Looking back at my 1st reply, I realize i inadvertantly left out an
important fact....along with a florescent tube...I also use an
incadescent tube as well. Florescents do NOT provide full light
spectrum.....Ldymac
Jeremy C. wrote:

Using a flourescent light in conjunction with a regular incadescent light
will provide the wavelengths of light needed for all phases of
photosynthesis. Plant lights are designed to cover the wavelenghts that
this combination will provide but at a higher cost for the convenience. As
far as how much light, you should do some homework on the plants that you
are trying to grow under these lights. There are greenhouse grower's
manuals that will tell you how much light (intensity and duration) is ideal
for different species.

Jeremy C.

www.hortusunlimited.com
EDUCATED TO PROVIDE YOU PROFESSIONAL HORTICULTURAL AND ARBORICULTURAl
CONSULTING, LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, AND
EXPERT TREE CARE SERVICES.


"Faye Lifford-Earle" wrote in message
...
I start on average, 100-200 perennials yearly in my home. I only use
florescent "soft" light 4'tubes. I hang them 3-4" from the plants and
raise the ballasts as the plants grow taller. Light should be offered 16
hours each day. light allows photosynthesis to take place.Plants like
any living species, requires a period of darkness in order to
rest.....so "no", it will not grow faster/healthier
Ldymac

Merl Turkin wrote:

On Mon, 06 Jan 2003 15:43:24 -0500, George Couch wrote:


Hi,

I was just wondering how well plant lights work. I've come across
several of them in
stores, and they claim to be able to provide light for plants to grow.
Can a plant survive solely on the light coming from one of these
lamps?
Do these lamps provide all of the necessary things required for a
plant
to be healthy?

How does light affect the growth of plants? Should there be cycles
of
light and darkness,
or can I leave a plant under a lamp which is on all of the time. Also,
if
a plant is under a plant light all of the time, will it grow faster
than
if there are periods of darkness?


Thanks.
George Couch



Just use regular shop lights. The 4 foot flourescent tube kind. That's
all
you need. Maybe one warm and one cool type tube in each fixture. I
wouldn't
waste my money on those "special" plant lights.

along with a fluorescent tube...I also use an incandescent tube as well.
Fluorescents do NOT provide full light spectrum.

This is obsolete, unless your light garden is so cold that you need the extra
heat. Full-spectrum fluorescent tubes are easily available in Canada & the US.
The added efficiency and the fact that they are quite long lasting make up for
the higher price.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much
that ain't so."
Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), 1818-1885

You don't need a full light spectrum.
You only need those wavelength which plants require for proper growth,
including photosynthesis.
You would only be wasting your money using incandescent bulbs because they
give off too much heat and produce mostly light in wavelengths that plants
don't use at an excessive wattage.


Faye Lifford-Earle wrote in message
. ..
Looking back at my 1st reply, I realize i inadvertantly left out an
important fact....along with a florescent tube...I also use an
incadescent tube as well. Florescents do NOT provide full light
spectrum.....Ldymac
Jeremy C. wrote:

Using a flourescent light in conjunction with a regular incadescent
light
will provide the wavelengths of light needed for all phases of
photosynthesis. Plant lights are designed to cover the wavelenghts that
this combination will provide but at a higher cost for the convenience.
As
far as how much light, you should do some homework on the plants that
you
are trying to grow under these lights. There are greenhouse grower's
manuals that will tell you how much light (intensity and duration) is
ideal
for different species.

Jeremy C.

www.hortusunlimited.com
EDUCATED TO PROVIDE YOU PROFESSIONAL HORTICULTURAL AND ARBORICULTURAl
CONSULTING, LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, AND
EXPERT TREE CARE SERVICES.


"Faye Lifford-Earle" wrote in message
...
I start on average, 100-200 perennials yearly in my home. I only use
florescent "soft" light 4'tubes. I hang them 3-4" from the plants and
raise the ballasts as the plants grow taller. Light should be offered
16
hours each day. light allows photosynthesis to take place.Plants like
any living species, requires a period of darkness in order to
rest.....so "no", it will not grow faster/healthier
Ldymac

Merl Turkin wrote:

On Mon, 06 Jan 2003 15:43:24 -0500, George Couch wrote:


Hi,

I was just wondering how well plant lights work. I've come
across
several of them in
stores, and they claim to be able to provide light for plants to
grow.
Can a plant survive solely on the light coming from one of these
lamps?
Do these lamps provide all of the necessary things required for a
plant
to be healthy?

