Artificial Light for Starting Seeds and Indoor Growing

!±8± Artificial Light for Starting Seeds and Indoor Growing

Fluorescent Light

In starting seeds indoors and growing house plants, light, along with temperature and humidity, can be controlled and thus become a tool for producing luxuriant healthy growth. With fluorescent light you can give plants just the illumination they need all the time, no matter what the weather outside.

Plants grown under two 40-watt, 48-inch fluorescent bulbs with a reflector may receive up to 1,000 foot candles of light, depending upon their distance from the source.

Keep in mind that light intensity is not the same all along the tube. The most light is right in the middle, the least at the ends. Therefore, a light-loving plant, like the geranium, can be placed on a little block if necessary to make its tip just clear the light in the middle of the tube. Start cuttings, which are satisfied with little light, right in the peat moss at the ends of the tubes.

Fluorescent vs Incandescent

Fluorescent bulbs produce blue, short-waved light that encourages the growth of the leaves and reproductive parts in plants. They are better for growing plants than the incandescent ones, which give out a light in which red rays predominate. The red rays are good for top growth and seed germination. Fluorescent lights are predominately blue which helps produce flowers, develop roots and deepen color of the leaves. They are cool and can't overheat plants.

Among fluorescent lights, some types are better than others for specific purposes. The Gro-Lux wide-spectrum fluorescent combines some of the good characteristics of incandescent with the best light ranges of fluorescents, and is probably the most satisfactory single light to use for foliage plants, vegetables and flowering plants.

Raising Seedlings with Artificial Light

A combination of the standard Gro-Lux and the wide-spectrum Gro-Lux is better for raising seedlings, propagating cuttings and forcing bulbs. Seedlings should be placed with a distance of about three inches between the tubes and the seedling tops as soon as the green sprouts have broken through the soil.

As a humidity control, put a plastic curtain around shelves; just a strip of clear plastic thumbtacked to the top and bottom shelves gives plants their own little greenhouse. Plants grown in this plastic enclosure seldom need watering, and they have that shining-with-health look that goes with plenty of humidity. Open the curtain every day to give them a change of air.

Feeding: The more nearly perfect growing conditions are, the faster plants will grow, the healthier they will be, and the more food they will need. That is another way of saying that the plants close to the lights, which are the substitutes for the sun, need more food than plants farther away. Watch for new growth; it is lighter and thinner than the old. If they are growing fast, feed them well.

Fluorescent Fixtures and Bulbs

The two basic types of fluorescent lamp fixtures are the industrial type, which has a built-in reflector, and the strip (or channel) type, usually used under shelves or cabinets, with a supporting background painted with flat white paint which acts as a reflector.

The industrial type can be hung in the open, raised and lowered with adjustable chains that hook into the fixture; however, it is normally painted with glossy white paint which reflects less light than flat white. If you choose the industrial type for its flexibility of height, it would be best to remove the glossy enamel with paint remover and repaint it with flat white, in order to get the maximum light reflection.

Both fixtures are available in models which hold from one to four tubes and which can take various watt-size lamps. The most readily available replacement bulbs are the 40-watt (48-inch) and 72-watt (96-inch) sizes. The 40-watt size will light a growing area of 48 by 6 inches, and the 72 watt a space of 96 by 6 inches; two bulbs would double the available growing area.

Your next problem is to choose the type of bulb: the preheat lamp, the rapid-start lamp and the slimline instant-start lamp. If you use the four-foot-size fixture, a preheat lamp starter is good for the sake of economy and good performance in high humidity. The eight-foot fixtures are most often available only in slimline instant-start types.

Do not assume that two short bulbs will give the same light as one long one-light intensity is reduced at the ends of the tubes and more tubes naturally will have more ends! However, two shorter tubes might give greater flexibility by letting you adjust them to different heights for different growing needs.

Artificial Light for Starting Seeds and Indoor Growing

Good Plantronics 9xx

New iPower Dimmable 600 Watt HPS + MH Digital Grow Light W/ 6" Air Cooled Hood Plant Growing Light Lamp. Digital HPS MH Ballast + HPS Bulb + Air Cool Reflector + Timer + Pair Yoyo

!±8±New iPower Dimmable 600 Watt HPS + MH Digital Grow Light W/ 6" Air Cooled Hood Plant Growing Light Lamp. Digital HPS MH Ballast + HPS Bulb + Air Cool Reflector + Timer + Pair Yoyo

Brand : iPower Grow Light
Rate :
Price : $232.99
Post Date : Dec 06, 2011 23:51:05
Usually ships in 1-2 business days

From seeding to flowering, iPower Grow Light has your plant covered with all the light it will ever need. HID provides the most lumen per dollar, which means the most yields for your investment. This kit eliminates the need for mixing incandescent with fluorescent, or additional LEDs that provide little gains at 2 to 3 times the cost. The balanced spectrum set of lights will not only be well-absorbed by plant's chlorophylls, but also promotes healthy chlorophyll production, and regulates plant life cycle.

Package Includes:
1x 600W Dimmable electronic ballast
1x 600W Super HPS bulb
1x 600W MH bulb
1x 6" Air Cool Hood with Ceramic Socket
Pair of yo-yo hangers
1x 24H Timer

Below are description for each of the components

Electronic Dimmable Digital Ballast
* 120/240 V supported
* Automatic Convertible: HPS & MH bulbs
* Adjustable power settings: 50%, 75%, and 100%
* Standard hydroponic "S" plug
* 1x Heavy duty power cord (a value FREE from us)
* Open & Short Circuit Protection
* Ignition Failure Protection
* End-of-Bulb-Life Protection

Super High Pressure Sodium Bulb
* Higher lumen over regular HPS* Maximum power: 600w
* Color temperature (K): 2,100
* Expected Life Span (Hr): 24,000

Metal Halide Bulb
* Maximum power: 600w
* Color temp (K): 6,600
* Expected Life Span (Hr): 15,000

6" Air Cool Hood with Ceramic Socket
* Dimensions (LxWxH): 19" x 15" x 8"
* 15' built in heavy duty cord
* Standard hydroponics S-plug
* Pre-installed lamp socket
* Slide-in glass with gasket
* Hanger hooks

Adjustable Yo-Yo Hangars
* Eyebolts for hanging the reflector
* Up to 22 lbs weight load capacity per pair
* Maximum Extension Length: 33 1/2"

24 Hour Timers
* 24 hour adjustment, 15 min increments

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