Thanks for the info! Love it! When you install those loop screws, you can put a screwdriver through the hole and use it to spin the screw into place. By doing so, you will not hurt your fingers and will get a deeper set. Thanks again.
Very timely, good sir. I was just doing research into this very item for my new indoor aquaponics system, and trying to find "plain English" explanations of what's needed is more difficult than you might expect. Good video and very helpful to me!
I really appreciate the detailed scientific explanations of your videos. Not only is it a great learning tool for me it saves me time and money and eliminates the mistakes I would have made. In short it makes it easy for me to get it right the 1st time in the projects I choose to do. Thank You! Deuce
Glad to see you had 4 bulbs. I had a 2 light fixture first but the seedlings were leggy so I added another. I bought the smallest cheapest one originally so I could pair it. For seedlings I just have 2 cool and 2 warm bulbs and it's fine. I notice once the plants get over 6" they get leggy from too little light but by that time it's hopefully warm enough to be outside.
I have done alright in just the two bulb ballasts but it is not easy and takes more work. The 4 bulb setup is just so much nicer ! Once my plants are 6 inches tall I'll be able to move them to the window and keep trucking !
You sir are real scientist. Always researching the topic to develop your hypothesis. Then using your research to experiment and verify what you postulate.
So, this is a really great video! You get right to the information I was looking for, Thank You! And you went thru quickly and easy to follow. Not boring.
Great setup Stephen. Some people have mentioned HID lighting as being superior (which I believe it is), but if your just starting seeds and getting plants started early, fluorescents are more than up to the task. I grow with HID's as well and can tell you that they put off a large amount of heat that has to be dealt with and this adds to costs. Also, fluorescents are nice as they can be place pretty close to your plants without fear of burning. I currently have a 110 watt CFL light that works fairly well, but I am wanting to upgrade to a system such as yours. Hopefully this setup will keep you content during the cold/dark winter months.
If I were more ambitious with the crops I wanted to grow I might go for an HID or HPS system but honestly this does more than enough and the natural sun does a whole lot for me already ! One day I'll likely graduate but for now I am having fun! I have more content than I know what to do with ! This just saves me from freezing outside shooting episodes lol. I hope my stock footage can make it so the clips I shoot inside are more visually Appealing
Excellent project. I love making indoors gardening, but I do not know how I will start. I will try to set up mine and plant the same. Perfect in fall and winter, I will continue enjoying my gardening indoors as well. Thank you.
I just harvested from my indoor garden :). Here is a playlist where I go through more tips on setting up and growing indoors. th-cam.com/play/PL5mfR-r4BXH0sQIoFdcU2VYPdR9HYRVDz.html
Good info, Stephen! The bulbs I use in my 4 bulb T-8 fixture are actually called plant bulbs! I don't know if you have them available in your area or not. They have a kind of pinkish tint to them, and they seem to work well!
I liked the video. I use one of those rolling light stands from Lee Valley, It's a lot pricier than your system but I'm not handy. I use Growlux full spectrum bulbs these days but I used to use a warm white and a soft white with good results. You have such a wider choice of varieties when you buy seed as opposed to ready grown transplants. Take care Klaus
I have seen the Lee Valley sets and was inspired by some :) as long as your growing it's all good handy or not ! Seeds open up thousands of possibilities that plant starts don't ! Including much better plants for your climate !
Excellent video Stephen.Interesting point, though off subject.My apartment building was just refurbished with LED lighting and new type fluorescent tubes.They installed all new electric fixtures and lighting.The fluorescent tubes are all very small diameter.When watching your video, I realized that the condition to grow indoors has been removed from the building....unless one makes the exact purchase.
Hi Steve, just a few comments here: while you can grow some things under fluorescents, they really don't put out that much light per watt. While really great for starting seedlings, they really don't have the intensity to grow a lot of fruit. The most effecient grow lights are by tradition, HID lamps. They come in two flavors and I'm sure you already know this, but it's MH (metal halide) and HPS (high pressure sodium). MH bulbs produce more in the blue spectrum and HPS produce more in the red and have a yellowish cast. It is generally considered best to use MH in the vegetative stage of plant development and use HPS in later stages more conducive to flowering. One 600W light from Amazon that has a digital ballast that is scalable: 50% 75% and 100%, contains both types of bulbs, has a timer, hangar and adjustable cords and hooks, is less than $200. Canadian might be a bit more, idk. But the point here is, you will get far more light for your money than you could ever hope to with any kind of fluorescent. That's just the plain physics of the situation. Right now, sort of. Research is ongoing into LEDs. I've done some myself. Are we there yet? No, not really, although we are getting there. In a few years, we will be, and make all that stuff I wrote up above moot. But for now, go with the HID, and experiment with LED as you want.
+Jim Carver The only issue I have with MH and HPS is the heat they produce. I have a high efficiency house so if I let it get too hot then the system has issues handling it. That said I completely agree but most people are hesitant to take that next step so I hope to show them with something they can find at any big box store how to grow at least some stuff. I have been talking to a LED producer whom I hope will take a look into lights that put off regular spectrum with peaks in blue and red. The issue I have with LED is the waste light of purple hurts my eyes quite a bit. once Phillips puts out their 60+% efficient LED that is going to be a game changer!
Well the spectrum is an issue and i think we will work that out in coming years. It will surely lead to greater efficiency in the amount of quality light produced. As far as the heat, yes, that is an issue and a power issue as well. 600W is 600W you are going to have to pay for. My only saving grace is I have to heat the place in the winter. So 600W is just something that would go into the mix anyway. It may have other benefits as well. It's been shown that strong light early in the day can reduce depression that some people get in the shortening days. So you get the best of two worlds: nice warming heat, and a high amount of light that might make you feel better. And a sufficient amount of light so you actually do make something. (And, at current rates, it's the greatest conversion rate for power to light that there is.)
+Jim Carver One day ill graduate into the higher power lights ;) one day! for now ill keep playing around with my little ones. What I would love is a light that could grow a citrus tree indoors all year! Now that would be great!
The 400W HPS can do that and put on a timer can add a little heat and not run up your bill that much. They're the only thing out there that can really substitute for real sunlight.
