Thats when you'll want to take action. Supplying a grow light for it (at least as a temporary solution) should help you push out of this winter weather in pretty good condition. If you do go that route, I dont recommend anything below 100 watts based on the size pot I see in the picture. Go smaller will only supply less lighting to lower leaves. I also dont recommend 300 watts unless you have a room that no one uses where the plant will sit. 300 is pretty bright but will supply you with great lighting. There are some that have an adjustment knob to them that I've found on amazon. like this one which I use in my grow tent. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 For the price, its really hard to beat compared to others. Its a full spectrum which will penetrate the canopy area better then a purple on. With this one you'll also have full control of the lighting between 5%-100%. Low output heat as well so no fear of burning your plants. (in a grow room, this light will increase temps). I think you're one step away from having one of the happiest plants on the block lol.
You're very welcome! I was new to grow lights a couple years ago and have found it's an exciting part of gardening I didn't know I was missing. What you want to do can definitely be done. It's really about making it as nice as you can for the space you have. I've tried the grow light bulbs and my experience wasn't great with those. I definitely prefer the ummm, I don't know, commercial style ones. I doubt that's the name of them. Like this one anyway, I have a couple of this model, and some even smaller, and of course some larger. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ Those things are champs and I can't recommend them enough.
So yes, you can do it! Just figure out how you want to try. Worst case scenario the first batch doesn't work -- but when "you control the 'sun'" anything is possible and you can re-seed at any time!
Lol sorry 😂
Mine are a mixture of the two substrates I mentioned (Bonsai Jack, LECA and a regular succulent soil from Lowes. Depending on the particular plant the ratios used change quite a bit. I find some need more or less water retention. But the real trick is investing in a good grow light. Everything started looking good once I did that.
LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LEDs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Q46KSDDYQ6EVHNJE9QKG
LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light with Samsung LEDs (Includes IR) 2x2ft Coverage, Full Spectrum Dimmable Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants Veg Flower Four for 4x4ft 300pcs LEDs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_TG5196C3970DVKMN4GDX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I keep it at about 60% most of the time. I don't really need it for what I am doing but I have it so I use it :)
The light looks like it’d work for seedlings and some of veg but you’re gonna need more light for late veg and flowering. You could get multiple or you could get a brighter and bigger light.
LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light with Samsung LEDs (Includes IR) 2x2ft Coverage, Full Spectrum Dimmable Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants Veg Flower Four for 4x4ft 300pcs LEDs
I’m using this light right now https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_2Q8YAXHBRCCGRV6Y8ZFF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Nothing has made more of a difference when it comes to the vibrant colors, chubby leaves and compact shapes.
I also only water adult plants when they look like the bottom leaves are getting wrinkly and need it. When I do water it’s a deep water, submerging the pot (with drainage hole) in water for 20-30 min. Over the next couple days I have a fan I turn in so they don’t take more then a week to dry out.
If your interested I have a IG: MyLittleSucculentFamily I post tips and tricks on there often :)
If you can muster up another 18 bucks, you can land something fairly solid like this Limited-time deal: LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light with Samsung LEDs (Includes IR) 2x2ft Coverage, Full Spectrum Dimmable Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants Veg Flower Four for 4x4ft 300pcs LEDs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_dl_XQ213C275KD8PHT4KZ2D
It would be a huge upgrade for that and for 42 bucks it’s a steal. Not sure your tent size or anything but if moneys tight this is a banger deal. I have the p2000 and it does pretty damn well so far. Hope this helps!
This would be better and is on sale right nowviparspectra
LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light with Samsung LEDs (Includes IR) 2x2ft Coverage, Full Spectrum Dimmable Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants Veg Flower Four for 4x4ft 300pcs LEDs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_M0WZ291SWMZHGH3DGR0Q?psc=1
10 W is not a lot. Peppers like PPFDs of approx 200 umol / s m^2.
There are many cheap quantum boards right now like this one:
Spend a little more, get a lot more. That should be fine dimmed to 50% and hung about 18 inches away.
