TOTALLY GEEKED!

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

RE: Do Any of Our Geeks Have Experience Using a Grow Light?

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Lexxy, I had just posted this to ed:

ed, you just gave me an idea!

Now that I have grow lights, I might as well attempt to grow tomatoes inside this summer!

The birds wouldn't be able to get to them.

And, I might actually succeed, this time!

Tenth try might be the charm! wink

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

It is worth a try. I love fresh homegrown tomatoes.

Cheerios4606 · Guru

The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.

ed11563 · Guru

Fort Worth Mom wrote:
Lexxy, I had just posted this to ed:

ed, you just gave me an idea!
Now that I have grow lights, I might as well attempt to grow tomatoes inside this summer!
The birds wouldn't be able to get to them.
And, I might actually succeed, this time!
Tenth try might be the charm!

smile good luck!

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.

No, 12 to 14 hours a day.

Plants like some dark too.

That's what I read, Cheerios. smile

Cheerios4606 · Guru

My sister in Oregon has a couple of grow "trees" (made out of pvc I think) year round for garden herbs and lettuce. I should ask her how she likes it.

weltschmerz · Guru

Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.

Why all the time? Do they have the sun on 24-7 in the wild?

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

My DH would die. He is crazy about people not turning off the lights.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

weltschmerz wrote:
Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.
Why all the time? Do they have the sun on 24-7 in the wild?

From my research, looking at tropical plants, and citrus trees...

12 to 14 hours a day, is what they recommend, for leaving the grow lights on.

Leaving the lights on 24/7, will kill them.

Plants want to go to sleep in the dark, too. smile

weltschmerz · Guru

Fort Worth Mom wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.
Why all the time? Do they have the sun on 24-7 in the wild?
From my research, looking at tropical plants, and citrus trees...
12 to 14 hours a day, is what they recommend, for leaving the grow lights on.
Leaving the lights on 24/7, will kill them.
Plants want to go to sleep in the dark, too.

Well, yeah. In the daytime, plants use photosynthesis to turn CO2 to O2. They absolutely need the dark, as well.

Having daylight 24-7 would probably kill them.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

weltschmerz wrote:
Fort Worth Mom wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.
Why all the time? Do they have the sun on 24-7 in the wild?
From my research, looking at tropical plants, and citrus trees...
12 to 14 hours a day, is what they recommend, for leaving the grow lights on.
Leaving the lights on 24/7, will kill them.
Plants want to go to sleep in the dark, too.

Well, yeah. In the daytime, plants use photosynthesis to turn CO2 to O2. They absolutely need the dark, as well.
Having daylight 24-7 would probably kill them.

I'm new at this, welts.

I read quite a few articles.

And, none of them said to leave the grow lights on, 24 hours a day.

Most recommended between 12 and 14 hours a day.

I'm going with what they recommended. And, since it's winter, in Texas, I'm starting out with 12 hours a day.

That's a little more than the plants would be getting, if they were out side.

Fingers crossed! I've never attempted this before. smile

weltschmerz · Guru

Fort Worth Mom wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
Fort Worth Mom wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
Cheerios4606 wrote:
The only problem tho is having to have that uber bright light on ALL. The. TIME. Of course it wouldnt matter if you had a spare back room so that you didnt have to stare at the light when you are trying to relax in front of the tv.
Why all the time? Do they have the sun on 24-7 in the wild?
From my research, looking at tropical plants, and citrus trees...
12 to 14 hours a day, is what they recommend, for leaving the grow lights on.
Leaving the lights on 24/7, will kill them.
Plants want to go to sleep in the dark, too.

Well, yeah. In the daytime, plants use photosynthesis to turn CO2 to O2. They absolutely need the dark, as well.
Having daylight 24-7 would probably kill them.
I'm new at this, welts.
I read quite a few articles.
And, none of them said to leave the grow lights on, 24 hours a day.
Most recommended between 12 and 14 hours a day.
I'm going with what they recommended. And, since it's winter, in Texas, I'm starting out with 12 hours a day.
That's a little more than the plants would be getting, if they were out side.
Fingers crossed! I've never attempted this before.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your cute little citrus fruit.

I know the pain of investing time, TLC and money into something only to have it die or have the raccoons or squirrels eating it.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

I wish you all the luck in the world with your cute little citrus fruit.

I know the pain of investing time, TLC and money into something only to have it die or have the raccoons or squirrels eating it.

-----------------------

Thank you, welts!

I'm hoping for the best!

I might be over thinking this, but, since the lamps have 3 lights, at different heights, I decided to try to simulate sunset and sunrise.

I turned off the top lights first.

I waited 15 minutes, and turned off the middle lights.

About 15 minutes later, I turned off the bottom lights.

Tomorrow morning, I will start with the top lights. Wait 15 minutes.

Then, turn on the middle lights. Wait a little while again.

And turn on the bottom lights, last.

I don't know if it will be better for the plants.

I'd like to think so. It will be less of a shock, than turning all the lights on or off, at once.

I guess, time will tell. smile

weltschmerz · Guru

Sounds like a good plan.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

weltschmerz wrote:
Sounds like a good plan.

It makes sense, to me. ( I didn't major in Biology, but, I always liked studying it.) smile

I think it's worth a try.

Thank you for your kind words, welts. smile

I'm flying by the seat of my pants. Hoping that I'm doing the right thing, to keep my plants going until mid-March.

When they can go outside again.

Fingers crossed. Prayers said.

I sure hope I don't mess this up.

just Czech · Give Me Grand's!

Reverse the order for turning them on in the morning, FWM. You would then be mirroring sunset and sunrise.

And yes, plants need dark. That's when the real work of photosynthesis takes place. The stored sun energy is used in the chemical reactions during the dark. Plants do most of their growing in the dark.

Good luck!

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

just Czech wrote:
Reverse the order for turning them on in the morning, FWM. You would then be mirroring sunset and sunrise.

And yes, plants need dark. That's when the real work of photosynthesis takes place. The stored sun energy is used in the chemical reactions during the dark. Plants do most of their growing in the dark.

Good luck!

I thought about doing that, Czech.

But, these trees and plants live in our backyard.

Our house sits pretty much, east/west.

The backyard is the west side.

So, when the sun comes over the house, and starts hitting the backyard.

The plants still get sun, from the top, down.

KWIM?

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

This is why I don't have plants. That is so much work. Bless you, girl - I couldn't do it!

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Lawyerlady wrote:
This is why I don't have plants. That is so much work. Bless you, girl - I couldn't do it!

My thoughts exactly.

The only thing I can grow successfully is girls.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Well, my bright idea of turning them on and off one at a time, to simulate sunrise and sunset, lasted exactly one day! biggrin

I decided it's easier to turn them all on and off at once.

No point in making this harder than it has to be. wink