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Author Topic: Gardens anyone?  (Read 513117 times)

rgfixit

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1125 on: Apr 03, 2017, 05:23 PM »
Got my startup going this morning. A few days for the pods to soak up and settle in and I'll start some seeds.


The deer decided they liked my tulips.so.......


Fence!


Then I decided to clean up the back of the house plot.


Put the left over mulch in the garden paths.


And... the plantains are making their first appearance.



A good day gardening for this early in the season.

Rg







If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

drowndin dots

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1126 on: Apr 03, 2017, 07:49 PM »


  Lookin good RG!

boondox

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1127 on: Apr 03, 2017, 07:59 PM »
Is that a florecent lamp rg?? If so are you lowering it to around 18 inches from plant for veg growth and 12 inches for flowering?? Also you may want to get some heating pads  like a electric heating pad to put under the the planters to keep them around 75 to 80 *f... cause florescent bulbs don't throw out that much heat .. and maybe make a tent out of some of those emergency space blankets... those in silver mylar will reflect tons of light and heat make a frame oUT of pvc to hold it up.. i suggest a enclose space around light to hold its heat in.. did you season the balast and florecent bulbs ware out so i replace them evrey 6 mo. Thays why i am going led.. other then that stuff you got a awesome start to starting seeds.. 6 to 8 weeks till they get planted see you then..

rgfixit

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1128 on: Apr 04, 2017, 03:16 AM »
Well Boone, I know just a bit about lights ;D Spent the last 10 years of my working life as the service manager for a lighting installation company.

Anyway.....ballasts don't "season" they're electronic. Flourescent lamps however, do take approximately 20 hours to come to full lumin output. Beyond that their full lumin output lasts about 4000 hours with a total duty cycle of around 9000 hours, failures excepted. I keep my basement heated. It stays the same temp as the rest of the house. Around 68. No need for heat pads or the like. The table is covered in Reflectix and the troffer fixture I use is also lined with it. The troffer is on pulleys so I can raise and lower it.

The lamps I use are a full spectrum equivalent 5000k, T-8. I have a couple cases of them left over from my lighting days. My research told me that keeping the lights 3-5" above the plants was best. Last year the temps at the plants stayed around 75 during the daylight cycle and lowered to around 65 in the night cycle.

Worked just great.  Near 100% germination. I had way too many plants to put in the ground.

My biggest dilemma is how many of what to start. A good problem ;D

I'm planning on getting some stuff in the ground around the middle of May. Since I have raised beds, this year I'm going to make some covers for the beds to protect from frost and and bump up the heat. I'm still thinking on that one.

Rg
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Raquettedacker

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1129 on: Apr 04, 2017, 05:01 AM »
Looks great Bob..   My garlic was pooping up through what was left of the snow...
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.....<br />Strangers stopping strangers just to shake there hand...<br />\"Dying is the easy part. Learning how to live is the hard part....\"

SKUNK-MASTER

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1130 on: Apr 04, 2017, 05:19 AM »
Looks great Bob..   My garlic was pooping up through what was left of the snow...


that must have been some sight    ;D
    

pb brown 27"             pb walleye 23"

boondox

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1131 on: Apr 04, 2017, 05:31 AM »


Rg it's good to know there florecent did not know that and did not know there on a pully set up.. . Ya used 18 inches  most use 18 inches like...  hps Mh and led lights sources... now florecent are low heat in the t5's, t8's, and t12 bulbs and can be placed less then 10 inches from plants.. like you said..  by the way I am sure you noticed mylar has more light reflexing then the duller finish of reflectixs..  that's why i use it  by the way temps are a tad cool seems but if it works it works was not sure if basement was heated or not that is why I suggest the heat pads..