If given the opportunity I may have to try that. For now though I am done spending on indoor growing and will return to allocating my resources to the Testing Garden Assumptions series!
Holy S***!!! $100 for that setup is horrible expensive! I started using shop lights over 20 yrs ago. Paid $9/light and $5/2 pack of bulbs. As I learned more and refined my system, I bought better fixtures & bulbs but still never paid more than $20/fixture(high performance plus) and bought a 10 pack of 6500 kelvin bulbs for $30. The key here is to watch for a "sale" on the fixtures. My local big box store seems to have them on sale in January/February. I like your idea about mixing the Kelvin ratings, I'll have to try that this spring. Keep up the good wrk, but watch for sales!
+Chris Dahl I am terrible for never finding sales! Usually if I ask my wife to look for one she finds the best. that said I should have asked her for this project ;) I am not sure if you're in Canada or not but US prices often are much lower than here too!
Yeah always use a wall or a box, to increase small out puts of light. By reflecting the light back... Fluros seem to produce the best product... Fluros were created by Tesla, in response to Thomas Edison, patenting the filament light bulb... Telsa was so brilliant, he simply said" so what?" .... And then created a chemically powered light bulb, that we know today as fluroscent lighting... A combination of the orange and white lights (low and high end) is what seems to work the best, I agree...
+MJgrowersAssociation I used to tent my plants however with out a proper vent disease issues come up fast! So now I just rely on an extra bulb or two! That is interesting to know the history my friend! thank you!
+Double Dog Farm That should be able to grow some fantastic crops or light your shop for much cheaper ;) I just started using EBay and Amazon.... wow.... I find it way to easy to spend lol.
I love it! To see something green growing in wintertime. I bet you're really loving it with the weather you have. Great video on lighting, good luck with your indoor plants. Take care, Kim
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable So true, I like to use my greenhouse for that, but at this time it's very squished in my grow room, I might not be able to fit in there until after Christmas, LOL. I did get a little out of control planting winter greens, so soon they'll be outside and I'll have more room ;-)
+The Northwest Forager I have spent far too long looking at videos that are just so full of high tech information they are not useable! I hope this helps!
appreciate the information. I've got three different brands of t5 grow lights. I was going to put white vinyl wallpaper as a backdrop and your info supports my choice
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable ....I've got year-round seed starts in there. spinach and lettuces in there now to go outside under minigreenhouses in 3 wks. I am restarting a small year-round Arugula bed in there on my large laundry room corner countertop, meant to be a craft corner or sewing area. I replaced gross tile with grout with easily-cleaned Corian. The glue from my knat sticky strips was leaving ugly smudges on the walls so will be putting vinyl white wallpaper as a backsplash.
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable ...I am the only person not on Facebook. Hubby deals with our social media per se. I have started a blog that I will link to videos once I'm retired. Career is still crushing although I recently semi retired. My videos will be specific to my zone 8B and some might also be made in Spanish, a unique niche. I am not a survivalist but my videos will be about organic self-sufficiency as a way to improve health and nutrition of all, even the poor. I am fortunate and have lots and lots of space but I'm crippled by having rocky soil. I'm going to usehorse manure and cedar wood chips to build soil and have a watermelon and cantaloupe 50 ft sq patch. That is this year's project. HillCountryHick.com
I spent some time on your blog !! Stunning land and i think your manure method will help with that rocky soil my friend! I completely understand the time commitment. I have a day job and son whom is 3 so it takes careful planning to make this all work!
For growing, you should look into T5 HO or HIgh Output, they are far superior and efficient than T8. And you can get a 8 bulb T5 4 feet for roughly the same price, with much better lumen output. Check out growmau5 also, you can make LED now yourself buying the parts.
derty QWERTY Not actually all to better, look into the watts per lumens per price. T8 is 2900 lumens per 32 watts per 4 ft bulb. T5 is 54w and a little more lumens (4ft 2 bulb t8 fixture is $10.99, t5 is atleast $50) . Price is a huge difference , you can get the same lumens from t8 for less money and not many more watts at all
Finally, some clear info on what to use for grow lights. Would a white piece of cardboard leaned up against the light and plants ( not directly on the plants of course) help reflect better than having the cardboard covered with tin foil?
I am glad you liked the video ! Yes white cardboard would work well to reflect back any stray light. No need to cover it with tinfoil. White the colour does not absorb any spectrum.
How does Vader feel about these grow lights? I'd be curious to see his expression....LOL Great video! Great explanation about Kelvin/Lumens etc. I was never quite sure what to pay attention to!
Nice setup! Would be interesting to see a test using a lumen meter app on a smartphone/tablet comparing the total LUX between the top and bottom levels to measure the free light you're getting from the window..
+MrChipGardener Do you happen to know of an app that may work? I am not sure how to work that into a clip but I am sure there is a way and I would love to know!
I used an app that measures lux in a video on indoor citrus care in the past. I just pointed my camera at my phone to demonstrate. I've found that it's really handy to use these types of apps to compare different potential indoor grow setups. Of course you very obviously know that lux isn't the only thing to go by since all wavelengths aren't equal, but I still would say overall lux is at least as important as wavelength within a reasonable range. :)
Well its a tool and should give you an idea comparatively what is going on. It may not be the best for purchasing lights but can be useful understanding what is going on in your system! Ill check out your clip my friend!
MrChipGardener I subbed SUB back please checkout my video's Bubble hash full melt dry sieve hashish marijuana cannabis extracts all natural worlds best hash
Stephen, there is a loud echo sound in the audio portion. You might check your sound card setting. Look for a echo reduction setting. I was wondering if you actually used a computer to create the film. iPad...? Camcorders and digital video most times use auto / volume level correction.Have a great day and for the coming holidays.
***** ...cement basement. For a check--I might change my setting to eliminate the echo. Just re-installed my PCIexpress cards. My Win 7 PC is running faster.
great video, Stephen! but how did you come up with a color temperature of 2100k? if the conversion between nm and kelvin is 2897769/[value], and if chlorophyll reacts around ~650nm, then wouldn't a 4500k be more effective than 2100k?
