little over 14. They did good, so I'm figuring 15 sq. inches per panel. As I plan on watering them once a week - taking the trays out and setting them in a nice tub of water, I can flip them end to end so that if the last three are shorted a bit one week, the next week they will be in the middle.

One other thing I am anxious to delve into - last year the seedlings under the LEDs did not have any aphids but seedlings a few feet away were infested - heavily - with them. Probably a coincidencem but something worth looking into.

Mike
 
Man you guys have got me seriously thinking about indoor growing under lights.

There is a company that specialises in indoor plant production here - though all their advertising is aimed at marijuana producers so I'd feel a bit weird going to their store for chilli pepper growing supplies....

I have a storage level in my garage - which would be a great place to heat and light plants.

Could even try it over winter next year...
 
Sounds like quite a plan indeed! Good luck with that and be sure tp post some pics soon!


Brokensea said:
Man you guys have got me seriously thinking about indoor growing under lights.

There is a company that specialises in indoor plant production here - though all their advertising is aimed at marijuana producers so I'd feel a bit weird going to their store for chilli pepper growing supplies....

I have a storage level in my garage - which would be a great place to heat and light plants.

Could even try it over winter next year...
Click to expand...

I have bought lots of my gear from stores that sell pot growing equipment, incl. my ferts. I never mention what I need it for, they'd probably just roll their eyes and say "yeaaah, sure!". Let them think they served another happy pot grower. As long as the stuff is good and reasonably priced, I don't mind at all! :)
 
Chiliac said:
Sounds like quite a plan indeed! Good luck with that and be sure tp post some pics soon!




I have bought lots of my gear from stores that sell pot growing equipment, incl. my ferts. I never mention what I need it for, they'd probably just roll their eyes and say "yeaaah, sure!". Let them think they served another happy pot grower. As long as the stuff is good and reasonably priced, I don't mind at all! :)
Click to expand...

Exactly how i approach it..Put i love to see peoples heads under hood and hushed voices..Some people make it a little Obvious :lol:
 
Must admit carnt wait to see some pictures was thinking of a large chamber myself..Have you pics of the old one ? :)
 
millworkman said:
Mind posting some pictures of your led set-up? Did you make them yourself or buy them?
Click to expand...

You can go on e-bay and see them - they are the 225 bulb panels. I also have a different one for my hydro plants - it's only 110 bulbs but they are powered by 45 watts.

Mike
 
Mike...you are not going like me, you just surpassed me (now I am pouting J/K)...you actually have 3X the space I have. My germinator is only two 2X4 shelves. I like your idea.

If I may offer one suggestion that I don't think you will regret...check into a remote bulb thermostat. You can set it at the temp you want, run the temperature sensor to one of your trays and stick it into the soil. That will insure that your soil is constant temperature +/- 2 degrees once you set it to the temp you want...the power to your waterbed heaters can be run from the thermostat and the thermostat does the rest...

I am sure you can keep a somewhat constant temperature with the heaters and no thermostat but you have to remember that unless the surrounding area of the germination chamber is a constant temperature, the temperature inside the box will vary thusly...insulation inside the germinator will reduce the heat loss from the box too. I just used thermoply board insulation for mine.

there I go ramblin' again...

have a great day...it's DefCon Zero Bloody Mary Time...
 
AJ,

I love suggestions! This thing isn't built yet, so I change whatever I want.

One thing for sure, I will seal the growing chamber as well as the heating chamber. The one thing I am concerned about regarding your suggestion is watering - given I will be sprouting and nurturing in the dead of winter, and even though I will warm the water to room temp (~75 degrees) I want the chamber to stay at 84-85 degrees. If the soil after watering is at 76 degrees, won't the heater stay on until the soil gets to what I want?

I thought about doing a set-up akin to yours, but I have the room upstairs to set up - if I need to - more than ten linear feet of chamber. I'm thinking about having both the sides and the top boards - the top will have the lights, on hinges. That way, I can open the top just in case I need to douse a whole bunch of little white insects that seem to love seedlings. Plus, being able to view the plants from the top without the red/blue light hitting them has to be something to consider.

Just so you don't think you are the only one who rambles:

My daughter's bedroom lost lights. I've worked, off and on, several hours trying to get the overhead fan and light, as well as the outlets to work. I wired it several years ago but had to move one plug-in and the wire was not as long as I would have liked.

Apparently, her running hair dryers, TVs, radios, lights, and who knows what else must have caused one of the wires to shorten, just enough so that I was only getting half the volts I needed to some outlets and the overhead fan/light. I had to splice wires onto the current wiring and then connect them.

Thought I had done it right, but one wire pulled out. Finally found it - in the dark but using a flashlight. Luckily, I didn't get my hair curled poking around and going "look what I found."

