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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Any good inexpensive but effective grow lights?
« on: February 28, 2024, 04:22:15 PM »
What are you growing? I used a cheap full spectrum fluorescent bulb just a regular light bulb but fluorescent. Has to be full spectrum and look bright white. The orange ones are not good for plants other than trying to induce flowering in fall but they can’t feed on them. Then I mix that with a full spectrum bright white reptile fluorescent with uv. And put them near a window to get any sun that comes in. A fluorescent bulb alone has a very narrow spectrum that the plant uses so it works better with the reptile bulb which has a narrow spectrum that is slightly different from the regular then the tiny amount of sun they get kept my Meyer lemon doing ok during winter. Did not work on bananas. As mentioned above something like weed or tomatoes needs really bright light fluorescents can be used if the plant is almost touching the bulb but it will burn if it touches it because fluorescents alone you can grow plants with but they put out the spectrum and intensity of some more expensive bulbs. But those sunlight reptile bulbs do look like real sunlight. I like those for myself in the winter up north when the lack of sun is depressing so it’s like a dual use the light is beautiful and cheap. I think a reptile flourescent bulb is like $30 and the regular fluorescent is a few bucks. The plants don’t use the uv but it puts out a really nice spectrum similar to sunlight.
My stuff did better outside in summer but those bulbs would keep them going through winter. The regular fluorescent you can put about an inch from the plant. The uv sunlight bulb has to be a distance or plants can lose leaves. And only the sun bulb can sometimes cause leaf loss sometimes not. But the sun bulb and regular full spectrum together or alternating works best. I don’t know why maybe the uv burns it but it does improve the plant mixed with the other.
If you get a fluorescent uv bulb that is purple it can be used at a distance but they don’t use much of that spectrum. Those are the desert uv. Or an orange house bulb I don’t think they use any of that. As long as it looks bright white it’s good to use but if it’s uv don’t put it close to the plant. The main one they like is actually the cheap White House bulb. I used it on seedlings and they grew towards the bulb not the window.
My stuff did better outside in summer but those bulbs would keep them going through winter. The regular fluorescent you can put about an inch from the plant. The uv sunlight bulb has to be a distance or plants can lose leaves. And only the sun bulb can sometimes cause leaf loss sometimes not. But the sun bulb and regular full spectrum together or alternating works best. I don’t know why maybe the uv burns it but it does improve the plant mixed with the other.
If you get a fluorescent uv bulb that is purple it can be used at a distance but they don’t use much of that spectrum. Those are the desert uv. Or an orange house bulb I don’t think they use any of that. As long as it looks bright white it’s good to use but if it’s uv don’t put it close to the plant. The main one they like is actually the cheap White House bulb. I used it on seedlings and they grew towards the bulb not the window.