+matthew swanson While I don't follow the math I spend originally researched the K ratings last year as a part of my grow lights explained video. The founder of the vertical farm interviewed a number of growers and the Kelvin ratings of 2100 and 6500 were referenced a number of times. if I remember correctly I did read something about it last year. Sorry for the half response !
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable granted i havent looked into much peer reviewed works regarding this, but from what i see on the graph in your video, plants react primarily to two wavelengths: ~450 nm, and ~650 nm. if you divide 2897769 by 450, you get 6500k if you divide 2897769 by 650, you get 4500k (here is my source for the conversion value between nm and k: rechneronline.de/spectrum/)
Thank you Matt. Ill look into that some more. if I can find my reference material i will send that to you. you are right 450nm is blue and correct scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1668 ill have to look into it. the 2100k works great and it does not have much in the 4500
+atizeg white as it is registered in your eyes is all colours. So when light hits a white surface none of the wavelengths are absorbed. A black surface on the other hand absorbs all light and reflects none. most surfaces like a leaf absorb all light with the exception of one. in the case of a leaf it is the green colour it does not use and reflects back at you.
I will take a look into it. White surfaces still absorb light and the reflected light decays but it is still a method that improves slightly the usable light on plants.
I know that the T8 @ $~ $100.00 for (4) bulbs may be better cost wise for energy consumption. I can get (5) T12 fixtures with a case of lights (10) T12 6500K bulbs for the same price. 5 x $11.97 (light fixtures) + 29.00 case of lights. I know you are growing from a shelf or 2, but on larger indoor growing ops.. you can do way better $-wise.
+Nathan Deneault The other issue I have is I am in Canada and we get most of our produces from the US. We are seeing huge spikes in costs. This system that I show should last a decade or longer helping me get my investment back. I was just doing some research into comparative analysis on light technologies vs energy and production. turns out lots of companies are proprietary however i have some leads on open source University work!
For your application this is good, I have a full room and to implement the smaller T8's would cost me out the wazoo.. and the break even point would be YEARS for it to pay for its self :/ That said on a off grid type living arrangement your T8 would be better for not using the energy the larger bulbs would :) Good convo man!
I have been looking at all kinds of things, these are the cheapest to get into, at one point I will look at something else, I have a bunch of video footage I am putting together of my greenroom build. It won't be up for a while, but I will try to notify you when it is up :)
are these regular light bulbs that you have used that can be purchased from Home Depot / Lowes or anything specific light bulbs for growing plants?? can you give links to the products used?
Do you have any figures on cost of power consumed per season and cost per season for the tubes based on the life in hours each tube has from factory and the hours they are on? ☺
Hello Albert, I was watching a video of my country's channel "Cosas De La Huerta" and your channel suggested me. Is that I had problems with the germunization of my seeds, both those of tomatoes, as well as those of red sweet or red peppers. Since at this precise moment it is winter, it has indicated an indoor germunization. I have decided to do it with 12 watt LED lights and instead of a timer, I put a photo sensor key. What is really a transistor that will open when there is sunlight. I will see your videos. I hope to understand something for the language. I have already subscribed Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina ✊✌🐧🙋👍
Hey mate thanks for the informative video!I have a question !is there a difference between a growing light and and office light?my local hardware store has t8 6500k tubes will these work for growing? Looking to grow tomatoes all year round in a green house with a light to help with fruiting!
your videos are great knowledge I just got in to indoor garden I'm trying to improve my lighting knowledge I'm currently trying to germinate my peppers seeds I'm using a fluorescent light an LED light is that OK?
Can one use regular LED fluorescents instead? Not referring to LED grow lights but regular LEDs that you'll use around the house. Seems like they're phasing out CFLs as they are harder to find already.
You can buy red and blue LEDs. If you're not into build your own, go to an aquatics shop that deals in 'Reef Tank' equipment. They sell fixtures using T-8 bulbs with dual circuits where you can use one or the other, or both lamps at the same time.
Hi Alberta Urban Garden, Loving your videos! I'm a law and medicine student in The Netherlands and I love cooking with my own greens (especially herbs), but sadly I've only got a north-facing apartment. I'm looking to buy a fixture, but due to space and budget limitations the maximum I can get is a 2 ft T5 system with 4x 24 Watts (total of 96 Watts) at 6500 Kelvin. I'd want to sustain one pot of parsley, one small cherry tomato plant and grow one hot pepper plant and one or two basil plants year round. Two questions: 1. Are these specs enough to grow and sustain these plants year round? 2. The system only comes with 4x 6500 Kelvin T5's. Is it necessary to buy and replace two of them with two T5's around 2100 Kelvin in order to get good fruits? Or will they do well without it too? (I'm sorry to ask something that you explained so well in your video, but it really is a hassle to get this hardware in The Netherlands and even harder to get an experts' opinion). Thanks a million in advance! Kindest regards, Cristian Oranje
Good luck on your studies! It seems like an eon ago I was in university! 1. Yes they should be more than sufficient to grow herbs and a miniature tomato. The tomato won't produce as much as outside but should still do well. 2. Although having both is optimal as chlorophyll A and B would be stimulated plants do perfectly fine with just one. That said the growth will be a little slower but herbs should do fine.
One last question: after a lot of searching and store hopping it turns out it is really hard to get the right materials and supplies here in Holland. Do you recon that 2x T8 18 watts blue spectrum and 2x T8 18 watts red spectrum will also do the trick? My transformer also specifically states that it is suited for a 18W T8 and can handle 20 watts. Do you think I can fit a T5 18W in the same circuit, since it's the same size and wattage? I wouldn't see why not, but maybe I'm forgetting something...
LEDs are the new best thing. Everyone is having great results with the latest LED panels. Pricey but long lasting and closest thing to mimicking sunlight. So they say. Plus they are safer. CFL, Fluorescent and others are said to leak toxins and heavy metals and can become dangerous overtime.
Led have amazing potential however for small grow ops like this often are prohibitively expensive. I have seen them used in commercial grow ops and in that situation they pay themselves off quite fast. They say leafy greens they can produce nearly 2x faster !
