[Marcus10]

Hi,
I used a heated propogator this year starting in Jan for Toms, aubergines and peppers. They outgrew the prop. in March and then I used heat for a couple of months. The results have been great. It cost abpprox £100 in electricity but the results were worth it. It meant that I could enjoy a decent crop  from June onwards and I am still harvesting all three. As a sidenote the Padron peppers have been great, a true Spanish treat which you would have great difficulty buying here. The only problem was that some plants were slightly leggy at first due to the lack of light in the early months. (the other problem was being my first year, I think I overwatered everything in the early months and the root structures suffered)

Next year I intend doing the same but was thinking of investing in some grow lights to help with the light early on. I appreciate that they are expensive, but having started growing veg as a Golf replacement hobby due to a bad back, and I have saved £700 pa membership so I feel like treating myself! Can anyone offer any advice about the type of grow lamps, the number needed etc. I keep reading about LED ones which are expensive to buy but cheaper to run etc.I suspect most are aimed at Indoor Canabis growing rather than helping me with my veg but to be honest I am a little clueless on this subject! Even recommended websites would be welcome.

[carlrmj]

 If you google grow lights it will give you a list of sites that do growlights .

 They should explain what lights to use depending on what you want them to do etc.

 Other than that I don't know much more about them ,but I'm sure someone else will be able

 to give you much more advice on the matter.

 Cheers  Carl   

[Lawrence]

 If you google grow lights it will give you a list of sites that do growlights .

 They should explain what lights to use depending on what you want them to do etc.

 Other than that I don't know much more about them ,but I'm sure someone else will be able

 to give you much more advice on the matter.

 Cheers  Carl   

I hope they do because I am just getting more confused the more I read!
I just bought some LED lamps for the house which use only 3W but produce the same amount of light as a 35W bulb. I thought they would be great to use in a propogator, but half the websites I see are against LED technology.

[JayG]

Only really know about lighting for aquarium plants, although the principles are presumably similar.

It's not just the amount of light but the colour spectrum which has to be correct to allow plant growth.

As far as I can make out LED's with sufficient power and the correct spectral balance are available but are indeed very expensive to buy and still quite expensive to run (forget about 3W consumption - LED arrays with enough power to grow plants will use a lot of electricity and are considerably less efficient than you might expect, although that aspect is improving all the time.)

In these days of ever-increasing energy prices I suspect many people are reluctant to invest even in heating to extend the growing season given that for many "growing your own" is (at least in part) a way of saving money if at all possible. 

[Lawrence]

My mistake, they were 2W bulbs, I bought 10 bulbs for £18. (day white)
I thought that maybe 4 in a propogator would be enough, since 4 in my kitchen is pretty bright!
They also sell 8W bulbs, 4 of them would(should?) be the same as a 300W, would that be enough? they are £33 for 10. but I could afford the electricity bill on them!

[Marcus10]

Having spent several hours trawling the internet, I am probably more confused than I was to start with. The only thing that I am certan about is that the evidence on LEDS seems uncertan!

I may be safer with a more traditional from of lighting than LEDs.

[yorky]

I have used these for a few years and find them very good. I use two single shades each with a 125w bulb.
http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d108.html

This was my Heath Robinson set up last year

[Marcus10]

Thanks, those bulbs may be just the thing in some sort of reflector shade, reflecting all the light downwards , hanging above my propogator, so that the natural light comes in from the side aswell. Thanks again.

[yorky]

The purpose made shades that come with the lights do a very good job of reflecting the light downwards. The light from the bulbs is much more intense than the natural light in December and January etc.So unless you place your propagator in a growing chamber similar to mine you are bound to lose some of the light out of the side. With a system like mine none of the light is wasted as it is reflected onto the growing area from all sides.
Good luck with however you decide to do it. Part of the fun with gardening is experimenting with new projects. 

[Marcus10]

Yes I can see your point re the light at the sides. The area which I was hoping to cover is approx 4x2ft so I would need quite a few of them. Or ofcourse the alternative is to go for the metal halide lights (he says in a knowledgeable way, having never heard of them a few hours ago!).

Decisions, Decisions. As you say experimenting  is all part of the fun!

[Marcus10]

http://charlieshydro.co.uk/store/Lightwave-T5-4ft-8-tube-floursecent-grow-light-278.html

Thanks for all your comments. I think the contraption above (which seems quite widely available) may be the ideal solution for me. It will cover a largeish area and I will be able to place it above (on some sort of pulley hanging system above) my propogator (one of those greenhouse sensation ones. Really happy with mine by the way, expensive but worked really well).

[toasted]

that light will do the job but wont allow much height for the plant to grow plus its quite expensive
id suggest getting a 400w metal halide, it will give you a stronger light for slightly less wattage plus it will add heat for the rest of your greenhouse
look for a low bay 400 metal halide you should find one for less than £70 delivered

[Marcus10]

Just as I thought I had found the solution, someone throws a spanner in the works!

'Toasted', If I used the low bay Metal Halide 400w light which you referred to, would that cover the same sort of area as the 8 tube system? i.e approx 3-4ft x 2.5ft. (that being the size of my propogator). My other concern is that the heat could melt the top of the prop. Having said that, arguably I would not need the top with a MH system,  because of the heat which it produces.


You mentioned that the 8 tube system would not give the plants much room to grow, but if I had it on pulleys, could I not just raise it as the plants grew?
This is a minefield!

[toasted]

its more down to the penetration of usable light given off by the fluoro`s which i imagine would be about 12 inches
the heat from the 400 wouldnt melt your prop though and you wont need to have it as close to the plants tops as you would the tubes
the 400 should cover around a meter square and you wouldnt even need a propagator if you sat the plants on some polystyrene or something so you could sit the prop on the side of the lighting with something that needs less light.
you could start pretty much anything even now if you used it

[GilbertGoodman]

Only really know about lighting for aquarium plants, although the principles are presumably similar.

It's not just the amount of light but the colour spectrum which has to be correct to allow plant growth.

As far as I can make out LED's with sufficient power and the correct spectral balance are available but are indeed very expensive to buy and still quite expensive to run (forget about 3W consumption - LED arrays with enough power to grow plants will use a lot of electricity and are considerably less efficient than you might expect, although that aspect is improving all the time.)

In these days of ever-increasing energy prices I suspect many people are reluctant to invest even in heating to extend the growing season given that for many "growing your own" is (at least in part) a way of saving money if at all possible. 

Thanks for this useful post but is there any particular wavelength or color which helps in plant growth.. Please reply thanks in advance:)