Haha thanks for such a friendly response! Yea I wasn’t sure how I managed to burn it but I definitely did so I think I’m gonna try to just finish the plant outside; I low key massacred it and I’m surprised it hasn’t shown signs of herming or becoming a male. I’ve HST it, LST it, overwatered at the beginning, burned with neem oil, and finally was the light burn 😂poor girl barely hanging on by a thread
I ended up returning the light and replaced it with this one I found, I’m debating upgrading to the P1000 version though because my plan is I have a 2x2x4 grow tent and I’m aiming to mainline for 4-8 colas a plant and I have 4 plants. Idk if this will be able to reach the DLI/PPFD averages towards the flowering stage. You have any advice on the topic? I’m better understanding how important the function of light is as well as the amount required thanks to some of those YouTube vids so thank you as well
One last question as well if you could answer it, say I scrog a canopy so it’s even and my light came with a ppfd chart, how would I know how much ppfd/plant I’d get. (Ex. Do I add up the PPFD estimates in that corner?)
Grow lights CAN do the job, but I'm not sure it's really going to be appropriate for what you're after.
I am absolutely an amateur and I have no idea what I am doing. That said, I have this light: https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Upgraded-Spectrum-Dimmable-Hydroponic/dp/B088KK88NH
It is mounted about 10 inches over a bunch of sarracenia seedlings. They seem to find it intense enough to want to go red... And that is about as far as I understand it. I'm learning, but I'm losing a lot of seedlings in the process.
A full spectrum light would be better and more pleasing to the eye. If you want a light from the same company they offer this, which I use and my plants have been very happy. There also other quantum board style lights on Amazon in a similar price range. (My friend got one from a different brand and is pretty happy with it)
Blurple LEDs are kind of outdated IMO.
Here’s a decent light at a good price. I use this P2000 as I have a larger grow space but the P600 will be great for a smaller space. And it’s only $70 on Amazon.
Really, you could just wing it with any off brand Chinese led board on Amazon. It'll do fine for the setup you have. You aren't wanting to dump money in to a light and I understand that for a budget.
If you want a more name brand in that price range, Viperspectra is a known brand. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_Q3GMM5R1CEWHCKMSXY1C
BUT
If I could make a suggestion, saving and buying a $75-$150 led board from reputable mainstream brands is worth it imo simply for warranties and accountability. You'll have a better long term experience if you ask me.
But, if not, I'd be comfortable buying a cheap knockoff for a single grow if I had to.
like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S34165C/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_V99ME7XRGGNZGSD0M13H
Hi, This is just my opinion. The lights are to wimpy. If you can get them closer that may solve the issue. If not get a cheap quantum style board. The difference from what you have would be huge but you would have to hang them some how. Another alternative would be to get a second light like you have. This would be an ok Quantum board. https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Upgraded-Spectrum-Dimmable-Hydroponic/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=led+grow+light&nav_sdd=aps&pd_rd_r=ff654cc0-edbe-49b5-9d43-7cc742fb2f8a&pd_rd_w=qK45a&pd_rd_wg=GUR6w&pf_rd_p=d3f80a66-0214-4632-8398-1da02f11de05&pf_rd_r=2FT47ENFC3QEAKCYR5JM&qid=1616889604&refinements=p_36%3A2661614011&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-13
VIPARSPECTRA Grow Light, 2020 Pro Series P600 LED Grow Light, with Upgraded SMD LEDs(Includes IR), Full Spectrum and Dimmable Function for Hydroponic Indoor Plants Veg Flower https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-bBMFbD14B61W
The light that I was using was called viparspectra p600 which is now discontinued but the p1000 I believe is the replacement for it in terms of price. I think I paid about the same for the p600 as the p1000. So that's going to be a very good one and offers a pretty good coverage for these types of plants. They are both rated for a 2x2 area however, I have a 4x4 area and it covers everything very very well. With room to spare
I literally just swapped them out for something a little bigger with more wattage for about the same price as I paid for the viparspectra.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -p600
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJCN6PV?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details - ZEGGWELL SS-4400 -$59
https://imgur.com/a/WueVMFQ -ZEGGWELL SS-4400 (mine)
I cant speak too much on the p1000 but the weight of the p600 is pretty light. The zeggwell is about 11lbs or so and is about 2 feet x 2 feet. However, this one will cover a 4x4 or 5x5 with ease. Since Id like to grow cannabis, this was the better choice. Had I not choose to go down that road, I wouldnt have changed a thing with p600.
