Plant Light
With the help of information from:
WWW.homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm
I constructed a grow light using parts from my private stock, AKA junk boxes and
scrap lumber pile, (I don't throw anything away) and three 20 watt cool white fluorescent
lamps, a timer and some of Jinean's aluminum foil for a reflector.
October 23, 2004
Note the Big Boy flower pot!
Cool White fluorescent lamps produce light of
6500K which is good for this application. (and a whole lot cheaper than full
spectrum fluorescent lamps). Note the cords supporting the light. The height is
easily adjustable up or down. The cords in this case pass over the top of a
heating duct. The lamps should be no more than four inches above the plants. The
web site does not specify the hours of light needed per day, but does indicate
that the plants need both light and dark periods. I have set the timer for 12
hours on, and 12 hours off.
October 23, 2004
The pan that the plant is on is an oil catch pan from Auto Zone. You know - if your transmission leaks, you slide one of these under your car type things. It measures 24 by 36 inches.
October 23, 2004
I learned from http://doityourself.com/gardenmaint/factsoflight.htm that a plant grows best with 20 to 30 fluorescent watts per square foot. By enclosing the plant with aluminum foil I can concentrate the light so as to get more light on the plant and less into the surrounding area. Notice in the photograph below that by tenting the plants in the base with aluminum foil I can again concentrate the light on the plants. The base is two feet wide, and by tenting the foil to a six inch width I again get 20 watts per square foot. I also learned that it is best to expose the plants to 14 to 16 hours of light daily. See the photo below.
December 20, 2004
Here we are in 2006!
I cut two more rows for plants in the base, and added two more 20 watt lamps. I remounted the light bar and enclosed the whole thing to keep the light from escaping and lined it with aluminum foil to make the light as uniform as possible. The light bar is adjustable up and down to keep the lights close to the plants as they grow.
You're wondering about the wires, right?
Looks kinda space age doesn't it. Jinean says "You need a window in that thing". Never thought of a window. So I put one in!
To See Much More Go To www.i2k.com/~dwfalk
Music: You Light Up My Life
