Lighting to bring on seedlings
 

I have a 2' x 4' heated propergator in my potting shed, which has a
translucent roof. I want to bring on some seedlings a bit early but this
time of the year the light is poor and there are not enought hours of
daylight. I want to augment the natural light and add a few more hours of
'daylight'

I know you can buy special lights for this purpose but they are quite
expensive.

My question is, can you use a cheap halogen floodlight (150w or 500w)
mounted above the propergator to atcheive the same purpose? It may not be as
good as the real thing but will it help?

Thanks

--
Brian
---------------------------------------------
www.ashnookplants.co.uk

On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 07:43:00 -0000, "ashnook"
wrote:


My question is, can you use a cheap halogen floodlight (150w or 500w)
mounted above the propergator to atcheive the same purpose? It may not be as
good as the real thing but will it help?

Too much heat in proportion to the light output. You need far more
efficient light sources. Some of the whiter flourescent tubes are
suitable (Dibleys use banks of these in their growing rooms for
rooting Streptocarpus - iirc they had fan ventilation in the roof to
keep the temperature down), mercury flourescent lamps available in
250W or 400W are popular with commercial growers. Try to find some
info on the internet, you'll see the light sources have to be quite
close to the crop to get the required light intensity, hence the need
for efficient sources to avoid cooking your crop. The spectral output
is also important - natural winter light is biased towards the red so
you want your artificial light to be weighted towards the blue end -
that's why mercury lamps are a good choice. Watch for highish UV
output from some types (maker's specs will have this info)
On the whole I find it a lot of messing about for marginal benefits
when done on a small scale - I prefer to wait 'til the natural light's
a bit better. In any case as an amateur you don't have the same need
that a commercial grower has to get the early crop out. Have you got
the heated space to look after all of those early plants you raised?

=================================================

Rod

Weed my email address to reply.
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html

Hi Rod,

Thanks for dashing my thoughts onto the rocks :-)

I obviously need to to more looking around to see if its worth doing right
against the potential cost. I sold a lot of plug plants on eBay last year
and wanted to see if I could start a little earlier this year so heated
bringing-on room is not quite so important.

Thanks again.

--
Brian
---------------------------------------------
www.ashnookplants.co.uk
"Rod" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 07:43:00 -0000, "ashnook"
wrote:


My question is, can you use a cheap halogen floodlight (150w or 500w)
mounted above the propergator to atcheive the same purpose? It may not be
as
good as the real thing but will it help?

Too much heat in proportion to the light output. You need far more
efficient light sources. Some of the whiter flourescent tubes are
suitable (Dibleys use banks of these in their growing rooms for
rooting Streptocarpus - iirc they had fan ventilation in the roof to
keep the temperature down), mercury flourescent lamps available in
250W or 400W are popular with commercial growers. Try to find some
info on the internet, you'll see the light sources have to be quite
close to the crop to get the required light intensity, hence the need
for efficient sources to avoid cooking your crop. The spectral output
is also important - natural winter light is biased towards the red so
you want your artificial light to be weighted towards the blue end -
that's why mercury lamps are a good choice. Watch for highish UV
output from some types (maker's specs will have this info)
On the whole I find it a lot of messing about for marginal benefits
when done on a small scale - I prefer to wait 'til the natural light's
a bit better. In any case as an amateur you don't have the same need
that a commercial grower has to get the early crop out. Have you got
the heated space to look after all of those early plants you raised?

=================================================

Rod

Weed my email address to reply.
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html

You might find the Growell Catalogue interesting. Please see the following link
for grow lights:
http://www.growell.co.uk/c/21/Indoor_Grow_Lights.html
Some of the prices will make your eyes water!
Best of luck, John
__________________________________________________ ______________________________


"ashnook" wrote:
I have a 2' x 4' heated propergator in my potting shed, which has a
translucent roof. I want to bring on some seedlings a bit early but this
time of the year the light is poor and there are not enought hours of
daylight. I want to augment the natural light and add a few more hours of
'daylight'

I know you can buy special lights for this purpose but they are quite
expensive.

My question is, can you use a cheap halogen floodlight (150w or 500w)
mounted above the propergator to atcheive the same purpose? It may not be as
good as the real thing but will it help?

Thanks

--
Brian
---------------------------------------------
www.ashnookplants.co.uk

Thanks for the link John, must go and see if I can extend the mortgage!

--
Brian
---------------------------------------------
www.ashnookplants.co.uk
"John Smith" wrote in message
news:1105295524.76425f2d4ee2c8ac3aef11d14378405c@t eranews...
You might find the Growell Catalogue interesting. Please see the following
link
for grow lights:
http://www.growell.co.uk/c/21/Indoor_Grow_Lights.html
Some of the prices will make your eyes water!
Best of luck, John
__________________________________________________ ______________________________


"ashnook" wrote:
I have a 2' x 4' heated propergator in my potting shed, which has a
translucent roof. I want to bring on some seedlings a bit early but this
time of the year the light is poor and there are not enought hours of
daylight. I want to augment the natural light and add a few more hours of
'daylight'

I know you can buy special lights for this purpose but they are quite
expensive.

My question is, can you use a cheap halogen floodlight (150w or 500w)
mounted above the propergator to atcheive the same purpose? It may not be
as
good as the real thing but will it help?

Thanks

--
Brian
---------------------------------------------
www.ashnookplants.co.uk

Lighting can also be on the water, in order to enhance beauty or small pond waters. They combine to make a small contribution to the overall effect of the fountain. The two underwater lights and a small fountain pool can be solar powered.

A reef aquarium or planted decorative aquarium fish, invertebrates and plants, is a beautiful glimpse of the amazing world of a thousand miles away from our sight and imagination. With the appropriate lighting is a key components to bringing it all together.