As for setting it up, I keep my plants on the ground for the most part. I have a few that sit on top of other things to bring them closer to the light. Overall distance from the canopy to the light is about 36-44" away and I have the dial set at 25%. The plants get right around 220-250 fc's of lighting for about 9 to 10 hours a day. During the day, temps stay between 77-79F and at night (more so when winter hits) it can get as low as 65F but usually stays around 74-75F. Humidity changes every blue moon. I've ran them as high as 65% and as low as 40%. id say between 50 and 55% is where I usually like to keep it but probably closer to 50%. I raised my humidity this morning since Im running a few test on vapor pressure deficit. If you're trying to make the most of your growing experience with albo's, I would take a look into. It's not too complicated. As for Light readings, I use an actual light meter but Ive also used an app called Photone. Right about of the gate it'll be a little off but will get you pretty close to good lighting. If im not mistaking, the app will say it's higher than it actually is until you calibrate it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the lamp that I use for my setup. It's adjustable to you can choose how bright you want to the area to be. I hang them slightly above my head (I'm 5'7) and keep the knob between 15% and 20% power for about 9 to 10 hours a day.
Now Im sure there are much better ones out there but keep this in mind, when you look at a grow light, if they dont talk about ppfd level, it's probably not a lamp you'll want to use since there are other lamps out there more geared to growing. I hope this helps a little.
Yes, good grow light make all the difference.
I have two of use these VIPARSPECTRA P600
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RXJY5DSREXDV8Y5E39ZV
Here's a good one:
VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH
Invest a little more and you won’t regret it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_3H6GRZY71S83RX055XQV
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086TVKMQ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here is another option that may or may not work for you depending on your setup. I have a grow tent so the light is pretty much blocked off from the rest of the house. I keep this lamp between 15-20% with the lowest being 15%. I hang it about 30-35 inches away from the plants and they seem to really like that level of lighting. It measures about 200 foot candles of lighting (2152 Lux).
I was giving them about 12 to 13 hours a day but found that to be too much for them. With time, I started lowering them little by little I i've found about 9-10 hours to be more than enough.
Just a heads up though, ppfd on this light will be stronger at lower levels than the 25 or 35 watt lightings found on amazon. If you have just the one plant that you're providing lighting to than the 35 watt should be enough but the distance that you keep it from the plant will vary.
Since I have a grow tent with other plants, covering a larger area with a lower power setting really helps especially during the summer months when heat starts to become an issue. Just something to think about.
My tent settings:
During the winter months - 68 - 72F (summer - no higher than 80 - 82F with 82F really pushing it)
Humidity 55-66%, I've noticed 55 Being the sweet spot as this allows the guttation to evaporate fast enough to not damage the white areas of the leaf. I have ferns for I have to run the humidity more in the 60% range but if I could, I'd run it down to about 50%.
Lighting 200 fc or 2150 Lux
Small essay incoming, so you might be able to better understand the gobbledigook, when going to research stuff a bit more.
Avoid the red/blue ones, generally. Full spectrum white LEDs are the best bang/buck, and many grow lights supplement red or blue for efficiency. 83+ CRI commercial lighting LEDs around 4000K have pretty much everything leafy plants need. There's not enough gain to having IR or UV to make it worth it, outside of tweaking properties of, "herb," herb. Added 660nm and 730nm may or may not be beneficial, but won't hurt, in moderation. If they're used well, it will be to increase overall red efficiency, with "worse" white LEDs, vs. using "better" white LEDs. Phosphors converting blue to red and far red are pretty inefficient, and the difference between typical lower-CRI emitters and high CRI emitters is mostly in the reds.
