T5 lighting

[Jonathan Farrand]

I am planning to get a little bit bigger on my food production, beside growing leafy greens with T5's what else will do well with T5 lighting?  Or if anyone has a good lighting option for a beginner CSA please tell. We are planning to be growing indoors by October. I will be moving my pond inside before winter using that water for the new AP system. Jump start on the biological activity.

 

Thanks people!!!

Jon

 

Here is a pic of my bottom resivor fish vat!!!

[Carey Ma]

Anyone in your family eat sprouts? Got animals, chickens, goats...?

Hydroponic sprouts are GREAT! Good income, good eating, notorious, you name it.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

As we speak there is a jar with 1/2 inch long alfalfa sprouts working there way towards 1" :)  I was wanting to try my hand at some wheat grass...mostly for my wife and myself...but you have given me something to think (a little better) about...

I think that I recall reading in one of your blogs or discussions maybe some of the wonders of sprouts. Or, short term plants for livestock feed...I'll have to find that again...

Animals, not yet...I've kept some chickens and a turkey or two around, last time that I lived in the countryside... I took a four year hiatus from everything rural while I worked as an engineering consultant for the U.S's largest steel manufacturer here in Serbia. Thankfully I've said goodbye to that (though the money was really great), re-renovated the farm house and recently moved back into it (from the capitol city)...so just a kitten so far...

The 'health' consciousness in this country is sort of lacking, and the ex socialist newly turned democratic mafia er...government poses their own unique hurdles to small business' here. but who knows? It would at least appear as if the tide were turning for the better. 'Organic' and 'Bio' seem to be the new catch phrases around here...well back to pouring concrete for the greenhouse...

Much respect.

[Jonathan Farrand]

I am growing leaf lettuces, some herbs,Not the smoking kind. Maybe if it was legal to grow I would but food production. It will be in my basement and I don't expect temps below 50 degrees. Thanks for all the help guys!!

Carey Ma said:

@ Vlad: Are you growing smoke or food?

@ Jonathan: You still haven't told us what you want to grow, temp in room etc.

[Jonathan Farrand]

That was amazing!! This helps more than you know!!

Vlad Jovanovic said:

@ Dino, 

I am in the building phase of such a greenhouse (though that may not qualify for 'indoors'). I will be using four sets of 400 Watt MH lights to supplement light (as well as heat) during the colder, darker periods of the year, and two pairs of 36 Watt T8's in a separate heated workshop for sprouting the lettuce. After one week I plan on moving the sprouts inside the GH to a dedicated sprouting table 4' by8' with lighting. Then after babying them there for another week move them to the nursery trough. Again, with a pair of 400 Watt MH bulbs. Keeping them there for yet another week until moving them out to the 512 square feet of final grow out trough. Spacing until grow out will be 2" apart in (of course the standard) 2" net pots. Final grow out spacing is 8" for some types of lettuce and 6" for others. 

Since the grow out rafts, nursery table and nursery troughs are all 4' in width, they lend themselves nicely to 400 Watt MH bulbs (since those bulbs will generally cover a 4' by 4' area if your plants are not really tall, like tomatoes etc...

My thinking is that by giving the lettuce such a good beginning in life, it will help more than using the lights in the final grow out phase only...(if you have a limited budget to begin with and had to choose). 

I will have more information (based on concrete experience) in the coming winter months so I can let you know.

As to your question, it is my opinion (judging from previous experiences of mine and some of the research I've done in the past eight months), that you should have no problems doing some Friendly's style rafts indoors with lighting. 

Though if by "indoors" you mean a basement or inside of a building with no sunlight, and that said indoor space was already well heated, I would forego the HID's altogether and stick with the T5's...actually for lettuce I'd probably go with the older (and much cheaper tubes) T8's... 4x100 you might go every other raft or every third unless you don't mind spending the money. As you harvest you push the rafts up the line and would alternate which get the light and which don't. Variety of lettuce also matter, beware of bolting...

[Carey Ma]

@ Vlad: Hanging to the left as usual...hehe

I'll post a "sprout blog" for y'all. It's really wonderful stuff and way over looked in our community. I think I'll do one on lighting too...maybe.

 

Ok, here is the scoop on lighting (in my opinion) but anyone really interested should spend time investigating on their own. Many of the cool season plants (greens and herbs) require minimal lighting as compared to the heavy, fruit producing plants like tomatoes. The light used is called PAR (photo active radiation) which is mainly out side of the visible light spectrum. Anyway, T-5s are wonderful and can provide you with all the light you need.

Photo from web somewhere for reference only.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[Dino Pantelidis]

Thank-you Vlad - What is bolting?

Where is your greenhouse located?

