indoor lighting for vegetables

[Warren Lake]

When fall arrives i lose most of my vegetables. Some herbs take the cold, parsley still fine, thyme and Oregano. Side of the home i have 35 feet of kale. Usually it gets snowed on and has, we had some really cold days. It gives up then it gets pissed off and returns. So now its returned. It actually likes the cold fall but caked on snow snow stuff and minus temps then its not happy. Im sure ive lost some leaves. Normal pattern it makes it till jan then a rabbit shows up and emails all his friends on facebook and they come like a heard of Piranhas and strip it all clean leaving a poop fest which is probably good for next years garden. They leave me the stems,. then next year most of it regrows from the stems. If I had time id make up 2 x 2 framing and cover it in vapour barrier and pretty sure it would last the winter.

Two years ago built a rack and brought in a ton of kale 3 rows high over 10 feet long. It all lived but it was not happy and I didnt take leaves. the struggled to stay alive. I put them back in the garden in spring and they took off. I was resigned to buying it form the store but reality its 7 -10 days old already and its grown with chemicals of some sort.

So this year I borrowed a grow light from a Grow op guy. Actually two and only one running now, It has veg and flowering. He said run them both. So far as a test im on one light and only veg. We have had good sun last week, the big maple has no leaves so good, window faces south and all brought in is growing and not even set up yet just plunked on the floor. I brought in oregano, parsley, rosemary, some lupins and Hollyhocks, one thai pepper and more. One crocasimi Lucifer bloomed once in. Its proven to me this can work and sure if two lights and maybe veg and bloom same time plus I likely have this on 8-9 hours so could be longer.

Do you have favourite grow lights? These lights are bright pink. When cars drive by it looks odd, they are either thinking there are hookers here or im running a grow op in my living room. I saw a you tube where the guy had a spider farms light. It was totally white and he said it covered all spectrum needed for veg and bloom. Also it had no fan, I think he said it produced a bit of heat and to me that is positive as this stuff is at a 60 year old single pain window in crappy shape. Heat is welcome. The fan noise is there and not an issue

I can do the google thing but last time I asked a garden question there was so much good info. A few of you suggest to put the basil in water and freeze it. I did that and so far its still bright green and into this first stew and worked excellent. Chipping it off is a bit of a pain but not a big deal. I think you told me ice cube trays. The only neg is it wanted to float as its freezing so some is above the water then below the bottom there was frozen water a bit with no kale as the group had floated. I could weigh it down so thanks for that tip.

I guess I should take a ton of kale leaves off and freeze them in some fashion, only so much room in the freezer. wonder about digging a few up and bringing them in to see or might find some time and stuff laying around to micgiver up some sort of cover for them. The 35 feet was good as I will never run out and that is with giving some away to friends. Do you know if you use construction tarps the clear woven ones if enough light will get through? I can use vapour barrier but it dries and cracks from the UV. The construction stuff they put on new homes to do brick work winter then heater in there, that stuff lasts really well but might restrict light too much. Apologies if im over my question limit.

Thanks

[Mel Fulks]

Been a few years since I used grow lights , gave the “real” ones to my son. I like regular fluorescent lights hung from ceiling hooks to make
it easy to adjust height. For germination I’ve hung them close to seed mat in a basement, and then raised the lights as I thought necessary.

[Warren Lake]

yeah grow up guy said the lights have to be low. he gave me those adjustable things simple and easy. So far the lights are far I plan to raise the plants up in rows now just on the floor. All stuff is growing but a bit odd more tight to the pot rather than reaching. He told me and a friend that knows that I hve to have the lights close. At present they are likely six feet above the plants. Ill change that soon. Last year it was a rack with shelves and had i had ceiling lights each row sould have blocked the lighting This time round ill stagger stuff front to back and height wise. have a few ideas. Its not super cold yet and dont know how the plants will like being near that window, ill likely put that shrink plastic on then one day like to make windows.

[Mel Fulks]

The electric germination mats are expensive, but work real well. After germination a cool spot is good for growing since it makes the seedlings
sturdy….not “spindly”.
AKA too thin and weak. I thought that was baloney,until I saw it. The seed mats are expensive. I bought
just the packaged rolled up heat cables and attached them to “hardware cloth” , first with twist -ties a few inches apart, then with loop
stitched nylon string ,Not cotton string.
cord

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have a decent set up for 2 shop windows with adjustable shelves, waterproof metal trays, and cheap 2 foot fluorescent lights with the purplish pink grow bulbs.
When your Sweetie reminds you that Valentines day is coming up it time to think about starting seeds.

IMG_0954 3.jpg

[Mel Fulks]

Warren, It’s easy to think , “let’s see now, sun is 93 million miles from here ….so this set-up should be really great !”

[Warren Lake]

Geez Mel that is really far. With all this space travel stuff I had thought about going there sometime, not so sure now.

The good thing this is one of two running and only on half volume and its working. Still want to find what visually looks white instead of bright pink. I know there are lots of reviews just have to find the time. Oddly looking at a you tube grow op set up they used the old Mercury Vapour ones with the transformer. My understanding of those was they cost a lot more to run. Ill ask the guy that loaned me these as that is what he uses so there must be some reason they are using the old technology.