Thanks for the valuable info! I have 30 tropical fruit trees in 3 and 5 gallon containers by the windows facing north-east inside my house.. The trees are in the sun room measuring 18' to 8'. What kind of CFL lights do I need to use? I already have 4 CFL bulbs. Two are 85 watt and the other two are 100 watt . But, they are all 6500 k. Would you mind telling me how many CFL I need to use? How many of them must be 2100k and how many 6500k? If you could help me with that, I would greatly appreciate, since I've been struggling a lot to find reliable and clear info about my situation..
Watts is not the unit that measures how much power is converted to light. It is the power the bulbs ACTUALLY CONSUME. How much power that is converted to light takes efficiency in account. It is lower than the power consumed. So a 40 W bulb may only convert 28 W to USABLE light. The rest is heat and light that cannot be seen by humans.
I need help plz ! I bought my fixture but on mine i have a plastic over my fixture (like i cant see the bulb) should i remove it ? Thx for your help and great video !
Jean-Francois Boudriaux yes 100% remove the plastic covering its taking away from the visible light the plant is absorbing. Long story short plastic on grow lights is a no no bigtime
Might be stupid question but thought I would ask. If say I was growing with CFL's for Veg and I was using 8 x 5000k and I added a blue led flood light to add to the blue spectrum. Does it work that way and would it make a difference? Would the white light from the cfl drown out the blue light?
the 5000k lights are not typically that efficient for growing plants. that said they may do alright. Yes the white lights should wash out any coloured light.
Thanks! Oh and does it matter how many lights/watts u have on your cuttings or seedling as long as u can keep the heat/humidity in range and ur Kelvins are 6500 and 2100?
You forgot one thing your light tubes only have short life the spectrum gows down after so many hours so you will have to change the tubes every year you will see that next year your plants will not do so well under the lights
+Richard Sydenham I have had that comment in the past. I grew under my older light with no issues for 4 years even getting tomatoes and peppers last year. I am interested to find out what either causes that or where that recommendation came from! Thank you Richard!
Most probley down to $ in the hospitals and offeses they change them every year and most grow shops recamend this too may be you can do a vid about this is it true
Barbarian food grower techniques. With weed u need to be waaay more precise. And why the hell would someone grow shomething that he can buy anywhere cheaper in the same quality? Please someone explain it to me. I mean for real what is the porpuse of growing food with lights?
Thanks for the info! Love it! When you install those loop screws, you can put a screwdriver through the hole and use it to spin the screw into place. By doing so, you will not hurt your fingers and will get a deeper set. Thanks again.
Very timely, good sir. I was just doing research into this very item for my new indoor aquaponics system, and trying to find "plain English" explanations of what's needed is more difficult than you might expect.
Good video and very helpful to me!
I am very glad I could help! I was confused when I started and wanted to make sure a few plain language episodes were out there!
I really appreciate the detailed scientific explanations of your videos. Not only is it a great learning tool for me it saves me time and money and eliminates the mistakes I would have made. In short it makes it easy for me to get it right the 1st time in the projects I choose to do. Thank You! Deuce
+deuce1349 I am really glad I can help you not only enjoy your projects but save some cash! It makes the work I do well worth it!
Thanks for the reply. I'll be watching your channel for more good things. Deuce
+deuce1349 I am very happy to hear that! I hope i can impress!
Glad to see you had 4 bulbs. I had a 2 light fixture first but the seedlings were leggy so I added another. I bought the smallest cheapest one originally so I could pair it. For seedlings I just have 2 cool and 2 warm bulbs and it's fine. I notice once the plants get over 6" they get leggy from too little light but by that time it's hopefully warm enough to be outside.
I have done alright in just the two bulb ballasts but it is not easy and takes more work. The 4 bulb setup is just so much nicer !
Once my plants are 6 inches tall I'll be able to move them to the window and keep trucking !
You sir are real scientist. Always researching the topic to develop your hypothesis. Then using your research to experiment and verify what you postulate.
So, this is a really great video! You get right to the information I was looking for, Thank You! And you went thru quickly and easy to follow. Not boring.
I’m glad I could help.
Great setup Stephen. Some people have mentioned HID lighting as being superior (which I believe it is), but if your just starting seeds and getting plants started early, fluorescents are more than up to the task. I grow with HID's as well and can tell you that they put off a large amount of heat that has to be dealt with and this adds to costs. Also, fluorescents are nice as they can be place pretty close to your plants without fear of burning. I currently have a 110 watt CFL light that works fairly well, but I am wanting to upgrade to a system such as yours. Hopefully this setup will keep you content during the cold/dark winter months.
If I were more ambitious with the crops I wanted to grow I might go for an HID or HPS system but honestly this does more than enough and the natural sun does a whole lot for me already !
One day I'll likely graduate but for now I am having fun!
I have more content than I know what to do with ! This just saves me from freezing outside shooting episodes lol. I hope my stock footage can make it so the clips I shoot inside are more visually Appealing
Boom! As an Alberta grower, that's what i nedded to know. Thank you.
I am glad I could help!
Excellent project. I love making indoors gardening, but I do not know how I will start. I will try to set up mine and plant the same. Perfect in fall and winter, I will continue enjoying my gardening indoors as well. Thank you.
I just harvested from my indoor garden :). Here is a playlist where I go through more tips on setting up and growing indoors.
th-cam.com/play/PL5mfR-r4BXH0sQIoFdcU2VYPdR9HYRVDz.html
I really like how you used the top shelf to hold the lights for the bollom. Very nice!
Thank you my friend !
Great information on grow lights, Stephen!
+OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening Thank you Patrick!
You have done such a comprehensive job! Thank you for your thorough and clear presentation!
Good info, Stephen! The bulbs I use in my 4 bulb T-8 fixture are actually called plant bulbs! I don't know if you have them available in your area or not. They have a kind of pinkish tint to them, and they seem to work well!
If it's the Phillips brand we likely have the same ones. I am glad you vouch for them ! I just planted last night !
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable Good to hear! I can't wait to see to progress!
I liked the video. I use one of those rolling light stands from Lee Valley, It's a lot pricier than your system but I'm not handy. I use Growlux full spectrum bulbs these days but I used to use a warm white and a soft white with good results. You have such a wider choice of varieties when you buy seed as opposed to ready grown transplants.
Take care
Klaus
I have seen the Lee Valley sets and was inspired by some :) as long as your growing it's all good handy or not !
