Hi guys...Can anyone steer me to a good place to get a grow light without breaking the bank? Most of the systems I see are over $100. I have a basement room with one small window. Most of the room is pretty dim. The plants I have in there are okay with this, but someone suggested a grow light to give me more options. Is there something else besides the g. light that would work?
Thanks for any help!

Thanks Jiffymouse! That's a great idea. My hubby has three hanging over his workbench. I think he'll notice if one is missing...I'll ask him to pick me up one. L.

I would add that if you are using a 2-tube fluorescent fixture, one cool white and one warm white tube is the best combination; just as good as the more expensive full spectrum tubes.

The two big advantages of fluorescents are that they use very little energy so you can leave them on for 12 hours per day and because they are cool, you can place them very close to your plants.

Hi comfrey, I use the flourescent lights as Will suggested and they work amazingly well. I even use them for seed starting in the spring.

Wayne

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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..........

quote:

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Originally posted by Will Creed:
Comfrey,
Warm white has a pinkish cast and cool white has a bluish cast.

Glad you may not have to invest any money in lights. More to spend on plants!

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Ok..glad you mentioned that, I have 8 double tubed shop lights and a large amount of extra tubes, so I am certain I should have some of both, just didn't realize how to tell the difference. Some one gave me some what they called "grow tubes" years ago and they did have a pinkish cast. Of course they are long gone.

Ok another question about this...I hang two double tube lights side by side.. alittle space between the two...now would it be better to to say pink, blue, pink, blue? Here's a picture of my tomato seedlings with the lights hanging over them for reference to what I am talking about.



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quote:

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Originally posted by Will Creed:
That's a nice setup you have there. Will you send me a tomato when they are ready?!

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LOL...these were from early spring..Tomatoes all gone now, And I must say they were mighty tasty.

Thanks for your help Will very appreciated, I am always looking for ways to improve!

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Hi, all. I read somewhere (probably a fluorescent tube sales site!) that the tubes should be replaced every year for their use with plants as the photo output deminishes. Even though we can still see it fine, it's not enough for the plants. Is this true? How often do any of you replace your tubes?

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may God bless the WHOLE world!

Good point, Margaret. In fact, fluorescent tubes begin to diminish in their light output as soon as you start using them. There is no set duration for the tubes. Obviously, tubes that are on longer each day will not last as long as tubes that are on for a shorter period. In addition, the light emitted at the center of a 4-foot tube is three times greater than the light emitted at the ends of the same tube.

I used to keep my fluorescent tubes for about two years and I operated them for about 12-14 hours per day. If money were not a problem, I guess I might change them every year. But I never noticed a decline in my plants during the second year of use.

Bottom line: Change the tubes when you notice a decline or diminished growth in your plants. And do what you can afford!

I do want to add that there is SOME sun light in my apartment, mostly in the living room, plants in the living room seem happy but I would like to be able to have plants in some of the darker rooms too.

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Amber

remember that plants absorb light as food during the day, at night they use the food they stored all day at night.. if you give a plant too much light it will be unable to "eat" the food it stored.. anything more than 14 hrs is excessive... for almost all plants.. i can think of a few that can survive 24hr light cycles though...

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- "i love this show!" - G.I.R.

There is no set daily period of light that can be generalized for most plants. It depends on the light intensity and the plant species. It is generally recognized that anything within an 8 to 16 hour period is safe for nearly all plants.

If lights are on for too long each day, the following symptoms may appear: leaves turn light green and turn downward and old leaves may turn crisp, curl, and fall off.

Plants manufacture food (green tissue growth) in the presence of light. They don't cannibalize themselves. They tend to store more food or grow more when they have excess light, up to a point, as noted above.

The lights don't dim over time. There is a built in capacitor to insure energy level is high enough to energize the light. If the capacitor goes bad, the light goes noticably dim.

If you shop a Lowes or Home Depot for your 4ft bulbs, look for a "sunlight" labeled flourescent. It emits at 5100k which is almost the same as the aquarium/plant bulbs at 5300k which cost four times as much. The cool white bulbs are in the 4300K range. The numbering systems has to do with the color. Higher numbers are on the red side of the color spectrum, lower numbers on the blue side, hence Cool vs Warm descriptions which make more sense than the color temperature numbering system.