I am borrowing a 1'x4' fluorescent light fixture to practice vegetative growing techniques in my closet. The lights fit and the set up looks fine. My big question is with the lack of heat from the lights will the dirt end up being over saturated? Would I have to have a different kind of watering schedule to give the plants time to use the water? Bonus Questions: In optimal conditions... Will the plants recover and strive from low stress training under fluorescents? Will the plants need anything to supplement flowering under "bloom" t5's? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Thanks for any help in advance. I've read days worth of material in these forums you all seem like you have a lot to offer. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Get yourself a temp/humidity gauge. I recently had a relative humidity of 15% at 65f, so low temps alone aren't an indication that your soil will remain saturated. Your conditions will determine your watering "schedule", which is more of an emergent pattern than a rigid, pre-planned structure. It can and will change as your plants get bigger and atmospheric conditions vary. The best way to tell if your plants need water is to lift the pot. Heavy means they don't need water, very light means they're thirsty and just about to start drooping. The overall health and vigor of your plants will determine how fast they recover from stresses. The amount of lighting, as well as the appropriate spectrum are important too. The type of lighting, as in fluorescent vs HID, has more to do with overall growth rates than stress recovery. A healthy plant under a 1kw MH will appear to recover quicker than a healthy plant under 125w of fluoro's, but that's only because one is processing more energy and nutrients than the other. As long as your plants are healthy you've done your part, and they should recover just fine. Whether or not you need supplemental lighting in flower depends on your expectations. A lot of people say they're "just experimenting" and won't put in the funds or effort, while others are more motivated and end up with better results. So how much dried herb are you looking to harvest?
Thanks for a little perspective on the watering. I'll definitely test my environment and make a more dynamic watering schedule. I had recently partnered with a friend that attempted to grow about 30 plants. We had the space and the means to do it. I did advise for us to start small and learn the way of the herb but he didn't listen. 10 months and two grow cycles later. He finally realizing he should have listened. So now that his funds are low I'm taking some of the equipment and venturing on my own. I don't like being overlooked especially when I know I had a better solution. I don't really care about the flowering right now. I want to practice lst or scrog methods to get the plant spread out under the fluorescents evenly instead of a sea of green op where the plants ended up stretching and seemed to have not structural strength. I have cool blues for veg and warm reds for flower. I also have a couple uvB lights I think. Overall I've seen that people have a hard time achieving dense nugs under a fluorescents. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I veg under a 4 bulb 4' HO T5 and my temps stay at 83 but i also keep my light 4 -5" from the top of my canopy with a fan blowing across. I also do use digital Temp / Humidity thermometers to monitor my environment.