Re: [CH] Indoor Growing
Mark Dodgson (mjdodgson@yahoo.com)
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 00:43:57 -0700 (PDT)
Hi
I'm new to growing chiles indoors myself, well ... using a hid lamp to
start my chiles off really. This season I started off my chile
seedlings inside under a 430 watt Son-T-Agro (modified hps) using a
flood and drain hydroponic system. That lamp was sufficient to cover
the 600mm x 1100mm initial growing area, with the later 1200mm x
1100mm growing area causing the seedlings on the outside of the area
to "lean" in to the light in the center. The lamp was generally
around 30cm from the tops of the growing seedlings.
With the size of the area you mentioned in your email, I guess you
have a choice of increasing the wattage of the lamp, say from 400 watt
to 1000 watt, or using one of those motorised light movers, or maybe
both. I think the difficulity lies in the width of your indoor garden
regards the light mover idea: the single track light mover covers the
normal width, with the length of the area covered increases. I'm
unsure if the 10ft wide area will be sufficienty covered by even a
1000watt lamp using the single track light mover. On the other hand
the rotating style light mover (like a ceiling fan with the lamp on
the end of the arms) may be worth investigating, as this increases the
width and length of the light coverage.
So I guess you have to balance the options: light movers generally
cost more than a new lamp and ballast, etc, while buying more lamps
will mean higher electricity cost.
I think next season I will be using a 400watt metal halide lamp to
increase the vegetative growth of my chiles, as the Son-T-Agro lamp
increased the stem elongation of the seedlings, perhaps sacrificing
vegetative growth. But I do have to say, the combined hid lamp and
hydroponic system has proven to be an outstanding success, with growth
rates being quite spectacular compared to the old system I used of
fluoro lamps along with potting mix filled 10cm pots. Not to mention
the low maintainence aspect of the hydroponic setup: every few days I
top up the nutrient tank with fresh water, and every couple of weeks I
replace the nutrient solution with fresh stuff. If you do go the
hydroponic way, try growing a couple of basil plants as well, I'm been
picking fresh basil for the last 3 months while waiting for my chile
seedlings to grow.
If you're interested in seeing my indoor setup, try looking at my web
site under "Hydroponics":
http://members.xoom.com/mjdodgson
Bye
Mark
>This year I grew approximately 50 plants in containers in my driveway
and have
>been harvesting Habs, Thai's, Cayenne's, Hot Red Cherry's etc. I
grew all of
>these plants from seeds. Since the frost is almost upon us I want to
bring
>the plants inside and continue to grow them in my basement using a high
>pressure sodium light. I'm going to be growing them in two areas each
>approximately 10'X10'. The ceiling is 7 ft. Does anyone have any
>recommendations for the wattage of the sodium lights. I intended to
buy two
>400 watt lights however the company makes 150, 175, 200 and 250 watt
bulbs.
>I'm concerned because of the small area and I don't want to burn the
plants.
>Any advice would be most appreciated.
==
Mark Dodgson
Mark's Mostly Chile Page
http://members.xoom.com/mjdodgson/
mailto://mjdodgson@yahoo.com
icq#:11248266
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