 

Vlad Jovanovic said:

@ Dino, 

I am in the building phase of such a greenhouse (though that may not qualify for 'indoors'). I will be using four sets of 400 Watt MH lights to supplement light (as well as heat) during the colder, darker periods of the year, and two pairs of 36 Watt T8's in a separate heated workshop for sprouting the lettuce. After one week I plan on moving the sprouts inside the GH to a dedicated sprouting table 4' by8' with lighting. Then after babying them there for another week move them to the nursery trough. Again, with a pair of 400 Watt MH bulbs. Keeping them there for yet another week until moving them out to the 512 square feet of final grow out trough. Spacing until grow out will be 2" apart in (of course the standard) 2" net pots. Final grow out spacing is 8" for some types of lettuce and 6" for others. 

Since the grow out rafts, nursery table and nursery troughs are all 4' in width, they lend themselves nicely to 400 Watt MH bulbs (since those bulbs will generally cover a 4' by 4' area if your plants are not really tall, like tomatoes etc...

My thinking is that by giving the lettuce such a good beginning in life, it will help more than using the lights in the final grow out phase only...(if you have a limited budget to begin with and had to choose). 

I will have more information (based on concrete experience) in the coming winter months so I can let you know.

As to your question, it is my opinion (judging from previous experiences of mine and some of the research I've done in the past eight months), that you should have no problems doing some Friendly's style rafts indoors with lighting. 

Though if by "indoors" you mean a basement or inside of a building with no sunlight, and that said indoor space was already well heated, I would forego the HID's altogether and stick with the T5's...actually for lettuce I'd probably go with the older (and much cheaper tubes) T8's... 4x100 you might go every other raft or every third unless you don't mind spending the money. As you harvest you push the rafts up the line and would alternate which get the light and which don't. Variety of lettuce also matter, beware of bolting...

[Eric Warwick]

When I went to Cabbage Hill Farms they showed me their set-up--the setup also included a sprouting table that was fed aquaponic water. I'm a little "fuzzy" on what medium it was, so Barney Spoonenberg of this forum could tell you. They also sell for like $40(USD) per pound.

Carey Ma said:

Anyone in your family eat sprouts? Got animals, chickens, goats...?

Hydroponic sprouts are GREAT! Good income, good eating, notorious, you name it.

[Carey Ma]

@ Eric: They most likely don't use any medium at all and if they do (using older methods) it is most likely sand.

[Eric Warwick]

@Carey Yeah, they probably didn't use a medium; they used a slandered hydroponic-flood-table.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

@Dino...Bolting is basically when a plant starts to suddenly go to seed by stating to flower...In leafy green plants that you wish to harvest for their leaves (lettuce, spinach, basil etc)...Bolting or flowering is undesirable in these instances as the leaves of said plants will turn really bitter to the taste and also, leaves will start to wither since the plant turns its focus and energies toward matters of reproduction instead of adding leafy green mass.

Depending on the plant either light, or heat can be a trigger for them to start bolting. Spinach is a long day plant (LDP), so when such a plant receives light for a longer period than it is dark, it will bolt and start to flower. Hence why spinach is "out of season" in the summertime. Other plants are short day plants (SPD), while others are neutral.

The greenhouse is located in central Serbia.

Dino Pantelidis said:

Thank-you Vlad - What is bolting?

Where is your greenhouse located?

 

Vlad Jovanovic said:

@ Dino, 

I am in the building phase of such a greenhouse (though that may not qualify for 'indoors'). I will be using four sets of 400 Watt MH lights to supplement light (as well as heat) during the colder, darker periods of the year, and two pairs of 36 Watt T8's in a separate heated workshop for sprouting the lettuce. After one week I plan on moving the sprouts inside the GH to a dedicated sprouting table 4' by8' with lighting. Then after babying them there for another week move them to the nursery trough. Again, with a pair of 400 Watt MH bulbs. Keeping them there for yet another week until moving them out to the 512 square feet of final grow out trough. Spacing until grow out will be 2" apart in (of course the standard) 2" net pots. Final grow out spacing is 8" for some types of lettuce and 6" for others. 

Since the grow out rafts, nursery table and nursery troughs are all 4' in width, they lend themselves nicely to 400 Watt MH bulbs (since those bulbs will generally cover a 4' by 4' area if your plants are not really tall, like tomatoes etc...

My thinking is that by giving the lettuce such a good beginning in life, it will help more than using the lights in the final grow out phase only...(if you have a limited budget to begin with and had to choose). 

I will have more information (based on concrete experience) in the coming winter months so I can let you know.

As to your question, it is my opinion (judging from previous experiences of mine and some of the research I've done in the past eight months), that you should have no problems doing some Friendly's style rafts indoors with lighting. 

Though if by "indoors" you mean a basement or inside of a building with no sunlight, and that said indoor space was already well heated, I would forego the HID's altogether and stick with the T5's...actually for lettuce I'd probably go with the older (and much cheaper tubes) T8's... 4x100 you might go every other raft or every third unless you don't mind spending the money. As you harvest you push the rafts up the line and would alternate which get the light and which don't. Variety of lettuce also matter, beware of bolting...