Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Germination Station

Question: Can you say "germination station" with a HAL 2001 spaceship accent?

Answer: Ha! No, you can't! We copyrighted it!

SIKE!

On the bottom shelf, we have 400 mixed solanaceae on top of a heat pad and under a LED. Even with the heat pad, I think the basement's cool temps is slowing them down.

On the top shelf, we have four distinct light zones. From fore to background, we have compact fluorescent (not lit), a T-5, a LED, and concluding with another compact fluorescent.

I know it sounds like a complicated mess, but I'm trying to figure out what's the best/most easiest/convenient/cost effective lights to use over the long run. Main factors include ease of hanging, ease of moving/rehanging, quality of light, upfront costs, costs over time (energy), and duration. I will report over time. For now, I got 2000 sprouts to be watering.

Be on the lookout for Brussel Sprouts Battle Royale coming soon to the blogosphere near you.

4 comments:

  1. Good project I would like to know how the LED lights work out We start in the basement too and found adding extra heat is beneficial we have a high low thermometer and found we were getting nighttime lows in the mid 50's and low 70's during the day (2 1000w HID MH put off and estimated 6000BTU ea when burning) since we just use them in late winter and early spring I count the heat generated by them as a bonus and against the cost of running them. We also use digital ballast which have a higher upfront cost than coil-cap ballast but a 30% lower op cost (about $22 a month ea ) burning 14 hour a day

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  2. in hindsight the heat of the more traditional hids does seem like an advantage for basement starts.

    i just was really excited to try out the future of lighting.

    justin

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