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Gman9923
06-27-2013, 06:18 PM
I just got my banana plant. It hasn't been sunny lately, would it be a good idea to put it under my aerogarden's grow lights?

sunfish
06-27-2013, 06:31 PM
I just got my banana plant. It hasn't been sunny lately, would it be a good idea to put it under my aerogarden's grow lights?

Won't hurt but natural light would be better

WesternUnion
07-05-2013, 05:21 PM
Hey, there! Due to having no outdoor access and nibbling kitties, I do all my gardening in a walk in closet. After some research, I've found CFL bulbs with a high Kelvin rating that simulates daylight do the trick. My Musa Double Mahoi enrolls two leaves a week on average.

My setup includes two 400 watt CFL bulbs, but you can probably get by with less if you have fewer plants (I've got a lime tree, a buddha hand tree, and about 20 pots of peppers among other plants all stuffed in here).

The CFLs are clamped to the wooden dowel clothing racks. They're hooked up to a timer for about 15 hours of light every day. My utility bills come to about $35 dollars a month, but I suspect it would be much less if I wasn't paying for the common areas of the building I live in.

coronelcarina07
09-23-2013, 08:50 PM
i have used LED grow lights (http://growblu.com/) for my banana plants and it actually grow well.

Abnshrek
09-23-2013, 09:16 PM
I heard chinese made LED's are prone to starting fires..

G.W.
09-24-2013, 09:03 AM
CFL with reflector or hps
While a HUGE fan of leds, their viability as grow lights is questionable, cost, dependability, etc

Snookie
09-26-2013, 09:24 PM
OK So how many and what kind of grow lights do I need for my spare 12x12 bedroom to grow my nanna's?

Who else is successfully doing it?

Got to be cheaper than a greenhouse eh?

Richard
09-27-2013, 07:06 PM
Here's three blurbs I wrote for people growing fruiting plants, leafy vegetables, and funny plants in containers. Notice how the light requirements differ:

Hydroponic Annual Fruit (http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/retail-hydroponic-annual-fruit.html)

Hydroponic Leafy Produce and Herbs (http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/retail-hydroponic-leafy-produce-and-herbs.html)

Nutrients For Cannabis (http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/retail-nutrients-for-cannabis.html)

G.W.
09-28-2013, 10:42 AM
WTF is cannabis ??

These blurbs look like a good starting point and I learned something reading them.
Richard can you please justify or support your 6500k temp recommendation?
I understand using that range for some things but you are across the board with it.

I'd also like to hear your justification for not adjusting watts per foot to account for variations inblumens per watt.
Not enough difference to make a difference ?


Also, early this year I saw many things oos on your website.
Am I to understand that things like Sea Grow are back in stock, or more broadly phrased, GM items in general?

Richard
09-28-2013, 08:33 PM
Richard can you please justify or support your 6500k temp recommendation? I understand using that range for some things but you are across the board with it.

6500 Kelvin provides the correct spectral density for the crops I have listed. Notice there are wattage differences. For crops I didn't list (e.g. Crotons) it can be a poor choice.

I'd also like to hear your justification for not adjusting watts per foot to account for variations inblumens per watt.

Lumens is a metric for human perception of brightness. It is not relevant to measurement or choices for delivery of spectral energy to plants.

Am I to understand that things like Sea Grow are back in stock, or more broadly phrased, GM items in general?

I have built a warehouse at my new site in Vista. Everything listed on my website is in stock - although for items marked "while supplies last" I will not restock once they are gone.

Heizenberg247
01-08-2014, 04:42 PM
hello , I have my blood banana in the house . is there a specific grow light anybody suggest that i can use ? thanks

Abnshrek
01-08-2014, 05:52 PM
hello , I have my blood banana in the house . is there a specific grow light anybody suggest that i can use ? thanks

I use T-5 & T-12 5K bulbs, since the screw-in grow bulbs don't last long. I'm getting decent growth from what I have now..

Heizenberg247
01-10-2014, 11:23 AM
thank you!

Pallen
01-12-2014, 08:10 PM
My winter plant room is a 7' x 4' 6" walk in closet with a 4 ft. - 4 (Correction 6) tube - T-5 6400k High output fluorescent light fixture. I have my plants on a 16 on- 8 off light schedule. The temperature this winter has been pretty stable between 65 F - 75 F. My SDC seems Very happy with it although the size of the leafs have been growing smaller since I moved my Him inside for the winter.

I also have a mortgage lifter tomato vine happily growing on the left as well. I also started is some Basil for my wife but it is growing slowly it seems.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tXkbGTcC8mo/UtM-4YtjNtI/AAAAAAAAQc4/kgIBHPdmhkM/w1110-h833-no/DSCN1629.JPG
5 sword pups are hidden by the big leaf in front.

Richard
01-12-2014, 08:25 PM
My winter plant room is a walk in closet with a 4 ft. - 4 tube - T-5 6400k High output fluorescent light fixture. I have my plants on a 16 on- 8 off light schedule. The temperature this winter has been pretty stable between 65 F - 75 F. My SDC seems Very happy with it although the size of the leafs have been growing smaller since I moved my Him inside for the winter.

