help for growing under lights.

[philoserenus]

hmmm... coming from toronto itz hard to get enough light in the wintertime; especially in the gloomy winters... so, im considering a move to lights

- the spacing (adjustable) between the top and bottom of shelf is 20" (i prefer this height b/c i can fit my phrag giganteum)
- i am thinking about one 4' T8 two bulb fixture
- with one GE or Philips Plant & Aquarium (i cannot rmb the wattage for either...) and one Philips Natural Sunshine (i believe this is a 32 or 40 watts)
- thinking about 12-16 hrs of lighting a day

will this be enough lights to get some guys to bloom? b/c i know they probably dun get enough light in the winter and so they cannot initiate blooms properly. for the summertime, i can easily get enough natural sunlight to supplement, winter i cannot

i grow:
phal equestris, mannii, cornu-cervi
phrag maria glanz, conchiferium, kovachii, sorcerer's apprentice
paph lowii, delantii x moquettianum
neo falcata (but this guy blooms the way it is so not an issue with it)
aerangis kirkii
cirrhopetalum makoyanum

 

[Ernie]

I'd go to 4 tubes total. But depends on how much sun you get- 4 will do even with no natural light. The bulbs you mention will be fine. They are essentially the Ferrari versions for what you need. IMO, you could do well with an equal number of cool and warm white bulbs, especially since you will have some natural light (right?). I have lots of info on light gardening on our web site in the culture section.

-Ernie

 

[philoserenus]

i have south facing windows and in the summer i can lots of sun, just nowadays in the winter, i cant leave the window open all the time since it gets really cold in here. but when it is sunny out there, i try to give them as much sun as possible.

i would go 4 tubes, but i can physically only fit one 2 tube fixture on my stand. it doesnt fit width wise.

 

[NYEric]

oooooohh the ferraris!

 

[Rick]

The distance between the bulbs and plants may be the most critical factor as far as how much is enough.

If you have a light meter, you want to get the plants close enough so there is about 1000 - 1500 FC at the leaves. The lowii may want more. Surprisingly this may only turn out to be about 6" (or less) with a double bulb fixture. You could probably get away with 800 or so FC for the Phals.

Adding a reflector and reflecting material will also help increase the efficiency of the lights you end up using.

 

[Ernie]

Yep, distance is crucial! Closer is better; more than about 10 inches is too far for even the phals probably. Again depends on what's happening with that window. Get yourself a good digital light meter (not one of those battery-less photocell ones) to tell you what's really going on.

-Ernie

 

[philoserenus]

thanks guys, i guess in a mth or so i'll know if its working or not just by patiently observant ^^

 

[cnycharles]

thanks guys, i guess in a mth or so i'll know if its working or not just by patiently observant ^^

when I first had shelves near my windows, I had one shoplight of 4' bulbs. things grew mostly but there weren't a whole lot of flowers. after I finally added another shoplight, I think within half a year things started flowering quite a bit. if leaves start to change from dark green to a lighter green/pale yellow then you'll be able to see a reaction to more light

 

[GaryB]

Phrags and multiforal paphs (lowii, roth's, etc) will need more light than you can get from two T8. The Phals and Neo will be fine.

In looking up weather conditions for Toronto (BBC Weather Centre), I found that it averages 2-3 hours of sunlight per day in the winter. Must be lots of clouds? With that little outside little, your T8's are really providing all of the light for your plants. I think you'll need 4.

Gary

 

[philoserenus]

hmmmm
thanks for the heads up guy. i'll watch it for now and upgrade needingly