ORdinary household lights for germination?

[instink]

Hey guys, just a quick one... I don't want to buy a separate 40W fluro just for the germination phase before the 400 watter comes in... can i just use ordinary 60W or so light bulbs or perhaps a 100W halogen lkamp I have here?

 

What If i used the 400W HPS and just put it really far away from the seed?

[Slotty2]

yeh will work ok till u get ur HPS.

 

Umm dont know what else to say cept yeh itll work

 

dont use the hps and place it far away or u will get a long skanky stretched mj plant

[Pure]

for the 3 dollars it's worth you may as well get a compact fluro , you will save the dollars back in your energy bill ,

 

 

you can use the 400watter but it you have to make sure you keep it at a far distance , being a first time grower though I would sugest you start with the cf's untill you get the ballance of age/heat/light intencity right many peopel have burnt thier seedlings doign what your wanting to just from lack of experience , once you get a feel fro what the plants liek and ned at stages you would be fine to use the 400 watter alone

[instink]

ok cool thanks... so basically the idea is to use no light until it breaks the surface of the soil, then a little like (CF etc) for a week or so? then the HPS?

[Slotty2]

if your direct sowing then i recommend having lights on, from the time u sow them.

 

I have read other methods of keeping them in the dark. but thats mainly for using rockwool cubes.

[Pure]

the seeds will pop most likely within a few days to a week , and there has to be light around for the new growth to look for , running a 20w fluro isn't gonna cost ya much to have there , it also helps in regards to a heat source

[Luke Skywalker]

Light is not necessary for germination, but it can be a good idea to have it on anyway as they'll be needing light as soon as they break through. If you leave the lighting out too long they'll stretch and grow too long to support themselves in the search for light.

 

Incandescent globes are horrificly inefficient. More than 90% of the energy they use is given off as heat, and the spectrums they produce are usually nowhere near where you want to be. Compact Fluoro lights are a different story, and a 20w (equivalent to a 100w incandescent) cool white CF will likely be ideal for a sprouting lamp.

 

Germination is mostly affected by three things, heat, moisture and air. If it's too cold, the seed will take longer to germinate and may not germinate at all. If it's too hot, the seeds can die in their coats, take longer to germinate or once again, just not do so. The ideal temps for germination is around 20-25 c, although most seeds will germinate outside this range as well. Water should be either distilled or as fresh as you can get, tapwater is ok if you have nothing else. Most media will only need a single, good watering with a spray mister until runoff occurs, and then you can leave them until they sprout. pH should be around 6, depending on media of course.

 

The last factor, air, is important because there should be plenty of air spaces within the media for the seedling to have access to plenty of oxygen and co2. If your media is too waterlogged, the air-filled-porosity (the air spaces) will be filled with water, and this is a prime condition for various water moulds and diseases. Seeds are quite tough, although when they germinate and are at the critical stage before they produce "true" leaves, access to those three factors will mean the difference between a happy seedling, and one which is going to fail.

 

Humidity doesn't need to be high either, except maybe in the pre-germination stage. As soon as seedlings appear on the surface, remove any humidicrib/coverings you have put over the seedling tray. High humidity can lead to stem-wilt, which will cause your seedlings to flop over at the base, as the stem is infected with mould.

 

You can certainly germinate and grow for a week or so under the cf, and then transfer the seedlings into the HPS growroom. Make sure you compensate for the massive change in lighting by having the HPS lamp about a meter away to start out, and then progressively bring it down over the next few weeks to within about 40cm or so at closest. A thermometer/hygrometer is a great investment, this allows you to fine tune just how close you can get the lamps, and gives you valuable data on the growing environment. Without information about those two things, temp and humidity, it can be very, very hard to grow effectively.

 

Hope that helps.