Until very recently, your best bet was to get high CRI shop light or tube type lights, for turnkey lights to use with lower light stuff like herbs. If you can find T5 or T8 high CRI 3500-5000K LED replacements, or at least minimum 83 CRI, and have the fixtures, that may be a good option. However, with the California emissions and port madness, right now, they've gone from easy to find just a month ago, to somewhat rare, today.
Plants aren't concerned with visible light, and can adapt to different lighting conditions. Light for plants is taken from photosynthetically active radiation, PAR, 400-700nm, without weighting any of it, and is measured in Mols of photons (that crazy huge number, if you haven't repressed memories of your HS chemistry classes). It is then measured in total as photosynthetic flux (PPF), in uMols/J, which is similar to a Lumen (but, lumens are weighted by our eyes' sensitivity to different wavelengths), and is the total photons being emitted per second per Watt (it just simplifies to Joules). Finally, PPF density, PPFD, is measured in uMols/s/m^(2), which may be typed out a few different ways. I'm just calling it PPFD, here on out. PPFD is the intensity of light actually hitting the leaves, which is a similar measurement to lux.
With a longer light cycle, a given plant needs lower PPFD, and vise versa. But, too high a PPFD can be detrimental, just like too low of one. With perfect emitters and reflectors, you could divide a grow tent area into the PPF*Watts, and get PPFD near the light. In practice, with LED panels, though, it's surprisingly not far off. FI, a 2.3uMol/J light (probably around what the one I'm going to link really offers, once fully warmed up), at 100W, over 2m^(2), would give an ideal 1375 PPFD, in a vacuum. But realistically, one could expect around 1000, out to 6" or so. In a tent, the drop from there will not follow the inverse square law, between the effects of many emitters in a panel, and reflective sides, too.
Herbs are pretty tolerant of a wide range of light intensity and time, especially basil and oregano, which can technically manage with always on lights. The ideal range for most herbs is between about 300 and 500 PPFD, with potential bleaching and smaller leaves with way too much, and each type having their own ideal amount. Peppers can veg out with 400-500, but prefer more, and will have an easier time of transitioning back to sunlight if given more over the winter.
To estimate PPFD, with a 80+ CRI LED setup, get a lux meter app for your phone, and check it out, at the top of the leaves. Lux/70 roughly equals 1 uMol/s/m^(2), so you'd want around 30k lux on your herbs, plus or minus, and up to 50k+ (which is often the sensor maximum) on your peppers. Well, the pepper plants are taller, right? Plus, they're bushy, and can provide a little shade, right? So, that makes things easier.
I would personally choose one of these, right now: https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Upgraded-Spectrum-Dimmable-Hydroponic/dp/B088KK88NH/
I haven't used it, as I use panels and strips - full DIY - but, they have a solid reputation for budget lights, and that unit is good for doing things other than growing pot. While it can provide more intense light than you might need, a lot of the cheaper units out there are absolute junk (like being fire hazards, performing at 50% or less their advertised specs, or using low quality PSUs that will begin to kill the LEDs within a year or two). It should be putting out 10-15k lumens, or more than a dozen 60W bulbs-worth, of light, for you, the human, so including the dimming functionality could be quite important, depending on where you can hang it. Also consider that not having bright slight piercing your peripheral vision regularly can be a benefit of a grow tent, even if you don't need it for reflection, heat, etc., depending on what space you have to use.
If your plants are few, and can all fit right under one, with a foot or so extra around it, you can likely get away without a grow tent or anything like that. If I were personally doing this for someone, and they had say, 5 or 6 pepper plants, I would get 2 of the 95W ones above, and space them out inside a larger grow tent, instead of buying a single more intense light. For just a couple pepper plants, one of those should be fine, especially with a grow tent.
