Flowering stage - indoor growing

[Bramleyjordan]

No i would not do that

there is none that id recomend on that site but this is the closest. The site does not offer any info on driver or chip so it is very hard to know what is what.
https://www.londongrow.com/products/maxibrightdaylightled. Thats for 2 med plants or one big with the 200

Okay thanks. I did not realise the light would need to be so expensive... especially that I am only growing 2-3 plants at 1 time indoors It will take a few years of growing to pay for itself. I think I will just concentrate on the outdoor growing

 

[Bramleyjordan]

Will something like this do for 2 plants? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydropon...865558&hash=item3d6c58a879:g:RlAAAOSws3Rf~04o

 

[Yultanman]

Will something like this do for 2 plants? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydropon...865558&hash=item3d6c58a879:g:RlAAAOSws3Rf~04o

the thing is cfl are inefficient. But ya that would be better in terms of light output but not recommended generally

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Technically efficiency is meaningless in the winter if there isn't a substantial difference in the cost of electricity and whatever you heat your home with because the "inefficiency" is electricity which turns into heat, which in turn lowers your heating bill.

After the ban on incandescent bulbs in Newfoundland, they discovered that gross utility bills increased because with less waste heat from incandescent bulbs, vs cfls (which were the new thing at the time) they used more fuel oil to heat their homes, and fuel oil costs more than electricity.

 

[Bramleyjordan]

Thank you both. So I done some more digging around and found that x6 24w CFL 2700k bulbs were a good choice for indoor growing rather than getting 1 120w cfl bulb... cant remember the site I read this but I can see why using 6 smaller is better than 1 bigger. Apparently CFL lights are quite efficient (less than 1p a hour on electricity bill per bulb).

 

[Yultanman]

Technically efficiency is meaningless in the winter if there isn't a substantial difference in the cost of electricity and whatever you heat your home with because the "inefficiency" is electricity which turns into heat, which in turn lowers your heating bill.

After the ban on incandescent bulbs in Newfoundland, they discovered that gross utility bills increased because with less waste heat from incandescent bulbs, vs cfls (which were the new thing at the time) they used more fuel oil to heat their homes, and fuel oil costs more than electricity.

Thank you both. So I done some more digging around and found that x6 24w CFL 2700k bulbs were a good choice for indoor growing rather than getting 1 120w cfl bulb... cant remember the site I read this but I can see why using 6 smaller is better than 1 bigger. Apparently CFL lights are quite efficient (less than 1p a hour on electricity bill per bulb).

sorry @ChinaVoodoo in this case it matters. We want light for indoor growing not heat. Generating heat means you need to move that heat out of the tent. That means fans or in bigger cases A/C

@Bramleyjordan do yourself a favor and get the first light i mentioned. Lm301 b 100w at wall. You will get twice the output as same wattage in cfl. Less heat generation and way, way more penetration. Cfl has about a 6” penetration.
Anyways your choice but you will be dissapointed. In fact what you already have is better than cfl

 

[Yultanman]

I should add - youre getting heat with all options. If you want to use @ChinaVoodoo theory of the wasted electricity (turned to heat instead of light) then a metal hallide 600w is the right option for 4x4 tent. Just get exhaust fans too.
Otherwise the compromise is 2 of the lm301. Less power draw, less heat waste, will passively cool in all but hottest weather

 

[Bramleyjordan]

sorry @ChinaVoodoo in this case it matters. We want light for indoor growing not heat. Generating heat means you need to move that heat out of the tent. That means fans or in bigger cases A/C

@Bramleyjordan do yourself a favor and get the first light i mentioned. Lm301 b 100w at wall. You will get twice the output as same wattage in cfl. Less heat generation and way, way more penetration. Cfl has about a 6” penetration.
Anyways your choice but you will be dissapointed. In fact what you already have is better than cfl

Please can you link to the LM301B light? I am only finding US based products and on UK sites, different ones are shown.