Seeds open up thousands of possibilities that plant starts don't ! Including much better plants for your climate !
This is awesome. Thank you so much! I have been looking for this information everywhere, and you explained exactly what I needed :)
Excellent video Stephen.Interesting point, though off subject.My apartment building was just refurbished with LED lighting and new type fluorescent tubes.They installed all new electric fixtures and lighting.The fluorescent tubes are all very small diameter.When watching your video, I realized that the condition to grow indoors has been removed from the building....unless one makes the exact purchase.
Likely they chose lights that some put off the right spectrum however if you replaced them plants don't have to be as close to an LED grow light.
*****
The elevators--have been slowed down.
Some of the elderly were attacked here.
I live in public housing...but its really called elderly housing.
Nice job so will be interesting to see how new plants are growing with this setup :)
+Raf's Kitchen Garden I planted a few nights ago and should have some plants coming up any time now!
Hi Steve, just a few comments here: while you can grow some things under fluorescents, they really don't put out that much light per watt. While really great for starting seedlings, they really don't have the intensity to grow a lot of fruit.
The most effecient grow lights are by tradition, HID lamps. They come in two flavors and I'm sure you already know this, but it's MH (metal halide) and HPS (high pressure sodium). MH bulbs produce more in the blue spectrum and HPS produce more in the red and have a yellowish cast. It is generally considered best to use MH in the vegetative stage of plant development and use HPS in later stages more conducive to flowering.
One 600W light from Amazon that has a digital ballast that is scalable: 50% 75% and 100%, contains both types of bulbs, has a timer, hangar and adjustable cords and hooks, is less than $200. Canadian might be a bit more, idk. But the point here is, you will get far more light for your money than you could ever hope to with any kind of fluorescent. That's just the plain physics of the situation. Right now, sort of.
Research is ongoing into LEDs. I've done some myself. Are we there yet? No, not really, although we are getting there. In a few years, we will be, and make all that stuff I wrote up above moot. But for now, go with the HID, and experiment with LED as you want.
+Jim Carver The only issue I have with MH and HPS is the heat they produce. I have a high efficiency house so if I let it get too hot then the system has issues handling it. That said I completely agree but most people are hesitant to take that next step so I hope to show them with something they can find at any big box store how to grow at least some stuff.
I have been talking to a LED producer whom I hope will take a look into lights that put off regular spectrum with peaks in blue and red. The issue I have with LED is the waste light of purple hurts my eyes quite a bit. once Phillips puts out their 60+% efficient LED that is going to be a game changer!
Well the spectrum is an issue and i think we will work that out in coming years. It will surely lead to greater efficiency in the amount of quality light produced.
As far as the heat, yes, that is an issue and a power issue as well. 600W is 600W you are going to have to pay for. My only saving grace is I have to heat the place in the winter. So 600W is just something that would go into the mix anyway. It may have other benefits as well. It's been shown that strong light early in the day can reduce depression that some people get in the shortening days. So you get the best of two worlds: nice warming heat, and a high amount of light that might make you feel better.
And a sufficient amount of light so you actually do make something.
(And, at current rates, it's the greatest conversion rate for power to light that there is.)
+Jim Carver One day ill graduate into the higher power lights ;) one day! for now ill keep playing around with my little ones. What I would love is a light that could grow a citrus tree indoors all year! Now that would be great!
The 400W HPS can do that and put on a timer can add a little heat and not run up your bill that much. They're the only thing out there that can really substitute for real sunlight.
If given the opportunity I may have to try that. For now though I am done spending on indoor growing and will return to allocating my resources to the Testing Garden Assumptions series!
Holy S***!!! $100 for that setup is horrible expensive! I started using shop lights over 20 yrs ago. Paid $9/light and $5/2 pack of bulbs. As I learned more and refined my system, I bought better fixtures & bulbs but still never paid more than $20/fixture(high performance plus) and bought a 10 pack of 6500 kelvin bulbs for $30. The key here is to watch for a "sale" on the fixtures. My local big box store seems to have them on sale in January/February.
I like your idea about mixing the Kelvin ratings, I'll have to try that this spring.
Keep up the good wrk, but watch for sales!
+Chris Dahl I am terrible for never finding sales! Usually if I ask my wife to look for one she finds the best. that said I should have asked her for this project ;)
I am not sure if you're in Canada or not but US prices often are much lower than here too!
T8 sucks and use more power than T5 , yes the fixture is more but work 10 times better than T8, and the bulbs are the same price
I have the same gray light fixture for my plants but I use T8 full spectrum bulbs. Thanks for the info
+Destiny Fitzgerald IT seems to be a popular fixture lol. I am glad I could help!
Yeah always use a wall or a box, to increase small out puts of light. By reflecting the light back... Fluros seem to produce the best product... Fluros were created by Tesla, in response to Thomas Edison, patenting the filament light bulb... Telsa was so brilliant, he simply said" so what?" .... And then created a chemically powered light bulb, that we know today as fluroscent lighting... A combination of the orange and white lights (low and high end) is what seems to work the best, I agree...
+MJgrowersAssociation I used to tent my plants however with out a proper vent disease issues come up fast! So now I just rely on an extra bulb or two!
That is interesting to know the history my friend! thank you!
Thank you for making this simple.
I purchased ( 20 ) 4ft LED tubes off of Ebay.
4ft 120CM LED 2835 Milky White Tube Light 6000k T8 18W 100v-277v G13 bulb
Converting all my shop lights.
+Double Dog Farm That should be able to grow some fantastic crops or light your shop for much cheaper ;)
I just started using EBay and Amazon.... wow.... I find it way to easy to spend lol.
I love it! To see something green growing in wintertime. I bet you're really loving it with the weather you have. Great video on lighting, good luck with your indoor plants. Take care, Kim
Thank you Kim ! I have to say it will be my oasis in a few weeks and a great backdrop for some videos !
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable So true, I like to use my greenhouse for that, but at this time it's very squished in my grow room, I might not be able to fit in there until after Christmas, LOL. I did get a little out of control planting winter greens, so soon they'll be outside and I'll have more room ;-)
That seems to be an issue with all gardeners! We pack more in than we have space ;) Well worth it though!