I also have a mortgage lifter tomato vine happily growing on the left as well. I also started is some Basil for my wife but it is growing slowly it seems.


Great choice of bulb(s). The temperature range is ok but a bit cool for outdoor-like growth. For a 2'x4' area you'll need 8 of those bulbs at a minimum to get the tomato to perk up and carry fruit. I think the light period is a bit long, I'd ramp it back to 14 hours.

Pallen
01-12-2014, 08:42 PM
Great choice of bulb(s). The temperature range is ok but a bit cool for outdoor-like growth. For a 2'x4' area you'll need 8 of those bulbs at a minimum to get the tomato to perk up and carry fruit. I think the light period is a bit long, I'd ramp it back to 14 hours.
Thanks for the input. I will add that my walkin closet is 7' x 4' 6" in size. Adding more light is not in the budget right now I am afraid. I also have my light hanging(adjustable) just over the top of my SDC. And I stand to correct myself, it is a 6 tube 4' T-5 fixture.
Well if my tomato does not bloom, at least I will have that nice smell of a tomato vine. I will be planting more of them outside this spring and will surely get fruit then.... at least from the tomatoes that is. From the SDC though it would be rather a nice surprise if it actually did.

Richard
01-12-2014, 09:01 PM
... Well if my tomato does not bloom, at least I will have that nice smell of a tomato vine. I will be planting more of them outside this spring and will surely get fruit then.... at least from the tomatoes that is. From the SDC though it would be rather a nice surprise if it actually did.

The tomato is getting a good start in your closet. If you can get the temperature range into the low 70's while the lights are on that would be a bonus. If the SDC bloomed at its present size we'd all be surprised. I'd expect at least a 3' pstem and a larger pot.

As I've posted elsewhere, the minimum light for outdoor-like growth is 50 Watts of 6400-6500K light per square foot of projected area at 1 meter. So if you've got six 55-Watt T5 with a hood projecting down onto an area one meter away that is 3' by 6', that's (6 x 55 Watts) / (3-ft x 6-ft) = 18 1/3 W/sq.ft.

Pallen
01-12-2014, 09:26 PM
If the SDC bloomed at its present size we'd all be surprised. I'd expect at least a 3' pstem and a larger pot.

My SDC is currently 16 " from soil to top of pstem. 27" from soil to top leaf height. Its circumference is 12" so my pstem diameter is at 13.82" <Correction 3.82".

My pot is at about 20 gallon(guess). It has a width of 20" and a depth of 12". I am all for increasing the size of the pot if it would help. Any SDC container size suggestions welcome?

Richard
01-12-2014, 09:41 PM
My SDC is currently 16 " from soil to top of pstem. 27" from soil to top leaf height. Its circumference is 12" so my pstem diameter is at 13.82".

I think you meant the diameter is 12/pi = 3.82" :)

My pot is at about 20 gallon(guess). It has a width of 20" and a depth of 12".

Typing into google
convert 12*pi*10*10 cubic inches to gallons (https://www.google.com/search?q=convert+12*pi*10*10+cubic+inches+to+gallons)
returns 16.32 gallons. :eek:

I am all for increasing the size of the pot if it would help. Any SDC container size suggestions welcome?

That's bigger than I thought! I think it will be fine provided you remove pups as they appear.

Heizenberg247
10-27-2014, 08:54 AM
Hi , I have a dc and actually a grand nain in the house - I have 300 to 600 watt growing lights in a sunroom . I was wondering how many hours a day should I keep the lights on ?? Also the leaves are dripping water is that normal ??

boffcheck
10-27-2014, 11:01 AM
Hey there, my bananas used to "cry" at nights too I never looked at that as a problem. Ahm about the lights. That I'd say depends on you.. 1. How much money you want to spend on your power bill.. 2. How much growth you want to see 3. ahm I recently ordered a growlight myself and im going to put it on for 3-6 hours per day as a test. If they look happy I think I'll go with it. If nothing happens I go with more hours per day.. and if they suffer i gow down with the lights..

(take care of the heat. that might burn the plants or dry them to the bone)


greetings

Pallen
10-27-2014, 11:23 AM
Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as from leaves but also from stems and flowers.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration (Transpiration)

Also there is more on lighting needs above in this very thread.

When mine were inside my lights were set at (14 On - 10 Off) and worked well for my plants as suggested for me by Richard (http://www.bananas.org/member-richard.html) posted above in this thread.

Funkthulhu
10-29-2014, 02:24 PM
I dig Pallen's photo.

Picked up some of these last winter: http://amzn.com/B004356WLY

The difference in ambient light in my growing area of the basement was remarkable. I also added another 4-foot shop-light. The result is that I'm no longer just maintaining over the winter, but actively growing! My 2-bulb shop lights (3 of them so far) are split with one 6500K (or other high temp bulb) and one "grow light" or terrarium light. The variation in light source wavelengths seems to be the trick for me and I'm seeing some very happy plants. Palms, Bananas, Succulents, and many other tropicals/citrus/etc. Many of them spend all year down there with no problems.