 

[Yultanman]

I didnt want to shill for anything specific or post links.
I know this one is out of stock but this is the concept:

Amazon.co.uk

you will have to shop for the one you like from the retailer that works for you

 

[Bramleyjordan]

I didnt want to shill for anything specific or post links.
I know this one is out of stock but this is the concept:

Amazon.co.uk

you will have to shop for the one you like from the retailer that works for you

Thank you so muxh that one is actually in stock for me and £89.99 is reasonable.
Thanks

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

sorry @ChinaVoodoo in this case it matters. We want light for indoor growing not heat. Generating heat means you need to move that heat out of the tent. That means fans or in bigger cases A/C

Is a completely sealed setup in a tent important? I recognize that it improves efficiency, but the entire tent concept evolved out of a need for privacy that doesn't apply to tobacco.

I'm not a fan of cfls myself. Led is the way to go if you can afford it. My thought though, on a budget is that I could go to the used building material place and pick up a bagillion lumens HPS fixture and ballast for $50, then put it in my utility room with no tent, and all that waste heat would heat my house. In theory. That's all I'm saying.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Actually that ballast would probably sound terrible.

I'm glad Bramley is going with the LED.

 

[Yultanman]

Is a completely sealed setup in a tent important? I recognize that it improves efficiency, but the entire tent concept evolved out of a need for privacy that doesn't apply to tobacco.

I'm not a fan of cfls myself. Led is the way to go if you can afford it. My thought though, on a budget is that I could go to the used building material place and pick up a bagillion lumens HPS fixture and ballast for $50, then put it in my utility room with no tent, and all that waste heat would heat my house. In theory. That's all I'm saying.

The tent provides other advantages over privacy. First and foremost it reduces the pests attracted to your area. No natural predators means one pest can take down your grow once it starts multiplying. You mentioned the efficiency, which is increased by keeping the light where you want it. There is also the light spill into your living space. then there is the ability to have separate tents in the same room. Depending on your garden this can be helpful as seedlings will burn under intense light and you have light schedules can be different based on what you are producing

re: used ballast.... new digital dimming ballasts are barely $100. Usually a whole kit with hps and hallide bulbs and a reflector and ballast are around $200.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

For the record, you have me convinced. Thank you for your thorough and educated answers.

 

[Bramleyjordan]

I agree, @Yultanman you seem like an experienced indoor grower and I am very thankful you have provided your assistance on this! I will be looking to get the LED you mention on Amazon! Thank you

 

[Yultanman]

I agree, @Yultanman you seem like an experienced indoor grower and I am very thankful you have provided your assistance on this! I will be looking to get the LED you mention on Amazon! Thank you

I do love to garden. My pleasure helping out.

dont forget, in pots you will for sure need to feed nitrogen to your plants

 

[Bramleyjordan]

I do love to garden. My pleasure helping out.

dont forget, in pots you will for sure need to feed nitrogen to your plants

Thanks. I usually use Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid Plant Food which by the ingredients includes nitrogen. I currently have my 8 plants on a sunny window sill waiting until mid-end April (End of frost) to put outside in the garden. I am also going to try some indoors again with the extra knowledge I have gained

 

[Bramleyjordan]

This is my plant still from last year (August) but as you can see its quite small which I am thinking is due to the lights I am using. And also a pic of my 8 I started 2 days ago

 

[Yultanman]

What size pot it that? Difficult to tell how big it is, but it looks good. Id just keep it going.
The miracle grow may work ok but youd be better off with a finer tuned feeding regime. Its not an all purpose plant you are growing but big green leaves. Anytime you have a large outdoor annual indoors in a pot it is essentially a hydroponic grow after the plant is full size. They will have already consumed all available nutrients in the soil. So the more tuned you can feed your plants the better the growth rate will be

 

[Bramleyjordan]

What size pot it that? Difficult to tell how big it is, but it looks good. Id just keep it going.
The miracle grow may work ok but youd be better off with a finer tuned feeding regime. Its not an all purpose plant you are growing but big green leaves. Anytime you have a large outdoor annual indoors in a pot it is essentially a hydroponic grow after the plant is full size. They will have already consumed all available nutrients in the soil. So the more tuned you can feed your plants the better the growth rate will be

That is a 5 gallon pot. The plants I am growing this year will go into the garden in the same pots unless 5 gallon is too small?
What feeding regime would you recommend which is better than what I am currently using?
I thought I would just let you know that before July 2020, I had absolutely no idea about gardening and still very much new to the idea! I am loving learning it and picking up tips and tricks along the way so apologies for the "Noob" questions