Okay so I took a look at all of the wattages that your grow light comes in. Spec wise, they look pretty darn good. More so in the higher wattage ones of course.
Based on what I remember about par levels and lumens of light. Light wise it looks good, even at the lower wattages. I run mine at about 400-500 Fc (foot candles of lighting) which is about The issue I see though is that with the lower wattage (at the distance you have it set at from the plants) if you have the 15-22 watt model, you're pushing between 4,000 and 5600 lumens of light which is pretty good lighting. The issue I see is the Par level's that the plant is getting at those distances.
It's possible the albo needs a little more of those levels in order to grow due to the variegation on the plant.
For an aquarium, these seems perfect since the distance between the light and most aquariums are pretty standard. But for house plants, it can be a hit and miss at times. I've met people that grow in very low light settings and still have success with their plants but I personally dont use anything under 100 watts for multiple plants. The reason is, the higher you hold that light up away from the plants, the less Par levels they received and every growlight is different.
Here's a page that talks more about lighting for plants incase you're interested. I will give you a quick warning though, this crap isnt easy to understand. lol There was a point that I was pulling out calculators and stuff just to try and get an accurate reading. The accuracy isnt important. You just want to get in the "good" range and then make small adjustments from there to see exactly what the plants like. https://www.420ledguide.com/led-grow-light-terms-ppfd-par-in-umol-m2-s/
If and when I look at grow light's, there are a few things that my eyes immediately look for. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the grow light that I'm currently using.
The first thing that I look for is ppfd levels. This is going to show you how the light is going to spread it's light around as well as where the light particles that plants need in order to make food for the night time. You'll notice how at the various distances, you get various levels of lighting.
The second thing I look for is the Full Spectrum chart. This is going to give me an idea of how much red, blue and green spectrum levels.
This is another light that I used before my current one. Take a look at the spectrum levels as well as the par or ppfd levels. This lamp is 1000 watts vs the other one. Less power, less heat but still gives the plants what they need. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VBKDHKQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also use a light meter app on my phone to help get readings. At the moment, I have my albos set at between 400-500 Foot candles of lighting with about 30 ish inches away. I'm still playing around with it since I changed my setup around.
Just so you have an idea of how bright it looks when you have 400-500 fc's of lighting on the plant itself. The rubber plant in the back is getting about 900 fc's of lighting at the very top.
The other side of the tent with the ferns and philo's is a bit lower though. I have those plants at 250ish for the small ones towards the left, about 350ish on the philos and larger fern and I kept those on the ground to stay a little cooler.
Upgrade to a Vipar P600 with no shocking. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KK88NH?th=1
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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FYI - For a little less money, you could have gotten a VIPARSPECTRA P600 or a SANSI LED grow light panel.
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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LED Grow Light, VIPARSPECTRA P600 LED Grow Light… | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
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Oh I see. For her best odds, I would get a small 2x2 grow tent and a viparspectra p600- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X4HG2WW756KG7D08ZF6D
No problem, many manufacturers have low output QB-style boards in the $60-80 range now that are about 75-85% of the efficiency of top quality lamps.
https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Upgraded-Spectrum-Dimmable-Hydroponic/dp/B088KK88NH
https://www.amazon.com/Phlizon-Upgrading-Dimmable-Spectrum-Hydroponic/dp/B083TM8JBL
https://www.amazon.com/Carambola-Spectrum-Hydroponic-Greenhouse-Fixtures/dp/B08R5MFZ8H
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Waterproof-Superior-Spectrum-Greenhouse-Hydroponic/dp/B087WJH9ZD
https://www.amazon.com/Freelicht-Spectrum-Dimmable-Hydroponic-Greenhouse/dp/B08FJ5MJFQ
Vegetables need about 25-50% of the light cannabis requires.
These should be more than ideal -
My personal choice is this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KK88NH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fab_uC3GFbGY6QAGS
Second: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VL8FZS1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fab_vD3GFbSM3A1A6