Excellent video! Very practical information.
+The Northwest Forager I have spent far too long looking at videos that are just so full of high tech information they are not useable! I hope this helps!
Great info. I appreciate the breakdown of costs as well.
Thanks so much!
appreciate the information. I've got three different brands of t5 grow lights. I was going to put white vinyl wallpaper as a backdrop and your info supports my choice
I am glad I could help my friend! What types of things do you grow with your system?
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable ....I've got year-round seed starts in there. spinach and lettuces in there now to go outside under minigreenhouses in 3 wks. I am restarting a small year-round Arugula bed in there on my large laundry room corner countertop, meant to be a craft corner or sewing area. I replaced gross tile with grout with easily-cleaned Corian. The glue from my knat sticky strips was leaving ugly smudges on the walls so will be putting vinyl white wallpaper as a backsplash.
it sounds like you have a fantastic grow space! I would love to see some photos over on Facebook. if you check out my page you can post there!
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable ...I am the only person not on Facebook. Hubby deals with our social media per se. I have started a blog that I will link to videos once I'm retired. Career is still crushing although I recently semi retired. My videos will be specific to my zone 8B and some might also be made in Spanish, a unique niche. I am not a survivalist but my videos will be about organic self-sufficiency as a way to improve health and nutrition of all, even the poor. I am fortunate and have lots and lots of space but I'm crippled by having rocky soil. I'm going to usehorse manure and cedar wood chips to build soil and have a watermelon and cantaloupe 50 ft sq patch. That is this year's project. HillCountryHick.com
I spent some time on your blog !! Stunning land and i think your manure method will help with that rocky soil my friend! I completely understand the time commitment. I have a day job and son whom is 3 so it takes careful planning to make this all work!
My God! this is what I badly need now. lol!
Thanks for the very informative video.
Thanks for sharing Stephen. Love the shirt. Best wishes Bob.
I though it was appropriate with the release date of the video lol. Glad you enjoyed the clip.
Thank you Stephen for that useful information. Merry Christmas
Thank you my friend ! I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas !
Love all of your videos. They are all very informative!!
+Hans Gruetzünbach I am glad I can help my friend!!
Thx great info i am looking to start some plants in a couple of weeks
Fantastic ! I am glad I could help my friend !
Very informative thank you so much I'm looking forward for more new videos
great information I would love to install some of these in our home.
All it takes is a run to Home Depot :)
Great video , very detailed
For growing, you should look into T5 HO or HIgh Output, they are far superior and efficient than T8. And you can get a 8 bulb T5 4 feet for roughly the same price, with much better lumen output. Check out growmau5 also, you can make LED now yourself buying the parts.
derty QWERTY Not actually all to better, look into the watts per lumens per price. T8 is 2900 lumens per 32 watts per 4 ft bulb. T5 is 54w and a little more lumens (4ft 2 bulb t8 fixture is $10.99, t5 is atleast $50) . Price is a huge difference , you can get the same lumens from t8 for less money and not many more watts at all
Finally, some clear info on what to use for grow lights. Would a white piece of cardboard leaned up against the light and plants ( not directly on the plants of course) help reflect better than having the cardboard covered with tin foil?
I am glad you liked the video !
Yes white cardboard would work well to reflect back any stray light. No need to cover it with tinfoil. White the colour does not absorb any spectrum.
That makes sense. thanks!
my pleasure!
Super video!!! From the East Coast!
Thank for this very interesting video brother...
How does Vader feel about these grow lights? I'd be curious to see his expression....LOL Great video! Great explanation about Kelvin/Lumens etc. I was never quite sure what to pay attention to!
Very Helpful video, but where the heck can you get 2200k T8 48" bulbs, Lowes and HD do not carry them.
I found mine at HD. Might be the one you checked did not carry it ? If you are in the US online orders might be an easy way to get it ?
Awesome video!
Curious on what microphone your using to record your audio with as it's quite nice.
In this clip is the rode video maker one. I don't have the name off hand.
Great video, thanks
LOVE YOUR SHIRT!!
Thanks my friend
Wonderful information
Hmm, I just want to grow greens for my salad. Cool shirt.
thanks.
This is super helpful!! Thank you so much.
Nice setup! Would be interesting to see a test using a lumen meter app on a smartphone/tablet comparing the total LUX between the top and bottom levels to measure the free light you're getting from the window..
+MrChipGardener Do you happen to know of an app that may work? I am not sure how to work that into a clip but I am sure there is a way and I would love to know!
I used an app that measures lux in a video on indoor citrus care in the past. I just pointed my camera at my phone to demonstrate.
I've found that it's really handy to use these types of apps to compare different potential indoor grow setups. Of course you very obviously know that lux isn't the only thing to go by since all wavelengths aren't equal, but I still would say overall lux is at least as important as wavelength within a reasonable range. :)
Well its a tool and should give you an idea comparatively what is going on. It may not be the best for purchasing lights but can be useful understanding what is going on in your system! Ill check out your clip my friend!
MrChipGardener I subbed SUB back please checkout my video's Bubble hash full melt dry sieve hashish marijuana cannabis extracts all natural worlds best hash
Doing the good work.
+MrMac5150 Thank you my friend!
Stephen, there is a loud echo sound in the audio portion. You might check your sound card setting. Look for a echo reduction setting. I was wondering if you actually used a computer to create the film. iPad...? Camcorders and digital video most times use auto / volume level correction.Have a great day and for the coming holidays.
It's due to the room I am in. All hard surfaces. Reduction results in lots of distortions.
*****
...cement basement.
For a check--I might change my setting to eliminate the echo.
Just re-installed my PCIexpress cards.
My Win 7 PC is running faster.
great video, Stephen! but how did you come up with a color temperature of 2100k?
if the conversion between nm and kelvin is 2897769/[value], and if chlorophyll reacts around ~650nm, then wouldn't a 4500k be more effective than 2100k?
+matthew swanson While I don't follow the math I spend originally researched the K ratings last year as a part of my grow lights explained video. The founder of the vertical farm interviewed a number of growers and the Kelvin ratings of 2100 and 6500 were referenced a number of times.
if I remember correctly I did read something about it last year.