I still have to hook up the wires for the light in the fan, but I'm getting closer.

Building a grow chamber should be a piece of cake compared to this!

Mike
 
Things in my favour...

A dad who is a keen gardener (and an expert at both indoor and outdoor plant propagation - for advice and materials)

A brother in law who is an electrician (for wiring and saying things like "don't touch that wire its live").

A large space up high in my garage where I can grow plants.

Hydroponics under lights could be a relatively cheap option - especially given my latitude - where our temps are ranging this month from 0*C to 24*C a consistent heat environment with good air-flow makes sense.

See - THP is better than Tony Robbins for motivation and stuff :)
 
One more thought before I start sawing boards and screwing them on posts.

I'm considering building the chamber about a foot wider than originally planned. Why? So I can add some 23 watt, 2700K CFL bulbs. A total of eight bulbs: one each in the NE, NW, SE, SW, Middle of the North and Middle of the South

The distance between the ends of the bulbs should be about 34" and about 18" from side to side. Besides adding 13,000 lumens (no idea what the lux will be as they will be close to the plants) they will also add a medium amount of heat but not a significant amount while only adding 44¢ a day to the cost. The heat is important as the upstairs is not real warm in the middle of winter.

One aside to this and it is anecdotal though I have mentioned it previously. I had trouble with the "A" creatures with all the seedlings I grew under flouros. But the ones under the bright CFL lights, as well as the LEDs were A-free. I have to think it was a coincidence but then again, the A's don't seem to be a problem in the middle of summer. It could be there are natural predators around then, but in late April and throughout May, I had trouble with them, even though the plants were outside. But once the heat and amount and strength of daylight increased, the A's disappeared.

Mike
 
Mike will u use reflective material too?

LED's seem a bit tedious to me - they don't scatter light at all and its one point of light going in one direction. So even with several hundred of them ...
 
Brokensea,

Probably will not use any reflective material, though I will probably paint the chamber white. And yes, the LEDs are a very pointed light, but in my abbreviated grow test, and what I saw last year, LEDs provide more useful light in the area they cover than other lights. Their light is directed directy at the plant. I plan to cover the top of my chamber with lights so that all the seedlings are covered and have light shining directly on them.

Mike
 
I got a good start on the chamber this evening. It's almost 8 feet long (why are 8' 2x4s 96" long?), 37 inches wide and the growing chamber will be 15" tall. The chamber itself:

chamber.jpg


I have to finish the sides and top, but the bottom part will be 4" (actually, 3.5" or whatever width the 2x4 is!). That's where the heating pad will go. Here's the floor:

floor.jpg


The plant trays (they are partially visible in the pix) will sit on an old door, that will sit on the top of the 2x4s. It's only 34" wide, so there will be room around the edges for heat to enter.

Along the top 2x4s, I will have six 23 watt, 2700K CFL bulbs. The top board will be either two or three pieces of plywood, sized to fit, combined they will hold 12 225-bulb, 13.8 watt LED lights. They will be on hinges so I can open them up from the top to check the plants. The top rails will be lined with weather stripping so heat will not escape.

The front will also be made of plywood, two pieces. They will be on hinges with cables so they can fold down like a tailgate. Like the top, the rails will be lined with weather stripping. The idea of having them on hinges is so I can use a fan - a kitchen exhaust fan works great, to blow air.

The total cost of the project (I used some scrap lumber and paneling) should be a little less than $500, with $400 of that being the lights and fixtures.

The cost to operate is about $22 per month or no more than $70 for the entire period. I can germinate and grow at least 864 plants (I figure 800 because some seeds will not sprout). Adding the cost of seeds (~$60) and trays and seed cells (another $60) I'll have a little over $700 invested, but I'm hoping to sell the plants for at least $2,000. Of course, next year, all I will have to pay for are the seeds, trays and electricity.

Mike
 
Oh, the reason for using the door. Since the lights will be stationary, I need to be able to raise the platform they are growing on so they are as close as possible to the lights. I started another test, this one has the seed trays almost touching the CFL light. I want to introduce the seedlings to Mr. Strong Light as soon as they emerge to see if it ameliorates the initial legginess they develop.

Mike
 
Ratdz;115820][QUOTE=wordwiz said:
It's almost 8 feet long (why are 8' 2x4s 96" long?)


Well, 8 feet is 96". Makes sense huh?

Nice box by the way!
Click to expand...

I hate when I omit a word! These boards were NOT 96" long, they were 85-86" long.

Priced some plywood today - at $33 per board, it's out to my garage to salvage some boards that have been stored there for a decade. They are still great pieces so I might as well use them and save my cash for lights!

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top