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I can't find any information about grow lights. I switched to CFL (screw in) lamps and will never go back to long lamps, but I can't find any info on how to use them with plants. Mine are 100w (pulls 23W) Daylight type screw in lamps.
I have one about 1 foot, (then 6") in a 10" reflector, over some cuttings I'm using as tests. Everything dies quickly. I'm using Passiflora incarnata as tests because these grow from cuttings easily in the ground.
I have a thermometer under it at 6" and shows 80 degrees.
I will need good lighting this spring when my seedlings start to come up, so I have to solve this problem before I kill all my plants for next year.
If this won't work, I need to find out what will.
TIA, Poetinwood
Someone renewed this thread this morning.
I don't know what you've got against "long lights", but this set up has worked for us for over 25 years. We definitely are not changing. Some of these bulbs are very old, too.
For a number of years we raised thousands of seedlings under these lights for our greenhouse business. We have long since discontinued bedding plant business. We still start hundreds of veggies for our large market garden. Tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower & many others.
Bernie http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/371007/
My neighbor is more disabled than I am, and I am constantly changing long lamps in his shop for him. But my problem is space, I only have 3' x 3' available for this project.
I still need to know about how high to put the lamp, to move to the next problems. I wonder if it is color, as the daylight should be long on blue and maybe too short on red...so one of each? I've nothing else to try.
Maybe this is the wrong forum or nobody cares about this stuff.
jkochan:
Thanks much. Now why didn't that one pop up when I did all those searches? You must have smarter fingers cause I know about light, used to be a pro photographer. That's it, smarter fingers.
jkochan:
Thanks for the post. Read it all. Very little info on CFL (screw in lamps). I have since figured out with the help of 5 dead P. incarnata cuttings that 2' is about right. They quit dying at any rate. That is using a 100 watt (on outside of box at Lowes pulling 23W) lamp in a base with an 8" aluminum reflector.
the 2nd doubting thomas.
Glad to be of help. Sorry for the late reply. This was winter lawn weekend. I tried the grow-light thing a while back to get a jump on seed starting for spring. In the end I decided I shouldn't be in that much of a hurry. There is still plenty to do in the garden here during winter..why make the extra work for myself? The hurrier I go, the behinder I get ;-)
I finally got it figured out. The screw in must put out considerable more light because it killed all cuttings till I moved it to 2 feet. Then they quit dying. And it wasn't the temperature.
LED lights are up-coming but still a little high dollar. When they come down in price. I will purchase some. Very little heat and a low operating costs make them attractive. They would be smaller by design also.
