Grow light

[veggiechicken]

It's very early to sow courgettes (probably sweetcorn too but I don't grow it). I sowed a few courgettes as an experiment a couple of weeks ago. They grow so fast tjat you may as well wait until the proper time and sow them again.

[Jungle Jane]

I sow my sweetcorn in April they grow quickly & benefit from the warmer weather in May. Is there any way the seedlings could be closer to the window there's quite a gap & can you turn the radiator valve down a little maybe?

[Dave2072]

I just follow packet instructions and it said march on them :-(

I can move closer to window but doubt that'll help as sun doesn't shine into this window.

[Kirk]

36 Watts seems a heck of a lot for an LED bulb, just put a 2W LED in a lamp I have here and it illuminates the room happily.
I would go look for alternatives as I am sure there must be some that use a lower wattage. If the linked item had said a total of 3W it would seem more in line. Just 36 Watts is on the very large side for an LED.

As my 2W LED correlates to a 20 Watt halogen it would mean that 36 watt corresponds to something like 360 Watt old style lamp and that is big, very big. Just seems wrong.

[Dave2072]

So would a standard 2w led light in a desk lamp pointing at them actually help? Looking at other posts in threads they all say these bright t5 lights.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Dave! I may be speaking out of turn, but think it's all about "Lumins" 65000 seems the way to go for veggative growth, although invested, not used it yet! So can't cconfirm, but that was my initial findings on research! Sure somebody more experianced in using "Grow lights" will come along and blow me out of the water!

[rhyswales]

If you don't want to construct anything you could try something like this, takes 10 minutes to put together. I've used it for a few months and it's great.

Garland Grow Light Garden - All Propagators

[sparrow100]

That's what I have Rhys, and it's brilliant. Am trying to justify getting a second one.

[WendyC]

Oooh stop tempting me. I'm now comparing the two sizes of Grow Garden and Geopod. I haven't really got room for either.

[Penellype]

I've recently rearranged pretty much the whole upstairs of my house to accommodate one of these:

Root!t Grow Light System - Harrod Horticultural

It has a slightly bigger footprint than the grow light garden and stands slightly higher. It has 4 tubes instead of the 2 in the grow light garden and grows nice sturdy plants:



It can also be hung from the ceiling, which I may try in my garage later in the year.

[solanaceae]

I've recently rearranged pretty much the whole upstairs of my house to accommodate one of these:

Root!t Grow Light System - Harrod Horticultural

It has a slightly bigger footprint than the grow light garden and stands slightly higher. It has 4 tubes instead of the 2 in the grow light garden and grows nice sturdy plants:

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It can also be hung from the ceiling, which I may try in my garage later in the year.

Don't know what you are planning to grow under that light in your garage Pene, but there could be question marks on the effectiveness of this particular light when hanging/fixed from a large height.

I've had that same light system(using the legs) for a few yrs now and found it to be helpful and reliable in starting off my toms from seeds up until a couple of months later when they are ready to start going out to the garden.

This year I thought I'd grow a few extra tom plants, so I sowed more and when it came to pot up I had the inevitable problem of lack of light coverage for all the pots. I had anticipated this beforehand and inserted much longer legs for the light. Unfortunately from that point on the growth slowed dramatically. It could have been because I'd just potted up and disturbed some roots but 2-3 weeks later and there was still not much improvement .

All sorted now though, growth has picked up very well. The legs are short again (2ft) but longer than the original ones.

Could be that they are useful from the ceiling for established tall plants?

[Penellype]

As has been mentioned before, the amount of light reduces proportionally to the square of the distance from the light source, and this number gets smaller very quickly. The idea of using the lights in the garage would be for plants that were too big for the house but not quite ready to go in the garden, either because there was still a possibility of frost, or more likely simply because I had run out of space! This usually happens around June when I am wanting to plant out tomatoes, courgettes etc but the space is still occupied by buckets of potatoes, early salad crops, turnips etc, and again in July/early August when I am waiting for the onions to die down so I can plant winter brassicas.

I may of course find that it is too hot in the garage at this point, as there is not a great deal of ventilation unless I leave the big door open...

[sparrow100]

I have a tin foil collar around most of mine to keep the light focused inwards - one side rests against a white wall. Mr Sparrow had been objecting to the amount of light chucked out in the wee early hours of morning (he's a sensitive soul) and that's why it's on. But it also seems to maximise the light given off by the tubes.

[Tripmeup]

Must mention that the distance from the plant to the light source is influential in regards to light intensity. Light output is divided by the distance squared. Thus, if the plant is 2ft from a 1000 lumen light source the intensity would equate to 250 lumens. This is why its important to get the most out of the running of lighting by placing plants as close to the light source as possible without causing heat damage. Temperature can be controlled by type of bulb used, fan(s) within lighting ballast, use of vents on propagator and background temperature/location etc...


I use a Lightwave T5 over a heated Vitopod propagator for germination/propagation and then harden off on the windowsills/potting shed before planting out.

Any chance of a picture of your set up?
Thks

[Dave2072]

Thanks for the advice all!

Do you think I could move my courgettes out to my cold frame now? Will they survive this as I know they'll get more light.

Should I put them in new larger pots and bury them deeper?