Sorry for the half response !
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable
granted i havent looked into much peer reviewed works regarding this, but from what i see on the graph in your video, plants react primarily to two wavelengths: ~450 nm, and ~650 nm.
if you divide 2897769 by 450, you get 6500k
if you divide 2897769 by 650, you get 4500k
(here is my source for the conversion value between nm and k: rechneronline.de/spectrum/)
Thank you Matt. Ill look into that some more. if I can find my reference material i will send that to you.
you are right 450nm is blue and correct scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1668
ill have to look into it. the 2100k works great and it does not have much in the 4500
it is in here somewhere www.microbe.tv/urbanag/page/2/
Great info...thank you for the help!
Great video,i learned alot
i have that same star war shirt from Walmart for $7.50
I love Star Wars ;)
Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable 👍 your videos helped me a lot thanks
+Larry King glad I can help my friend !
SHART THE MART MY AMERIMUTT FRIEND.
I found the same shirt, almost new, in a recycle bin in Nicaragua for 25 cordovas. About 75 cents.
Why a white wall would be more efficient to reflecting back than a mirror? -Thanks.
+atizeg white as it is registered in your eyes is all colours. So when light hits a white surface none of the wavelengths are absorbed. A black surface on the other hand absorbs all light and reflects none. most surfaces like a leaf absorb all light with the exception of one. in the case of a leaf it is the green colour it does not use and reflects back at you.
I will take a look into it. White surfaces still absorb light and the reflected light decays but it is still a method that improves slightly the usable light on plants.
I know that the T8 @ $~ $100.00 for (4) bulbs may be better cost wise for energy consumption. I can get (5) T12 fixtures with a case of lights (10) T12 6500K bulbs for the same price. 5 x $11.97 (light fixtures) + 29.00 case of lights.
I know you are growing from a shelf or 2, but on larger indoor growing ops.. you can do way better $-wise.
+Nathan Deneault The other issue I have is I am in Canada and we get most of our produces from the US. We are seeing huge spikes in costs. This system that I show should last a decade or longer helping me get my investment back.
I was just doing some research into comparative analysis on light technologies vs energy and production. turns out lots of companies are proprietary however i have some leads on open source University work!
For your application this is good, I have a full room and to implement the smaller T8's would cost me out the wazoo.. and the break even point would be YEARS for it to pay for its self :/ That said on a off grid type living arrangement your T8 would be better for not using the energy the larger bulbs would :)
Good convo man!
in larger scales LED may be worth it then. They tend to grow much faster and produce more per year than CFL ever could. It pays out much faster!
I have been looking at all kinds of things, these are the cheapest to get into, at one point I will look at something else, I have a bunch of video footage I am putting together of my greenroom build. It won't be up for a while, but I will try to notify you when it is up :)
sounds good make sure to shoot me a note to make sure i see it!
Great video thanks for the help
Great vid thanks for this
are these regular light bulbs that you have used that can be purchased from Home Depot / Lowes or anything specific light bulbs for growing plants?? can you give links to the products used?
Do you have any figures on cost of power consumed per season and cost per season for the tubes based on the life in hours each tube has from factory and the hours they are on? ☺
Ha! I really like the Vader shirt!
Thank you :) I may love Star Wars!!!
Hello Albert, I was watching a video of my country's channel "Cosas De La Huerta" and your channel suggested me. Is that I had problems with the germunization of my seeds, both those of tomatoes, as well as those of red sweet or red peppers. Since at this precise moment it is winter, it has indicated an indoor germunization. I have decided to do it with 12 watt LED lights and instead of a timer, I put a photo sensor key. What is really a transistor that will open when there is sunlight. I will see your videos. I hope to understand something for the language. I have already subscribed Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina ✊✌🐧🙋👍
Does in America excists the Recycling of Fluorescent Lamps ?
Hey mate thanks for the informative video!I have a question !is there a difference between a growing light and and office light?my local hardware store has t8 6500k tubes will these work for growing? Looking to grow tomatoes all year round in a green house with a light to help with fruiting!
your videos are great knowledge I just got in to indoor garden I'm trying to improve my lighting knowledge I'm currently trying to germinate my peppers seeds I'm using a fluorescent light an LED light is that OK?
the florescent and LED can do that job its just LED of the proper wavelength will help produce more fruit than the CFL.
Ok I'm currently using my led to help my seeds germinate because it getting cold where I'm at
What would produce healthier crops? Glow lights powered by a solar panel OR plants indoors getting exposed to the sun lets say 6 hours a day.
Great Videos Stephen, i am having troubles finding growlight bulbs in Red Deer where do you get yours from?
Try Rona, or the Co-op...
+trollforge thanks ill try Rona no luck at coop
+wytchhunter0 Home depot is where I went.
Can one use regular LED fluorescents instead? Not referring to LED grow lights but regular LEDs that you'll use around the house. Seems like they're phasing out CFLs as they are harder to find already.
You can buy red and blue LEDs. If you're not into build your own, go to an aquatics shop that deals in
'Reef Tank' equipment. They sell fixtures using T-8 bulbs with dual circuits where you can use one or the other, or both lamps at the same time.
What light would I use for succulents?
Hi Alberta Urban Garden,
Loving your videos!
I'm a law and medicine student in The Netherlands and I love cooking with my own greens (especially herbs), but sadly I've only got a north-facing apartment. I'm looking to buy a fixture, but due to space and budget limitations the maximum I can get is a 2 ft T5 system with 4x 24 Watts (total of 96 Watts) at 6500 Kelvin. I'd want to sustain one pot of parsley, one small cherry tomato plant and grow one hot pepper plant and one or two basil plants year round. Two questions:
1. Are these specs enough to grow and sustain these plants year round?
2. The system only comes with 4x 6500 Kelvin T5's. Is it necessary to buy and replace two of them with two T5's around 2100 Kelvin in order to get good fruits? Or will they do well without it too? (I'm sorry to ask something that you explained so well in your video, but it really is a hassle to get this hardware in The Netherlands and even harder to get an experts' opinion).
Thanks a million in advance!
Kindest regards,
Cristian Oranje
Good luck on your studies! It seems like an eon ago I was in university!