Any how cool stuff on lights:


th the light, here's a quick reference guide:

Type of LED Grow Light   Distance From Plant
1W Bulbs   at least 12" (30cm)
3W or 5W Bulbs   at least 18" (45cm)
High Wattage (300W+)   up to 30" (76cm) or more
Powerful LED grow lights need to be kept further away

guide to use as a starting point:

Grow Light   Closest   ~ Sunlight   Furthest
150W   8" (20cm)   10" (25cm)   12" (30cm)
250W   10" (25cm)   12" (30cm)   14" (35cm)
400W   12" (30cm)   14" (35cm)   19" (48cm)
600W   14" (35cm)   16" (41cm)   25" (64cm)
1000W   16" (41cm)   22" (55cm)   31" (79cm)
150W - covers 2' x 2' (0.6m x 0.6m) area

250W - covers 2' x 2' (0.6m x 0.6m) area up to 2.5' x 2.5' (0.8m x 0.8m)

400W - covers 3' x 3' (0.9m x 0.9m) area up to 3.5' x 3.5' (1m x 1m)

600W - covers 3.5' x 3.5' (1m x 1m) area up to 4' x 4' (1.2m x 1.2m)

1000W - covers 4' x 4' (1.2m x 1.2m) area up to 5' x 5' (1.5m x 1.5m).

Exampleth the light, here's a quick reference guide:

Type of LED Grow Light   Distance From Plant
1W Bulbs   at least 12" (30cm)
3W or 5W Bulbs   at least 18" (45cm)
High Wattage (300W+)   up to 30" (76cm) or more
Powerful LED grow lights need to be kept Compact fluorescent bulbs are available in warm/red (2700 K), full spectrum or daylight (5000 K) and cool/blue (6500 K) versions. Warm red spectrum is recommended for flowering, and cool blue spectrum is recommended for vegetative growth. Usable life span for compact fluorescent grow lights is about 10,000 hours.
Grow

Nice link on lumen out put of all type of bulbs..


http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml




rgfixit

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1132 on: Apr 04, 2017, 07:26 AM »
I'm an old cheapskate.

My experience tells me that T-8 lamps are the least expensive to operate. There's a reason why they are the most common source of lighting in commercial applications today. Even better, mine are free. LED's are an option. My whole house is lit with LED's. But, even the link you sent states that LED's are a poor choice for grow lights.. They just don't produce enough lumins to be really effective for the investment.  

HID lamps are an option. But, Though HID lamps may produce more lumens per watt, they are colored in a less efficient range for propagating leafy plant growth.

T-5 lamps definitely produce more lumens per watt, but are twice the cost, more expensive to operate and do not last at peak performance as well as T-8 lamps. Their duty cycle is rated in the average of 10,000 hours before declining in performance while T-8 lamps run full closer to 20,000 hours.

One lamp they completely ignore is the induction flourescent. Probably because of their cost. I thought of using a couple 200 watt induction lamps I have, but the troffer was a perfect, cheap solution.

All this is pretty academic really. For the 4-5 weeks my plants will be starting, they'll be just fine.

Rg
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

big_guy_13021

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1133 on: Apr 04, 2017, 08:42 AM »
Mite have to come up with floating gardens this yr if the rain don't stop

Lundin-loading

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1134 on: Apr 04, 2017, 11:48 AM »
HID lamps are an option. But, Though HID lamps may produce more lumens per watt, they are colored in a less efficient range for propagating leafy plant growth.

Metal halide have a very good spectrum for vegetative growth, however, for what your using this for, t8's are absolutely ideal. You can drop the lights right on top of your plants because of the low heat. When the light is right on top of the plants like that you'll see significantly less stretching between nodes, which makes for a more efficient compact plant ready for the wind outside once it's time! I would be sure to have lights within 3" of the top of plants at all times as best you can.

Regarding reflections I prefer flat white paint. I don't like dealing with mylar. Were talking about maybe 10-15% lower reflective properties, not a big deal when you think about it. Especially when your just using this setup for seedlings.

