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  • From: "Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Staking Tomatoes
  • Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 08:39:38 -0600


To get the full light spectrum, similar to natural light, use a standard
flourescent bulb and an incandescent bulb. Their light spectrums come
together to give a full natural light wavelength spectrum. The problem is
that while flourescent lights have a cool temperature, incandescent bulbs
put out a lot of heat. So while you can put standard flourescents close to
seed flats, incandescents will burn or dessicate plants. UNLESS you use low
wattage incandescents. I've never tried it but I suspect if you use a string
of clear-bulb christmas lights between every set of two flourescents you'll
probably get the dose of incandescent light you need without too much heat.
It would be an experiment so don't hold me responsible, but if you try it
and it seem's to work I'd like to know.

Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center

-----Original Message-----
From: David King <greenman AT ucla.edu>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Date: Sunday, March 04, 2001 9:50 AM
Subject: [market-farming] Re: Staking Tomatoes


>Marie -
>
>Scientifically? A full spectrum bulb - one that includes red light waves
as well
>as blue - in lighting parlance, a "warm" bulb. They can be pricey to
ridiculous,
>depending upon the amount of full spectrum lightwaves they include (more
>representation of spectrum = higher price).
>
>On the other hand....
>
>Practically - I've started hundreds of plants using only "cold" - blue -
light.
>Each bulb is about a $1 investment. There are some things to understand,
>however. The tubes, unlike our regular light bulb, do not hold intensity
and then
>burn out in a "pop!". They begin to lose intensity immediately. A tube
that is 6
>months old has less than half the output of a new one. Using my trusty,
>ever-present Sharpie, I dated all my tubes where I could easily see the
oldest and
>kept replacing them. They also have to be closer to the plants - several
inches
>vs. a foot or more.
>
>And last but not least, you cannot hold your plants under cold tubes. It
is not
>good for an indoor plant table. You have to get your guys up, harden 'em
off and
>send 'em to Moma Nature as fast as their little roots will carry them.
Otherwise
>you are looking a leggy plants. Not lovely.
>
>Hope this helps you...
>
>dk
>
>Marie Kamphefner wrote:
>
>> Regards to the list:
>>
>> For those of you who use fluorescent lights to start seeds - what is the
>> best kind of bulb?
>>
>> Marie in Missouri
>>
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>
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