1. Yes they should be more than sufficient to grow herbs and a miniature tomato. The tomato won't produce as much as outside but should still do well.
2. Although having both is optimal as chlorophyll A and B would be stimulated plants do perfectly fine with just one. That said the growth will be a little slower but herbs should do fine.
Thanks for your very fast and useful reply!
You caught me putting together a little bonus video for my Facebook page ;)
One last question: after a lot of searching and store hopping it turns out it is really hard to get the right materials and supplies here in Holland. Do you recon that 2x T8 18 watts blue spectrum and 2x T8 18 watts red spectrum will also do the trick? My transformer also specifically states that it is suited for a 18W T8 and can handle 20 watts. Do you think I can fit a T5 18W in the same circuit, since it's the same size and wattage? I wouldn't see why not, but maybe I'm forgetting something...
yes you can use the same system for both bulbs and really its just the Kelven that is important and the highest watts possible.
I would like to know if a led light has a 2700 k rating is it the same as a CFL rating thank you for your time
interesting video kinda rehashing loadsa common knowledge stuff :D
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
LEDs are the new best thing. Everyone is having great results with the latest LED panels. Pricey but long lasting and closest thing to mimicking sunlight. So they say. Plus they are safer. CFL, Fluorescent and others are said to leak toxins and heavy metals and can become dangerous overtime.
Led have amazing potential however for small grow ops like this often are prohibitively expensive.
I have seen them used in commercial grow ops and in that situation they pay themselves off quite fast. They say leafy greens they can produce nearly 2x faster !
Ahh i understand and yes i agree they are the future of indoor gardening in my opinion.
3:00 Can you give me a link for the 2100K Philips tube?
Thanks for the valuable info!
I have 30 tropical fruit trees in 3 and 5 gallon containers by the windows facing north-east inside my house.. The trees are in the sun room measuring 18' to 8'. What kind of CFL lights do I need to use? I already have 4 CFL bulbs. Two are 85 watt and the other two are 100 watt . But, they are all 6500 k. Would you mind telling me how many CFL I need to use? How many of them must be 2100k and how many 6500k? If you could help me with that, I would greatly appreciate, since I've been struggling a lot to find reliable and clear info about my situation..
It would help if you sent me some photos over on the Alberta Urban Garden Facebook page. I should be able to help you if I can see what you have.
*****
I am posting them. Thanks a lot!
Hello! I have just sent them to you through your message box.
I got them on my personal page ;)
I sent a comment abck
Will 6500 with 2900 Kelvin be ok?
Watts is not the unit that measures how much power is converted to light. It is the power the bulbs ACTUALLY CONSUME. How much power that is converted to light takes efficiency in account. It is lower than the power consumed. So a 40 W bulb may only convert 28 W to USABLE light. The rest is heat and light that cannot be seen by humans.
I need help plz ! I bought my fixture but on mine i have a plastic over my fixture (like i cant see the bulb) should i remove it ? Thx for your help and great video !
Jean-Francois Boudriaux yes 100% remove the plastic covering its taking away from the visible light the plant is absorbing. Long story short plastic on grow lights is a no no bigtime
psycodic productions 122 thank you so mutch for your response and your tips i really appreciate :)
No problem man always happy to help another grower with anything they need to know
Berta bud! Hahah love the channel!
Also wouldn't alternating 6500k and 2100k bulbs interfere the k and average it out to 4300k?
It doesnt average like that. 6500k light is always 6500k. Using 6500k and 2100k means you have both.
Can you use a t8 on a t12 fixture?
Might be stupid question but thought I would ask. If say I was growing with CFL's for Veg and I was using 8 x 5000k and I added a blue led flood light to add to the blue spectrum. Does it work that way and would it make a difference? Would the white light from the cfl drown out the blue light?
the 5000k lights are not typically that efficient for growing plants. that said they may do alright. Yes the white lights should wash out any coloured light.
Link to the grow lights?
What about 5000k led for growing
STEVE i am confused why did you not use 2 6500k instead of 1 6500k an 1 2100k
one is the warm spectrum light and the other blue. Both are required for plant health and growth.
Why a t8 bulb and not a t5?
Must be canadian price, and it cost me 124.00 2ft lx 2 t5 bulbs
will the bulbs last longer than 1 growing season?
Yes but it loses strength over time.
Thanks! Oh and does it matter how many lights/watts u have on your cuttings or seedling as long as u can keep the heat/humidity in range and ur Kelvins are 6500 and 2100?
The more the better but seedlings, herbs and leafy greens are pretty forgiving.
You forgot one thing your light tubes only have short life the spectrum gows down after so many hours so you will have to change the tubes every year
you will see that next year your plants will not do so well under the lights
+Richard Sydenham I have had that comment in the past. I grew under my older light with no issues for 4 years even getting tomatoes and peppers last year. I am interested to find out what either causes that or where that recommendation came from! Thank you Richard!
Most probley down to $ in the hospitals and offeses they change them every year and most grow shops recamend this too
may be you can do a vid about this is it true
I will put it on my list to do!
Good information Sith Lord
+Double Dog Farm lol thank you young padiwan
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable
That's Padawin to you master.
son of a .... I knew I messed up!!
you know I think you are one of the first gardening friends online I have! Thank you Eric!
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable
aw-shucks :-)
Back in the Helpful Gardener days lol. lol those guys were interesting!
LED… nuff said
The shelfing sounds ridiculously expensive.
is electricity free where you life ......
Barbarian food grower techniques. With weed u need to be waaay more precise. And why the hell would someone grow shomething that he can buy anywhere cheaper in the same quality? Please someone explain it to me. I mean for real what is the porpuse of growing food with lights?
Neither.......😀
Where da bud at
lumens are what the human eye can see not the plant for plants the mesurement is par
everest fernandez is crazy for his indoor home garden you seen any of his videos
a.u.g.s.o.s
Not yet but I'll take a look.
So assuming T12 bulbs wouldn't do the tick? Lol
They would but likely not super well.
Really informative, but not a big fan of the infomercial-like delivery. Sorry.
You dont like getting information efficiently? There's plenty of idiots on youtube that can keep you entertained with flashing lights i'm sure.