Home Made Grow Lights

[Jungle Jane]

What are you going to be growing,it's too cold out there for most things?

[mic]

What are you going to be growing,it's too cold out there for most things?

chillies. hoped an insulated box might be around 12 deg?

[Jungle Jane]

It was quite mild last December,I had my hyacinths in a pot of compost under a bag & a dustbin in the shed/summerhouse & the soil froze along with the roots,I can't imagine how to keep a grow box at 12 degrees out there,it has to be cost efficient. Would it be better using the space you live in rather than the outdoors (but I like the idea if there's a free way of heating).

[4Shoes]

Still working my way through the posting, but in summary here are the key points

Light fittings
Light tube Fittings come in T5, T8, T12 presentations and either have 5 or 13mm between the pins. This presentation is not important for the Grow Light project. It is the Light output (Lumens) and Light Temperature Value (K).

The aim seems to be to get close to Day Light Temperature Value (6500K), but design for what you aim to grow.
Cool Light around 4000K - 5000K (Blue light) – Veg Growth
Warm Light - 3000K – (Red Light) – Flower Growth

Light intensity.
For the human spectrum, light is measured in Lumens (Lm) or Lux (Lx) 1lx = (1lm / msq)
Plants light intensity is refer to as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). There are many on-line articles on PAR, but without kit, it is hard to make use of the information.

So I took from that - It is no good getting a the correct light source, if you hang it from the ceiling. Build a frame and lower the light to stop plants going leggy, they need a more intensive light source.

For most lay people it means that low or no heat light sources can be lowered to within 2” to 4” (50mm to 100mm) to the plants.

Put white walls around your Frame to reflect the light back towards the plants.

On / Off
Plants do some growing in the dark, so can not have light all day. The minimum darkness is said to be 4hrs for veg growing plants (20 ON / 4 OFF) , but other believe 6hrs darkness is more balanced. 18 ON/ 6 OFF.
Perhaps 12 ON/OFF for seedlings early Jan.

Add heat to the bed and use a thermostat if possible. Some people recommend the ITC1000 or an Inkbird type controllers. They could be used to control heat and cooling in Greenhouse in summer if no longer required. (Also a lot cheaper than some of the devices in garden shops. Can also be used for a beer fermentation fridge