North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Gordon Nofs" <gc_nofs@hotmail.com>]

Tom
  You hit the nail on the head I believe.
Reason for my saying this is: My daughter had an amaryllis bulb and it was 
potted put on the kitchen table about 2 foot from the big kitchen window. 
When the flower stem started to grow up. it would always grow towards the 
window, so it was moved closer and turned 180 degrees each day. It was 
getting like a 30 inch tall tree. My wife was watching Martha Stewart one 
day and she had said that if the Amaryllis does that move it away from the 
light and it will grow straight. We done this, and the plant stopped growing 
higher, and was straight.
         Gordon
************************************************************
Hi,
I am a novice at this, and I am sure some could give a much better answer, 
but here goes...
We talked awhile back about growth hormones "gibberillic-like" compounds.
One hormone is responsible for elongation of stem, and I believe they are 
called auxins.
Auxins have two functions; stem elongation, and turning the plant towards 
the sun.
The process for turing the plant towards the sun is very simple.  A plant in 
low light has the same amount of auxin distributed throughout the stem.
Place that plant in bright light and the light breaks down the auxin on
the lighted side of the plant.
Now there is more auxin (growth hormone) on the low-light side of the
plant, and the growth continues at full speed, while the high-light side
has less auxin and growth slows down.  With one side of the stem growing
faster than the other, the plant turns towards the light.
So auxin not being broken down by light is the cause of leggy plants in
low-light situations.  This explains one aspect of the effect of light
transmission in greenhouses.
Like I say, I am pure novice here, and this is what I have read.
Comments from experts?

Ciao,
Tom
--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Hardiness Zone 6a

On Thu, 12 Apr 2001, victoria l. caron wrote:

 > >From Vic in NH
 >
 > I have worked in greenhouses both palstic and glass, my sunroom is built 
with
 > sliding door panels on both the walls and the ceiling. I have never found 
a
 > different result from the amount of light to be had from either of the 
two.
 > (There is a marked difference in the amount of light available due to the 
lack
 > of the sun's candle power during the winter months of December and 
January.
 > There is a monthly chart somewhere, Weather Channel?)
 > I have found that when light is direct and plentiful, the major 
contributor to
 > legginess is overly warm temps. Believe it or not, seedlings do not 
prefer a
 > sauna like environment once they have germinated. Fans and cooler temps 
will go
 > a long way towards producing strong stocky plants.
 > Go for the glass!! ..............vic
 >
 > Gordon Nofs wrote:
 >
 > > Well My 2 cents.
 > >    I have been replacing my old double paned aluminum windows with 
Anderson
 > > High E windows. The one in my kitchen is about 5 foot by 9 foot. Big 
window
 > > center, with a small windows for vents each side. The first year I 
tried to
 > > start and grow seedlings they grew tall and leggy and reached for the
 > > window. High E reflects the rays so they do not penetrate the house. So 
now
 > > I have to start inside, and transplant or move to my cold frame. Any 
plants
 > > that flower especially do reach for the outside. So you have to watch 
for
 > > this on double glazing or thermopane. High E has a film that cannot be 
seen
 > > between the panes.
 > >           Gordon
 > > *************************************************
 > > From: Thomas Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>
 > > Hi,
 > >
 > > Not an expert, but Lexan is the best glass for greenhouses, preffered 
by
 > > those with deep pockets everywhere. (smile)
 > >
 > > It is all a matter of light transmission.  Lexan is the best for light
 > > transmission, and white sheet plastic is the worst, but plants still 
grow
 > > under under the white plastic.
 > >
 > > You need to answer some basic questions before you proceed.
 > >
 > >     What plants do you want to grow
 > >
 > >     Heating
 > >
 > >     Cooling
 > >
 > >     Positioning on lot
 > >
 > >     How much sun do you get
 > >
 > >     Type of covering (lots of choices better than glass)
 > >
 > >     Size of greenhouse
 > >
 > > There are a lot more questions I did not list.
 > >
 > > If you live in Arizona would Lexan be a good choice, or would you be
 > > creating a heat problem during the summer months.  Would less light
 > > transmission be optimal for you?  Will you need whitewash (liquid 
shade)
 > > or shade cloth?  Do you get a lot of hale, is snow load an issue.
 > >
 > > You may be best off to build a small hobby greenhouse first ($100 and
 > > under) and test things out.  Then go on to a bigger better models.
 > >
 > > Not an expert, just things I have picked up from a greenhouse egroup.
 > >
 > > I am building a portable gothic arch myself this season (8.5'x12') and 
the
 > > plans are free (Extension Service), and materials cost under $100 US.
 > >
 > > Let me know if you want the link to them.
 > >
 > > Ciao,
 > > Tom
 > >
 > > --
 > > Thomas Olenio
 > > Ontario, Hardiness Zone 6a
 > >
 > > On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, del stubbs wrote:
 > >
 > >  > We've been offered a bunch of double pane glass, cheap. I think to 
put it
 > >  > aside for next years greenhouse building project. In the back of my 
mind
 > > I
 > >  > remember a discussion that regular window glass is the wrong kind of
 > > glass
 > >  > to use for growing plants. But people certainly grow and propagate 
inside
 > >  > their home's windows.  Any opinions?  Any knowledgable glassophiles 
out
 > >  > there? Thanks,  Mn.Del
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