What about growing things indoors?
 

What about growing things indoors?
I'm primarily interested in veg.
It's no good sowing seeds outdoors now.
But if I left fluorescent lights on, what are the possibilities?
It might be extravagant and wasteful of energy.
But leaving that aside for a moment, what could be done?
Consider an indoor room, with central heating on during the day,
and fluorescent lights on - either permanently - or just during the day.
Does any of this make sense - or is it a stupid idea?
--
Chris

What about growing things indoors?
 

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 20:47:28 +0000, Chris ] wrote:

What about growing things indoors?
I'm primarily interested in veg.
It's no good sowing seeds outdoors now.
But if I left fluorescent lights on, what are the possibilities?
It might be extravagant and wasteful of energy.
But leaving that aside for a moment, what could be done?
Consider an indoor room, with central heating on during the day,
and fluorescent lights on - either permanently - or just during the day.
Does any of this make sense - or is it a stupid idea?

No, it's not a stupid idea but it depends on what you want to grow
and whether it is worth the expense. The latter mostly arises from
electricity to power the light.

Fluorescent light doesn't consume so much but would really only
illuminate a small area of canopy and that rather weakly - but
certainly enough to bring on seedlings etc.

It sounds as though you want to produce a crop of veg however and I
think that would probably require a couple of 400W halide lamps
powered up for a goodly number of hours every day and these consume
rather a lot of electricity.

I would only really consider it for fresh herbs which, in these dark
winter months you would otherwise have to buy in the supermarket eg.
basil and such like. But even then I suspect that it would probably be
cheaper to get them from the supermarket unless you particularly
enjoyed a herb or variety which is unobtainable thence.

People up and down the country are at the present maintaining indoor
"grow rooms" - but what they are growing is unmentionable in polite
and sensible company.

Growing hydroponically would be the best way forward as you can give
the plant optimum conditions with hardly any effort on it's part (It
hardly has to do any work at all). The pace of growth and maturing is
therefore exceptional.

*Assisted* light and warmth in a well lit conservatory is a more
feasible proposition. Methinks.

Respect

Hussein

What about growing things indoors?
 

"Chris" ] wrote in message
]...
What about growing things indoors?
I'm primarily interested in veg.
It's no good sowing seeds outdoors now.
But if I left fluorescent lights on, what are the possibilities?
It might be extravagant and wasteful of energy.
But leaving that aside for a moment, what could be done?
Consider an indoor room, with central heating on during the day,
and fluorescent lights on - either permanently - or just during the day.
Does any of this make sense - or is it a stupid idea?
--
Chris

Its not that it cant be done, and for some crops it even makes sense
(cannabis for example, so the neighbours dont notice) but in the main, since
you asked, its a stupid idea. What would be the point?

--
Tumbleweed

Remove my socks before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups)

What about growing things indoors?
 

"Chris" ] wrote in message
]...
What about growing things indoors?
I'm primarily interested in veg.
It's no good sowing seeds outdoors now.
But if I left fluorescent lights on, what are the possibilities?
It might be extravagant and wasteful of energy.
But leaving that aside for a moment, what could be done?
Consider an indoor room, with central heating on during the day,
and fluorescent lights on - either permanently - or just during the day.
Does any of this make sense - or is it a stupid idea?
--
Chris

One problem with ordinary fluorescent lights is they do not give off a good
balance of the right wavelengths of light needed by plants. Much of the
light would be unusable and wasted by the plants. Ideally you would need
specialist (expensive) lighting. The running costs would be exorbitant. Best
bet is just to grow a few herbs, or mustard / cress on a window sill over
Winter.
With a bit of planning, you could still be growing and harvesting veg from
outside. I will be harvesting various greens such as cabbage, brussels
sprout and spinach right through Winter. It's too late to plant these this
year, but if you plan ahead there is no reason why you cannot produce
vegetables outside all year round.

Drakanthus.

What about growing things indoors?
 

"Chris" ] wrote in message
]...
What about growing things indoors?
I'm primarily interested in veg.
It's no good sowing seeds outdoors now.
But if I left fluorescent lights on, what are the possibilities?
It might be extravagant and wasteful of energy.
But leaving that aside for a moment, what could be done?
Consider an indoor room, with central heating on during the day,
and fluorescent lights on - either permanently - or just during the day.
Does any of this make sense - or is it a stupid idea?
--
Chris

My brother has built an addition onto the south side of his house approx 2
meters out and as wide and high as the original house was.

On the south side of the addition, he left a hole in the wall to allow him
to build an extention that that started a meter off the floor of the
addition, went out an additional half meter, and was a half meter high.
Then for a floor in this extension, he built a framework to hold plastic
tubs with holes in the bottom to make a long, narrow dirt holder. He made a
sloping roof over the extension out of a durable plastic that allowed light
to get through, put glass or clear plastic around the sides and insulated
the walls. He installed a normal light and a gas heater. and finished the
wall outside so it matched the house.

He now grows tomatoes year round, but could grow what ever he wanted in his
half meter high, hald meter deep, and approx 4 meter long "greenhouse".

Good luck. Dwayne