Okay so here is my rather simplistic setup. It consists of 2 of these in reflective fixtures: Philips 14787-6 - 13 Watt CFL Light Bulb As well as 1 of these in the fixture as well: SunBlaster T5 High Output 4 ft Light Fixture from Alpha Hydroponics and Garden Supply Now don't get me wrong, I realize this probably isn't enough light for a substantial yield, but hey, this grow is just for fun. My question to you is, while these seedlings are sprouting (It's been almost 2 day's now, hopefully they sprout ). Should I have the lights on? The reason I'm asking is because with the light's off it gets to about 68-69 F. But with the lights on it gets to the 74-76 mark. I have a heating pad underneath the blue container, that has several cups of water on in an attempt to raise humidity as well. Any tips on raising temp. for when my lights are off, and for raising humidity? Also, will tinfoil taped on the wall with metal duct tape work, or should I paint the inside of the armoire flat white?
Ok the cfls are waaay to far away to be doing anything. At this stage 1 cfl is all that's needed. It can be about a foot away right now. Once they pop soil the. The light gets moved closer to avoid stretching. But not soo close that you cook em. But right now if they are still underground don't waste the electricity. Sort your heat out now because you have far to many plants there and not enough light. If you wanna grow so many you will need more lighting=more heat. The amount of lighting you have there is enough for one plant, not eight.
Yeah I forgot to mention, I certainly don't plan on growing all of these. I planted all the seeds that popped and i'm waiting to see which one's sprout etc. until I figure out which ones to keep. I will probably only keep 1, 2 tops. I plan on using the Scrog method, or LST. Any suggestions for the heat? All I can think of is keeping the lights on for now, seeing as the heating pad is doing almost nothing. Also, the CFL's are about 2 inches more than a foot away, and the T5 is less than a foot away. Should I move them closer?
You can leave 1 bulb on 24/7 If you want to use it as a heater. Or You could leave all those lights on 24/7 and keep it toasty in there. They don't need light while under soil but it does need to be warm. So if you have to use lights to achieve this, do what ya gotta do.
Having the lights on at this stage does help. The plant will grow out in search of light that you are supplying it. I hope I am not reading this correctly, but there is no way 13 watts of light can sustain a plant.
Alright, look's like i'll be leaving the lights on until I figure something else out. Is that a good distance or would this be better until they sprout?