|
| I live in the mountains of nor cal and have had terrible luck growing maters and peppers outdoors, so this year I tried it indoors in my rec room which is all windows.. made and bought some self watering containers, started from seed in a box I made for the purpose, transplanted into the containers, set next to a south window and the plants took off.. But now the days are getting short and the foliage away from the windows, while always looking a bit light deprived, are starting to die... The plan all along was to extend the day by adding lighting, but now I need to act fast... I was planning to use auxiliary lighting 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening with probably 4 hours 'off' mid day, to create a 12 hour day... So I need to select a light that will give me as much bang for buck (both in initial cost and usable light) possible.. My long term goal is to grow my favorite veggies The area I need to cover is probably 5-6' wide (but I can compress it a little if needed) and 3-4' deep... Included are pictures of the little garden (more information in next post) Thanks, |
This post was edited by ongodsmountain on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:32
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by ongodsmountain (My Page) on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 11:45
| The light I am considering is a 150 watt HPS (linked below) Will this light do what I need? If not, is there something else out there I should consider? I'm thinking I might add a mylar curtain around the three sides that are not window at some point to help contain/maximize the light.. here is another picture of what I need to light... |
Here is a link that might be useful: 150 watt HPS light..
|
- Posted by Gregory123 none (My Page) on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 14:49
| I have grown large tomatoes indoors.......the only problem I had was getting them to set fruit. Used a 400 watt metal halide which I think works best over a sodium. You can get sodium conversion bulbs that will work in the MH ballast. This is the next bulb I am going to try. http://store.bulbstock.com/22142.html Very reasonably price and at 7200k it gives you much more of a light spectrum that comes from the sun. In the past I used a 4000k MH and it worked fine but I am going to try this bulb and at only 14 dollars very cheap. |
|
- Posted by Gregory123 none (My Page) on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 14:55
| Oh one more thing I have used that same light from your link. They work fine, the unit gets hot and is heavy. I would suggest getting a light with a remote ballast that sits on the floor. So the only weight you have to hang is the bulb and reflector which is much lighter than hanging the ballast. Take a look at this as a possibility. I own a couple of these and they work fine. http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-Metal-Halide-Grow-Light |
|
- Posted by ongodsmountain (My Page) on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:13
| 400 watt is going to be too expensive to run.. That is why I'm trying to take advantage of the big 5' x 5' south facing window to provide as much light as possible.... I could possibly start with a 150 or a 200 and then add another and stagger their times so that the first 2 hours of the day both are on, the next 2 hours only 1, the next four hours both off (sunlight only), the next two one of them on, and the last 2 both on..... Does that sound workable? I'm pretty low on money (lost business The price on the light you linked is not too bad..... Have to think on this a while.... I have two other windows along the same wall I need to grow plants in, and will have to light them too.. although, they will only be about a foot deep instead of the three feet this window requires... so I will probably use one or two 48" t5 flourescents in each of those and drop them down to right over the plants... Not too concerned about the heat or weight.. will be suspending them from the ceiling or a heavy duty wall mounted plywood bracket, using pulleys (which reduces the amount of force required to lift and lower them) and the ceiling is 10' high in a 600 'sq room that needs some heat in it during the winter anyways... I have to rethink the whole 400 watt thing... maybe I can justify it by using it to help heat the room and won't have to use an oil filled room heater at all... gotta do some calculating.. How high above the plants should it be to prevent I'll probably need fans anyways, so maybe I can use them to help redirect the heat to heat the room? |
This post was edited by ongodsmountain on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:31
|
- Posted by ongodsmountain (My Page) on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:25
| How much heat does the ballast unit put out on that 400 watt unit? |
|
- Posted by ongodsmountain (My Page) on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 19:06
| Well Gregory123, I took your advice and bit the bullet on the 400 watt light... It's way more than I was planning on or could afford.... but at least it's something I can use years into the future... and 'handles' this part of my veggie garden... I just need to save up some moola for a couple 4' T5 grow light for each of the other two windows now... Hopefully, this does the trick... |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
