View Full Version : Normal x-mas lights work?
blownz281
10-08-2011, 06:29 PM
Would the normal small lights give off any heat inside a hoop house? Doesn't get that cold in NC in the winter,but it has been colder then normal past three.
Darkman
10-08-2011, 06:42 PM
I'm sure it would give of some heat BUT would it heat a hoop house. I wouldn't think so. The citrus guys wrap two strings around ther young trees and still wrap them.
momoese
10-08-2011, 06:44 PM
The new LED lights give off almost zero heat.
kaczercat
10-08-2011, 06:54 PM
The new LED lights give off almost zero heat.
I know no heat what so ever. it was hard I had to really search the house for the old ones that heat up for my banana outside.
sunfish
10-08-2011, 07:01 PM
Would the normal small lights give off any heat inside a hoop house? Doesn't get that cold in NC in the winter,but it has been colder then normal past three.
I think they will give off enough heat to keep your plants alive,and that's all you need. :woohoonaner:
sunfish
10-08-2011, 07:02 PM
What's the Best Way to Heat a Small Greenhouse? - Vegetable Gardener (http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/7258/whats-the-best-way-to-heat-a-small-greenhouse)
Darkman
10-08-2011, 07:42 PM
I guess he should define what he is calling a string of lights. I did not think he was referring to the screw base lights. I thought he was talking about the small push in base incandescent bulbs.
I think he's talking about the traditional "midget" lights which do give heat as opposed to no heat from LED's. However, most people use "midgets" to wrap their plants not heat small greenhouses.
blownz281
10-09-2011, 11:30 AM
Yes the small push and turn ones for christmas trees :) I just want my ice cream,orinoco,saba,velutina to keep there size. I made a hoop house years ago for my windmill palm which was a small plant. It lived for 4 winters in Ohio without any heat. Then it puked from it getting way to cold and soil around it was pretty worn out. Thanks
Darkman
10-09-2011, 01:19 PM
I looked at your weather history and with your use of the term "hoop house" I'm picturing a small greenhouse. If you are using the small push-in bulbs I just don't see where they will provide enough heat. I tarped a Robellini palm and had a 100w light bulb inside. The tarp was not touching the palm and I still lost it from cold damage. This was a well sealed structure too. I had protected this palm the same way for about five years but it wasn't enough. Christmas lights would not have done better.
I don't think it will work.
pondplantgirl
10-09-2011, 04:29 PM
My banana buddy, Luke from Ohio, buries his midget x-mas lights just under the soil to keep the roots warm.
:08:
Depending on the number of bulbs in the strand, the "mini-incandescent" can burn up maybe 20 -25 watts.
LEDs draw between 2 to 3 watts, next to nothing really.
I just started a couple hundred papaya plants just before we had a nasty cold snap & at night I have 2 bulbs, a 100w & a 150W inside & it's barely able to maintain a 20° - 30° temperature increase, with a blanket & tarp over it.
That's with about 17 cubic feet of volume.
Got any idea of the wattage of your specific lights? As most folks here have been saying, if they're LEDs there's next to zero wattage/heat output.
What's the volume of your little house, and what sort of extra insulation do you have for it?
Velutina
10-09-2011, 05:41 PM
I have used xmas lights for the last 2 winters to protect some bananas and palms. I get the $3 strands from walmart. It has worked well for me and my plants always look better than the neighbors that don't protect their plants. The cheapest lights are the ones that have the most "watts per foot".. which are the small lights (not LED).
I have about 10 dwarf date palms that I wrap with xmas lights. The lights around 3 of them went out mid-winter and those three palms were completely brown by spring. They rebounded quickly, but looked pretty bad for months.
sunfish
10-09-2011, 05:44 PM
Scientists warn Christmas lights harm the planet | Watts Up With That? (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/12/23/scientists-warn-christmas-lights-harm-the-planet/)
sunfish
10-09-2011, 05:57 PM
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=19&ved=0CHEQFjAIOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ext.colostate.edu%2Fmg%2Fgardennotes%2F722. html&rct=j&q=xmas%20lights%20to%20warm%20greenhouse&ei=SSWSTrzMJuTaiQK7843NCA&usg=AFQjCNHH_30Wll61OBAxh2jx8f4tKQ1NLw&cad=rja
blownz281
10-11-2011, 11:29 AM
They are 4ft tall and about 3ft wide or so to fit over a 12" pots. Thing is they will all over winter in the ground here no problem. BUT we have no yard since its a apartment and I want to keep the size as well.
When I wrapped several plants last year with blankets in my storage closet they shrunk to nothing and that was with them removed from the pots.
George Webster
10-11-2011, 01:40 PM
Scientists warn Christmas lights harm the planet | Watts Up With That? (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/12/23/scientists-warn-christmas-lights-harm-the-planet/)
anything that uses electricity, gas, or oil is bad for the planet. ;-(
john_ny
10-11-2011, 02:28 PM
If I put a string of mini lights (incandescent, not LED) around a basjoo p-stem, do I haveto keep the bulbs from touching the stem, to prevent burning? If so, how do I do that?
eric27
10-11-2011, 04:28 PM
John I would keep them from touching the plant. In the past I always used non-LED lights over my final covering as a way to raise the ambient temperature around the plant (and only when it got brutally cold), but never on the plant itself. I don't know if it would affect the plant or not, just being safe. I think in the case of using lights and nothing else, you would need some kind of enclosure to put the lights on around the stems, but still be close enough for the warmth to help. Maybe stakes that you can drape them on???
john_ny
10-11-2011, 05:44 PM
eric27 Thank you for the quick reply! I have always just wrapped the basjoos with newspapers, then covered them with leaves, and, finally covered the whole thing with a tarp, to keep it dry. This has been very successful. I have some that have been in the ground for five years like this. However, sometimes, I have had to cut a few inches of mushy stem off the tyop of the p-stem. I would really like to kep the stem intact, so I had a head start in the spring. I was afraid that the little bulbs woul burn the stems, or, if I kept them in the leaves, they could start a fire. A local botanical garden, several years ago, decided they wanted to move their basjoo mat. They dug out several pups, and planted them in the new location, and just abandoned the old planting-no protection, or anything, and it still comes back, year after year.
sunfish
10-11-2011, 06:09 PM
Maybe concrete wire,and you can use it next spring for tomatoes
HowStuffWorks "Staking Vegetables" (http://www.howstuffworks.com/staking-vegetables.htm)
Darkman
10-12-2011, 09:58 PM
Maybe concrete wire,and you can use it next spring for tomatoes
HowStuffWorks "Staking Vegetables" (http://www.howstuffworks.com/staking-vegetables.htm)
I protected this one with a pile of bags filled with leaves. The picture is after the Winter on February 21st, 2011 and you can see a new leaf pushing out. It produced a bunch October 5th, 2011.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40447&ppuser=7611><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=40447&size=1 border=0></a>
This one I used concrete wire filled with leaves and wrapped with visqueen. It produced a bunch on June 1st, 2011.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=44028&ppuser=7611><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=44028&size=1 border=0></a>
And this is how they look now.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=46085&ppuser=7611><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=46085&size=1 border=0></a>
My zone is 8b/9a.
blownz281
10-14-2011, 09:19 AM
I'm going to load up the little greenhouses with pine straw. You live in alot warmer Zone 8b then me though. I think my idea will work just fine :) , just wanted to hear some thoughts. Thanks everyone.
As for the other poster you don't need to protect your Basjoo's unless you want to keep the stalks. Mine always came back in Ohio Zone 4-5
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