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Now important is lumens
- Thread starter wordwiz
- Start date
Habman,
I drew the conclusion that the amount of useable photons hitting a plants surface was the primary measure of the quality of light. NASA also has to be concerned with how fragile the lights are so if they have a rough landing will they survive, as well as their usefulness since one won't be able to head to Home Depot and pick up some replacement bulbs.
It may also be worthwhile to invest in red mulch or its plastic equivalent. Studies show it has some positive effects on speeding the ripening of tomatoes. Some studies have shown it can increase fruit production by 12-20 percent. http://plasticulture.cas.psu.edu/DSuccess-mulch.htm Considering a 4'x50' roll of plastic costs about $15 and can be used for years, it would be a worthwhile investment for anyone trying to seriously grow peppers.
I also find this stuff amazing. I had no idea that planting rows north & south vs. east & west can make a difference in yield.
Our government is spending millions of dollars on this stuff to determine exactly what kind of light is best to use. The page I cited was research based on creating a sustainable environment on Mars where they would have to grow their own food and do so at an effective cost in terms of using energy.
I drew the conclusion that the amount of useable photons hitting a plants surface was the primary measure of the quality of light. NASA also has to be concerned with how fragile the lights are so if they have a rough landing will they survive, as well as their usefulness since one won't be able to head to Home Depot and pick up some replacement bulbs.
It may also be worthwhile to invest in red mulch or its plastic equivalent. Studies show it has some positive effects on speeding the ripening of tomatoes. Some studies have shown it can increase fruit production by 12-20 percent. http://plasticulture.cas.psu.edu/DSuccess-mulch.htm Considering a 4'x50' roll of plastic costs about $15 and can be used for years, it would be a worthwhile investment for anyone trying to seriously grow peppers.
I also find this stuff amazing. I had no idea that planting rows north & south vs. east & west can make a difference in yield.
so...can this (growing indoors) be done successfully?
it was kinda sorta hard to "sum" up the advice here...
you speak of "grow rooms" is this too minimize the amount of light needed, or to maintain the grow area (heat, humidity)?
it was kinda sorta hard to "sum" up the advice here...
you speak of "grow rooms" is this too minimize the amount of light needed, or to maintain the grow area (heat, humidity)?
I'm hoping it can!
I have about 14 plants upstairs that mostly have never seen the outdoors. Then again, Pepper Joe says you can't. I'll let you know if I can in a month or two.In my case, it's just a room I'm trying to grow plants in. In time, it could evolve into a room in which the heat, light and humidity are controlled.
AlabamaJack
eXtreme
I will also let you know if I am successful with growing indoors. Just starting 15 ornamental pepper seeds to grow as house plants.
30 to 50 watts of plant canopy...please elaborate Willard3willard3 said:
Ok, went to lowes, a NUMBINGLY VAST ARRAY of lighting available.
want to stay "skinny" on cost, so I was thinking CFL lights...
What type?
Punched CFL lighting in search engine...
More confusion, and a whole buncha of a lot of pot growers (thought that stuff was illegal)
pharmerphil,
I'm having decent results using 20 watt, 2400K CFL lights. Running one 50 hours a week costs 7¢, so it won't break my piggy bank. The plants do not seem to be getting leggy; time will tell. I keep them close to the plants - within 3 inches or less. I also use some red plastic mulch to reflect the light back to the underneath of the plants. But I'm only using the lights about five hours a day - the rest of the time it is natural light, about four hours of direct light through windows.
I'm having decent results using 20 watt, 2400K CFL lights. Running one 50 hours a week costs 7¢, so it won't break my piggy bank. The plants do not seem to be getting leggy; time will tell. I keep them close to the plants - within 3 inches or less. I also use some red plastic mulch to reflect the light back to the underneath of the plants. But I'm only using the lights about five hours a day - the rest of the time it is natural light, about four hours of direct light through windows.
the wife has one "christmas pepper" that we moved in from outside and it's not getting the light it needs in the window.
we have an old house, it has 3 windows that get good light...so, we need the lighting badly.
Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.
They have some lights at wally world, 6 in a box, 12 bucks, 1700 lumens and I believe they are 2400 or 3000k, these should work! and the cost for a week, very impressive.
Just a note:
We garden around 6000 sq. ft. every summer, and everything except the corn, potatoes, etc. is started from seed
We buy NO plants
so starting about January , slowly fixture by fixture, the basement lights up...by the time it's stable enough weather here in Minnesota, to move the "babies" to the greenhouse, we have 8 4 ft. light fixtures, and 1 400 watt HPS so...
that lil wheel on the light meter, is spinning like a gyroscope...
so it's not that we don't have lighting, it's just a matter of keeping the cost down, Thanks again for your imput everyone
we have an old house, it has 3 windows that get good light...so, we need the lighting badly.
Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.
They have some lights at wally world, 6 in a box, 12 bucks, 1700 lumens and I believe they are 2400 or 3000k, these should work! and the cost for a week, very impressive.
Just a note:
We garden around 6000 sq. ft. every summer, and everything except the corn, potatoes, etc. is started from seed
We buy NO plants
so starting about January , slowly fixture by fixture, the basement lights up...by the time it's stable enough weather here in Minnesota, to move the "babies" to the greenhouse, we have 8 4 ft. light fixtures, and 1 400 watt HPS so...
that lil wheel on the light meter, is spinning like a gyroscope...
so it's not that we don't have lighting, it's just a matter of keeping the cost down, Thanks again for your imput everyone
pharmerphil said:30 to 50 watts of plant canopy...please elaborate Willard3
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Think of a mature chile plant's top as an umbrella; the area covered by the unbrella is the plant canopy.
For the geometry challenged, a 2' diameter plant canopy has about 3.2 square ft of plant canopy x 30 watts = approx 100 watts.
3' canopy requires 210 watts and etc.....
But remember, not all watts are equal. I can buy a 1000 watt HPS light that delivers only 358 watts of PAR light. From everything I have read and researched, simply stating one needs 30 watts per square foot is about as useful as telling someone that the baseball they are looking for is someplace in a two-acre field.