How does light affect the growth of plants? Should there be
cycles
of
light and darkness,
or can I leave a plant under a lamp which is on all of the time.
Also,
if
a plant is under a plant light all of the time, will it grow
faster
than
if there are periods of darkness?


Thanks.
George Couch



Just use regular shop lights. The 4 foot flourescent tube kind.
That's
all
you need. Maybe one warm and one cool type tube in each fixture. I
wouldn't
waste my money on those "special" plant lights.

--myth. fluorescence do have full spectrum. Ingrid

Florescents do NOT provide full light
spectrum...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

I just bought full spectrum fluorescent tubes to replace the fluorescents
that we had in our kitchen.... They look and feel entirely different. When
you look at the bulb itself (when it is on) it looks sky blue. They make
the rest of the lighting in the house look yellow to orange. During the day
they match the outdoor lighting and you can't tell that they are on unless
you look at them directly except that the room looks considerably brighter
than it would (My Dear SO can't see in the house under normal day
lightning)... It may be a placebo effect but I think I'm feeling different
with them in (more energetic, up beat, etc.)...




wrote in message
...
--myth. fluorescence do have full spectrum. Ingrid

Florescents do NOT provide full light
spectrum...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

It may be a placebo effect but I think I'm feeling different with them in
(more energetic, up beat, etc.)...

No, I don't think it is a placebo effect. Research has identified a condition
in northern climate dwellers called Seasonal Affective Disorder. it is a form
of depression caused by low light levels & short days. The recommended
treatment is spending time each day under full spectrum fluorescent lights. And
for years I thought it was the plants in the plant room that were cheering me
up!

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much
that ain't so."
Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), 1818-1885

There are number of grow lights used for growing plants. Before you use any grow lights for your plants you need to know the fundamentals of light, color and lighting systems.

Incandescent lighting is very cheap and low quality light. The output spectrum of incandescent light, halogen or regular, is biased heavily toward the red. The great disadvantage to incandescent lights is their inefficiency - you don't get a lot of light compared with how much energy you put apply. Halogen bulbs are more efficient than "regular" incandescent bulbs by virtue of remaining brighter longer; they still give off 95% of their initial light output at the end of their lives, which are about twice as long as regular incandescent bulbs. They are also more expensive.

Fluorescent bulbs are cheaper to run and more expensive to install. There are many different types of fluorescent tubes. They differ in the physical size, composition of the phosphor and the wattage. When fluorescent tube is mentioned, the standard T12 four foot tubes usually comes to mind. This tube has a diameter of 1.5 inches and is available in 18", 24" 36", 48", 72" and 96" lengths. T12 tubes are available in HO (High Output) or VHO (Very High Output) which draw more and much more current respectively, but produce more light than regular T12 tubes. T12 tubes are also available in U-shaped, that is a four foot tube is bent back on itself so it forms a large U, and is about 24" long. The T8 or "slimline" fluorescent has a 1" diameter tube and is available in 24", 36" and 48" lengths. Circular tubes are available with several different radii, and in several different types. In the last few years, compact fluorescent tubes have become very popular mostly as replacements for incandescent bulbs. These tubes come in all sizes, from a 3" 5 watt bulb to much larger bulbs that replace 40W four foot tubes, yet are just one third of the size.

HID or High Intensity Discharge are the big bright lamps you see in grocery stores, street lighting and industrial lighting. They can be very large and draw a lot of power. Indeed 2000 watt and 6000 watt lamps exist, however small ones, down to 70 watts are available.

Fluorescent lights are the most economical way of lighting your plants in the long run. Once the initial purchase of the fixture is made the low cost of operation and long life of the tubes makes fluorescent light very attractive. For a beginner that has an incandescent fixture the new compact fluorescent bulbs with integrated ballasts will, in many cases, screw right into the existing socket. Bulbs for these are available from 2700K to 5000K color temperatures, although as of this writing only Osram makes 5000K compact fluorescent.

The absolute cheapest setup is to buy whatever fluorescent tubes are on sale at the local hardware store. Usually cool white. This is far from the best, but it will work. One cool white and one warm white is a little better, although one plant growth light and one daylight bulb is still a fairly cheap setup, (both are well under $10) with quite good light quality.