Re: [CH] Grow lights

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Dan Gillis wrote:

> It's getting to be that time of year again, and I was wondering if anyone
> had any thoughts on grow lights. <snip>

We start about 1000 pepper plants, about 250 tomato plants and an 
assortment of others (no, not recreational plants) in our basement.  The 
fancy grow lights cost quite a bit to buy and use quite a bit of juice. 
  We have had good luck with the cheap 2 tube flourescent shop lights 
you find at home centers for about $7.  I install one cool white tube 
and one warm white tube (sometimes marketed as a kitchen or bathroom 
tube) in each fixture.

I keep them about 2" above the leaves for 16 hours a day.  I also keep 
an oscillating fan on them 16 hours a day to develope thick, strong 
stems.  I think it speeds up the harding-off process, and lessons our 
fungus problems, too.  I find that too warm nighttime tempuratures make 
for spindly stems, so I drop the nightime temperature in the house to 60 
degrees F.

We've done this for several years, and never fail to get nice bedding 
plants this way.

Just my 2 cents....

Hobby Farmer

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