The Fluorescent Grow Challange...

[Eephus Man]

EM could you share what you have learned?

I suppose I could, but quite frankly, I'm not sure I remember. Long thread, but plenty of specific information, specifically from S.S. Tupperware, Baker's and indyhot. Just read the whole thread. It's not a controlled experiment, but I see plenty of useful information from on/off cycles, to lighting rigs, lighting hardware, planting techniques, etc.

I posted this back on page 13; got no response. I agree with Frosty, I am not sure what we can glean from this 2 month experience.
If Daily Light Integral was not calculated, at least light levels at a given distance(s) would have been nice.

I was just for fun, was my understanding, and I personally learned quite a bit from the aforementioned parties. To each his own, I suppose.

If you're looking for a controlled experiment, I'd definitely be all ears/eyes if you choose to do it.

 

[mjdiamond83]

I learned a lot about the importance of lighting in this challenge. I started all 4 of my plants under a dual T8 fixture with 32W 5000K fluoro bulbs that put out 2950 lumens each. Here's the growth from 11/25 until I repotted them on 12/9. ?4 and ?2 were growing the best of the 4 plants.

On 12/14 I moved ?4 (which was still the same size as ?2) under an 85W, 5500K bulb putting out 4250 Lumens along with the smallest of the 4 challenge plants.

From there the growth really took off for the plant under the CFL vs the same sized plant under the T8 fixture. Here is a comparison from 12/21.

Here's a side by side comparison today.

The depth of the pot that the plant on the right (?2) is in is about half of that as the pot on the left (diameter is the same), so that could have had some bearing on the difference in growth. As of 12/29 when I gave away the other 2 challenge plants, neither had caught ?2 in growth, so I don't think the pot size had a lot to do with it. Both plants were potted with the same mix (miracle grow african violet, mixed with some compost) and received the same doses of fertilizer as well. The T8 Bulbs cover a lot of space at a length of 4 feet and are real cheap ($7 for a 2 pack of bulbs and $12 for the fixture), but the quality of light doesn't seem to be too good. That being said, compared to the cayenne seedlings I started on the windowsill of a large bay window last year, the fixture did a better job keeping them from getting leggy and makes a decent, cheap short term seed starting unit. For the Chinense seedlings I'm going to start this week though I'm definitely going to use CFL's so I can get as much growth as I can to try and get as much as I can out of my short New York growing season. I'm going to use 2 105W CFL's that put out 6700 lumens each ($25 for two bulbs with shipping on amazon) in a grow box and use the 4 ft fluoro set up for annuums and tomatoes.

 

[AlabamaJack]

I didn't mean to be a "downer" when I posted, but what I would be interested in more than anything else would be the Lumens/ft[sup]2 [/sup]the plants were receiving...IMO the spectrum of light and lumens/ft[sup]2[/sup] are the two factors that impact seedlings/plants the most (as far as light goes)...and I think everyone knows light intensity decreases as the distance from the light increases...I am going to read the whole thread and see if I can figure this out...

 

[Eephus Man]

I didn't mean to be a "downer" when I posted, but what I would be interested in more than anything else would be the Lumens/ft[sup]2 [/sup]the plants were receiving...IMO the spectrum of light and lumens/ft[sup]2[/sup] are the two factors that impact seedlings/plants the most (as far as light goes)...and I think everyone knows light intensity decreases as the distance from the light increases...I am going to read the whole thread and see if I can figure this out...

Ronnie,

I didn't take your post in that way, and these guys can defend themselves. I just (unrightfully) got defensive after it appeared that there were three posts in a row that felt like the research fund board was disappointed (and wanted their white paper ASAP) in the unsubstantiated results of what the OP said was supposed to be a fun adventure.

My apologies to all if I was too aggressive in my counter response.

 

[AlabamaJack]

no apologies necessary...I know this is supposed to be a fun thread...I was just trying to glean information from it and should have read the whole thread first...my bad...

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

Well I guess it's over... Mine did good I think. They saw there first rays of the sun a few minutes ago. For some quick stats... Grown in a box, a 6 tube 4 ft t-8 4-6 in above the top of the plant, watered with left over nutes from the DWC leftovers. They got some sort of fertilizer almost every time they were watered, be it fish emulsion, or what ever I had mixed at the time.

Lots of flowers some actually set, I do have a fan running, but the Fl. isn't really enough to set fruit. I know this but I really only made this to help me get a start on the season, I can plant out mid-late Feb.

I have had a chance to learn how this new box works for me, so I;ll know what to expect here in a couple weeks when my newly sprouted seeds are on their way. I also made 2 more raised beds to have a lill more room for some.

 

[onefowl1]

Sorry for not getting the final pics up sooner but work had its way with my time. So no pods on the challenge plants but do have flower buds on one. As far as what was gained from this grow. Many claim you can not rely on getting pods to set under florescent lighting or maintain compact growth of more mature plants under this kind of lighting. SO at the least both these things were shown to be achieved under these kinds of lights grown various ways. Now one can see they do not have to spend hundreds of dollars on lighting setups to grow or bring their plants through the winter months. It was the not control part that gave the most info on this because if everyone did it exactly the same it would have only shown one possibility instead of multiple ways to achieve similar results.

Now it was stated that we did not show our failures or set backs during this. That is not true as we had many and most if not all were posted about on here. I personally had a hydro solution problem that burned the roots on two of my plants, killing one and setting back the other. I posted pics of one of mine mowed down by a mouse. Pepper Guru cooked his seed on the heat mat and salsalady dried out her little seedlings having them to close to her wood stove.

Now it was asked what kind of pepper this was and the answer is Chilli Chilli with a listed time to peppers as 60 days from transplant.

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

Chilli Chilli Huh, It has exploded with pods and flowers since i repoted in a 3 gallon smart pot, and set it outside in the sun. i am going to give the others away , but keep one...