CFL dress?

[psionblue]

I dunno if this is one of those dumb ideas or a good one. I have never grown anything.

So here is the idea for a CFL dress (not kilt. After all, we hope they are ladies):

Get a light socket w/ large reflector and attach strips of mylar with aluminum tape. Basically the plant will be surrounded with the mylar strip but can still breathe and grow any direction since the mylar holds no heat or real weight. As the plant grows it would move the strip in any direction or the strip would simply move out of the way (depending on length).

I have two CFL bulbs in a reflector with an extension and a Y plug (photo).

So you could use just a few strips, wide, thick, short, thin, whatever.

Do you think it could harm the plant? I don't see how. The only real downside might be ventilation. But you could just remove the strips on the side the fan is hitting and the opposite side would flap a bit. or, you could just use fewer and thinker strip as the plant gets larger. The pro's could be: better penetration since all light is focused + more stealthy since light does not spill in every direction + can work with any hood/reflector.

[pot4my20friendz]

Well,.. that'll keep the light more focused for sure, but who knows if its necessary. Less light spillage could be beneficial depending on your grow area. Cant hurt as long as it don't get too hot under the dress,.. you'll wish your lady was baking sourdough rather then she turns up dead, Ha! Good out of the box thinking for sure though. Makes me think using mirror strips would be the ultimate, then just tell anyone who asks it's a wind chime

[psionblue]

Originally Posted by pot4my20friendz

Well,.. that'll keep the light more focused for sure, but who knows if its necessary. Less light spillage could be beneficial depending on your grow area. Cant hurt as long as it don't get too hot under the dress,.. you'll wish your lady was baking sourdough rather then she turns up dead, Ha! Good out of the box thinking for sure though. Makes me think using mirror strips would be the ultimate, then just tell anyone who asks it's a wind chime

Well so far it's working for me. The strips are keeping all the light focused and being 98% reflective helps too. As far as temps, the mylar does not conduct any heat, but underneath the skirt is is a bit warm and moist (oh the puns). The strips are overlapped a bit so when it is hit by the fan they maintain their position well enough but let in the air. CFLs don't put out much heat either. I make sure I post more picks as time moves on. I am curious if this will work or not for a small plant. It only makes sense since CFL (all light for that matter) loses power with distance.