Where the hid lights really shines (pun intended) is when you've got large quantities of larger plants, you need the light penetration that these bad boys put off to get down there through the canopy.
Beauty

Raquettedacker

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1135 on: Apr 04, 2017, 02:52 PM »

that must have been some sight    ;D


      :rotflol: :rotflol: :rotflol:   Woops.....
You should have seen them..  It was some site to see.. ;D
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.....<br />Strangers stopping strangers just to shake there hand...<br />\"Dying is the easy part. Learning how to live is the hard part....\"

rgfixit

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1136 on: Apr 04, 2017, 04:50 PM »
I beg to differ. Typical metal halide Lamps are in the range of 3700 to 4000k with some pulse start lamps reaching 4100k. Northern sky light is rated at 7500k. Clearly a whiter light is more natural. Broad spectrum artificial lighting is but a substitute for the real McCoy, but 5000 - 6500k works.

I'll be starting some flowers and veggies at the same time. I think I'm ok ;D

Rg
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

boondox

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1137 on: Apr 04, 2017, 05:52 PM »
I'm an old cheapskate.

My experience tells me that T-8 lamps are the least expensive to operate. There's a reason why they are the most common source of lighting in commercial applications today. Even better, mine are free. LED's are an option. My whole house is lit with LED's. But, even the link you sent states that LED's are a poor choice for grow lights.. They just don't produce enough lumins to be really effective for the investment.  



the above is a incorrect statement with modern led technology it is a older statement from back when thd leds first came out.. see with a area like mine 1.5 x1.5 foot buy 18 to 24 inches high you need minimum 5000 lumens to compare to a metal halite or a sodium vapor bulbs my pannel use 225  times .25 watt bulb about 60 watts and puts out 2000 lumens my t8's are 15 watts each and put out 60 to 70 lumens per watt so 70 x45 or 3 150 that's 5150 lumens total for sure what your doing rg yours will get gem goING and started any how another question for rg is are those mercury vapor florecent bulb you are using?? If not might want to switch to them..




HID lamps are an option. But, Though HID lamps may produce more lumens per watt, they are colored in a less efficient range for propagating leafy plant growth.


correct that Mh and hps bulbs are less efficient this is were leds are better they may say 300 watt pannels but your only running like 160 watts they are the equilvent of a 300 watt bulb in lumens but use way less power just like florecent bulbs  look it up most on e bay and else ware will say power consumed that's were the hps and mh bulbs are less efficient and use 400 watts for a 400 watt bulb this is were florecent light or led is best..

T-5 lamps definitely produce more lumens per watt, but are twice the cost, more expensive to operate and do not last at peak performance as well as T-8 lamps. Their duty cycle is rated in the average of 10,000 hours before declining in performance while T-8 lamps run full closer to 20,000 hours.

One lamp they completely ignore is the induction flourescent. Probably because of their cost. I thought of using a couple 200 watt induction lamps I have, but the troffer was a perfect, cheap solution.

All this is pretty academic really. For the 4-5 weeks my plants will be starting, they'll be just fine.


like you and I have said for the weeks your planing you will be fine as long as they are a mercury vapor florecent bulb you should be fine reg florecent bulbs produce aprox 15 to 20 lumens per watt if yours are 35 watt t8 they may produce 700 lumes per bulb.. wich is very low lumen out put..  if you got 4 that's 2800 for the size of garden you have if you used mercury vapor it would really help... cause those produce about 60 to 70 lumens per watt if 35 watts per bulb that 2450 lumens per bulb x 4 bulbs is 9800 lumens  wich may work for you.. like I said you may have mercury vapor bulb I am just not you and nor sure.. this is just a suggestion I am useing sylvania plant and aquarium bulbs which if wondering have the mercury in them.. the mercury produce a pink light from mine not white you can use same balast and holder just got to switch bulbs if intrested.. 

Rg

Mac Attack

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1138 on: Apr 04, 2017, 06:03 PM »
 :pinch:


need meds Bob

rgfixit

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Re: Gardens anyone?
« Reply #1139 on: Apr 04, 2017, 06:15 PM »
Uncle!

Rg
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

 



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