Highly recommended! ;-)
Posted on 01/30/2021 7:09:45 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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Question on growing lights....
What does one look for for a good grow light?
Any recommendations on a good brand or type?
Highly recommended! ;-)
The TV weather mets are starting to report “snow” in more significant amounts for our area when they’ve been saying an inch, then rain will wash it all away - and poof it’s gone! They’re gradually “upping” the snow amounts. The guy I follow is an independent met (does forecasting for commercial/agricultural purposes to make a living) & this is what he said this morning (I’m still laughing):
“But once the proverbial Excrement is hitting the oscillating Circular machine... Doing incremental steps is exactly the wrong thing to do. The reason why so many Meteorologists whether it’s on The Weather Channel or AccuWeather or NWS or your local TV take baby steps is because they are afraid of being wrong. I am not afraid of being wrong.”
I’ll take sneux over ice ANY day. We were 16 this morning & that’s pretty cold for us. The ground is frozen, roads are cold, so the sneux is going to stick this time around!
BTW, found some packages of zinnia seeds at the store today - bought two, one a “California Giants, Mixed Colors” & the other a “Lilliput, Mixed Colors”. My little great-nieces did their own “garden plans” the other day ... my niece took pics of them holding their plans - so cute. I’m going to take those pics & make cards & send them each a pack of zinnia seeds for their little plots, with a note about how much I like their plans. I think they’ll enjoy getting some mail with flower seeds for the Spring. :-)
Cool! I like the Godzilla rice field the best.
Getting more snow right now (Saturday night).
About three years ago, when I still lived in Chico Ca, I decided to start many vegetables early instead of purchasing starter plants from the store.
I looked into grow lights, and learned that the best ones were the same ones pot growers use.
You can purchase LED lights. Look into the ones that have at least four different colors so you get the full array of the light. Once you start looking into them you will see what o mean. I purchased two LED lights that had 104 LEDs in each of them, and the plants I started inside were 100% better than any ones I could have bought. Plus they were some of the best vegetables I ever grew.
Pot heads are idiots, but when it comes to growing their pot, they are real good on knowing what type of light is best for the growth.
So look into pot plant grow lights. You will be pleasently surprised at the rather low cost, and the high benefit. Especially since LED lights are low energy, and do not scorch the plants like other lights can.
You will still need to regulate the temperature, but I’m sure you already know that. The light part is very crucial. So look into them.
The rice art is incredible. Thanks for the link, and the video was great. Looks like their desire to increase the tourism paid off.
I have started my own seeds for years but it’s always been a hassle as in NY, you just don’t see the sun enough to help with anything.
Here in NH, not only do we have much more sunlight, but we have a better layout in the house for southern exposure indoors to take advantage of that sunlight. I still think that grow lights would be a benefit.
I will pass the info on to mr. mm who can research the lights better than I.
I am too internet challenged to do much beyond FR, email, and basic searches.
Got it, thanks
I have always used some combination of shop lights (2’ or 4’) and fresh bulbs every few years, or have purchased a ‘full spectrum’ fluorescent bulb for one of the two bulbs and remembered to rotate my flats every few days.
I now have a 4-shelf (only three work, LOL!) grow light rack, but I only own it because I got the deal of the century on it as a parting gift from Jung’s. (Retail for those are ridiculously expensive!)
Your set up doesn’t need to be expensive to work well.
Also - keep the top of the plants 2” below the lights from beginning to end, once you have germination. You’ll need to be able to adjust your set up as plants grow. I’ve done that using stacked bricks or old books.
16 hours on, 8 hours off. OFF is as important as ON. You won’t gain anything by keeping them on 24/7. Plants need to rest, just like all living things.
I had a customer come to me with a flat of BLACK pepper seedlings. He wanted to know what was wrong with his plants. After a rather lengthy conversation, turns out he had the seedlings as close to the bulbs as he could get them, and had it on 24/7. He had basically cooked them!
Here’s a step-by-step DIY to build your own with recommendations on light bulbs, etc:
We got a nice coating of ICE out here in Ridgeway, and then about 4” of snow.
Going out to shovel in a few...
We had a vertical grow-light stand for sale at the store that was compact and could easily fit into a closet.
We jokingly called it, ‘The Potmaster 2000.’ LOL! You always know the kids growing pot in their dorm rooms in Madison, WI. In frigid February, they are the ones buying bat guano and fresh grow light bulbs! :)
One other tip I learned from the potheads; always cover the back of your grow light ‘system’ with tin foil, shiny side pointing IN. It refracts even more light.
Now, if those kids would just use their talents for GOOD; or at least couple those skills with a Business Degree! ;)
LOL!
But good information.
Thanks.
Hi Mom! Diana has some pretty good advice about grow lights here.
We missed the ice. Got 6 inches of snow.
Oh, we got the snow, too!
Beau is in the hospital up in Tomahawk. Possible kidney stone! Yikes! He may or may not be home, tonight.
I had THREE of his pals call to see if I wanted them to plow the driveway so I could get out if need be.
What a relief, and what great friends to have! :)
HI, MOM! *WAIVIES*
Seems like winter weather has arrived. It snowed last week but today’s rain has washed it all away. We are going to get more wintry mix weather this week. Glad I covered up the gardening pots! Seed sowed indoors doing great.
Have heard how painful kidney stones are. Ouch.
I have a quarter mile driveway. Takes a long time to plow it. Looks like no more snow for a few days. Had to plow twice in the last week. Looking forward to spring.
Ours is a full mile; 1.5 if I want to get to the mailbox, but the County graciously plows that .5 for us. ;)
Beau’s friends are so kind! As soon as they heard he was sick and hundreds of miles from home, I had THREE offers of snowplowing!
See? Not EVERYONE sucks, LOL!
Pal Mike came over and had it done in under two hours - some sort of record! Beau dinks around with the chore; I think he LIKES spending ‘quality time’ on his skid steer. ;)
He’s got his diagnosis, his meds and he’s staying over in Beaver Dam tonight. He’ll go to Columbus Hospital if he takes a turn for the worse. I should see him sometime tomorrow.
*Fingers Crossed*
Good luck!😊
Glad your friends were there to offer plowing help.
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