[Brian Elfert]

My mother has used fluorescent lights in the basement to start plants from seeds for probably 40 years now. No special bulbs or anything. She takes the trays of plants outside during the day once the weather starts to improve.

[Paul F Franklin]

Last year my wife set up an area in the basement to start plants for the outside garden. Heat mats under the seed trays and some grow lights purchased from Gardeners supply. They worked great for starting peppers and tomatoes that were transplanted into the garden beds when it was time. This year we had the idea to try to grow leaf lettuce using the same gear since it isn't needed for starting plants until march or so. So far so good, the plants have sprouted and will be ready to start harvesting in another week or so. As long as you keep harvesting them they keep producing. We used deeper trays without dividers, but the same mats and lights. We can get pretty decent local hydroponic lettuce in winter here in NE Ohio, but it's expensive so this seems like a good way to get a reliable supply on the cheap.

[Warren Lake]

My plan is a bit different in that I want to grow stuff be able to eat. To start from seed and get it in earlier next year will be a huge bonus. I grew the thai peppers from seeds in the ones from the store and they did not turn red end of the season, had a plant gone in spring then id have tons of them. brought in its survived and see some red just starting. Also more flowers on it that i hope will continue on to be peppers.

Im spoiled on the kale to just walk out and pick fresh no chemicals. I looked at stuff at the store not having bought it in six months then reality the radio show that said it can be 7 -10 days old before the shelves and I can see that and reminded me of times I asked them go get some real stuff from the back or left without it. Thanks for mentioning the heat matts as well for starting seed. Was not aware of that. Im out rust proofing in the cold and understand plants wanting to be warm.

[Jim Becker]

There are a lot more options for indoor growing these days when it comes to lighting, especially because of the impact of a certain "herb" being legal in certain geographies. (not that being outside of one of those geographies stops anyone... )

It's not just lighting, but also growing methods which are not limited to "soil" or expensive, fancy traditional hydroponics. Professor Dr. SWMBO has about half of our houseplants using a soil free product that looks like small volcanic rocks that retain moisture and wick it up from a reservoir at the bottom of the container.

[Stan Calow]

I think you'd have to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if cost of setup versus quantity of vegetables, is worth it. Unless it's a matter of principle. I have a grow light in my basement because Im trying to see if I can get a pineapple to grow (it takes two years). It's whatever grow bulb I could find at the hardware store. Yeah it's going legal in our state so there are stores popping up with growing supplies.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

My plan is a bit different in that I want to grow stuff be able to eat. To start from seed and get it in earlier next year will be a huge bonus. I grew the thai peppers from seeds in the ones from the store and they did not turn red end of the season, had a plant gone in spring then id have tons of them. brought in its survived and see some red just starting. Also more flowers on it that i hope will continue on to be peppers.

Im spoiled on the kale to just walk out and pick fresh no chemicals. I looked at stuff at the store not having bought it in six months then reality the radio show that said it can be 7 -10 days old before the shelves and I can see that and reminded me of times I asked them go get some real stuff from the back or left without it. Thanks for mentioning the heat matts as well for starting seed. Was not aware of that. Im out rust proofing in the cold and understand plants wanting to be warm.

This sort of indoor gardening is a big endeavor that requires substantial funding and lots of labor. It is something I am interested in as well. Hoop Houses and traditional greenhouses are the ways I am familiar with it being done. I have done some rough math and want 44 grid tied solar panels to support a small greenhouse in zone 5.

[Warren Lake]

in the spring I think what am I doing. Then last year made three more rows behind the home. Then when all arrived and its there constantly for stews and dinner and you just walk out and its fresh like no store then I forgot that I even thought what was I doing in spring. You guys brought up starting seedlings early and if for no other reason that would be great., the kale from seed took some time to grow or even small seedlings though faster. Im still going to try and cover some of the kale out there and see what it can put up with, Even mickey mouse minimum keep snow off it as it was fine till the snow fell and three inches then hard packed on it. It might be bouncing back.

grow op guy said it is 12.00 a month to run the light, I didnt think to ask on veg or both. I bet the Spider farms and some others with no fans cost less to run. Im getting light from the front window as well.

Cannibis is legal for a while here now and there are some really good you tubes. Endless research into it, I think Israel is the leader in that.

One or two ive seen on Hemp and its just about criminal that it was ever made illegal. Fact after fact of why it was so good even up to less environmental damage. The only neg was it is much harder and they need special cutters in the farm machinery. No high speed steel Mel, Not even T1, maybe Insert or Tersa.

They say people that garden live 4 -5 years longer. They are not sure why but think its some benefit from seeing things grow from seed. Ive grown over 100 cedars from seedlings to 16-22 feet high and always makes me happy to see them, then they block out the new homes put in. if you build a cedar fence it can only be 6 feet tall, if you grow a cedar fence its unlimited height.

This is all mickey mouse set up so far and its working so each little improvement ill see what that ads to it. I can see wanting a greenhouse of some sort.

[Alan Lightstone]

Silly question, likely, but aren't there LED grow lights that cost far less to run but have the right wavelengths of light?