A1 Question - lettuce under grow lights -- which kind is best

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Mark - 28 Sep 2008 18:59 GMT

I live in the Pacific Northwest and the next few months we
won't be able to harvest lettuce in the garden. Being we have
a grow light system for seeding in Feb to April, I thought
we'd try to use this system for growing salad greens now.
Does anybody have suggestions on which salad greens will grow
best (to maturity) under grow lights? We're a little unsure of
which to grow - we've started lettuce under the lights early
in the year but have always planted them outside as seedlings.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Gratefully,
Mark and Patricia

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gunner - 28 Sep 2008 23:29 GMT

>I live in the Pacific Northwest and the next few months we
> won't be able to harvest lettuce in the garden. Being we have
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> Gratefully,
> Mark and Patricia

Graham WA here @ the foot hills of Mt. Rainier.

The short answer: you would have no problems growing lettuces with "grow"
lights. I grow Arugula, Bibb, Red and Green leaf in winter as well as keep
my culinary herbs alive for year round cooking. Your Province( BC?) leads
the way in this kind of thing.

The more detailed answers would require more info. Without specifics on
your lights. setup, etc it is hard to give you specifics. Do you have
Florescent, MH, or HPS light(s)? and what in wattage? What distance is the
light source from the plant, do you have supplemental light( i.e. outside
light, other ambient light)? How do you grow them? soil? Hydro?

What we use today for measurement is lumens, and bigger is still better
until you can learn to fine tune for your requirements.

use these loose figures for approx. planning
< 200W is good for a 2x2' area

>250 3x3'

400W 4x4'
600W 6x6'
1000W 8x8

Obviously, Florescents are a bit different planning than HIDs but can be
just as attractive especially if using the newer T5s.
CFLs are coming up in usage as are LEDs

I posted this site here on R.G.E a few days back for just such info:

http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com/ngw/downloads.aspx

Just remember there are alternatives to the "Garden/Organic/Feel Good "
catalog prices.

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Mark - 29 Sep 2008 10:28 GMT

>>I live in the Pacific Northwest and the next few months we
>> won't be able to harvest lettuce in the garden. Being we have
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> The short answer: you would have no problems growing lettuces with
> "grow" lights. I grow Arugula, Bibb, Red and Green leaf in

winter as

> well as keep my culinary herbs alive for year round cooking.

Your

> Province( BC?) leads the way in this kind of thing.
>
> The more detailed answers would require more info. Without specifics
> on your lights. setup, etc it is hard to give you

specifics. Do you

> have Florescent, MH, or HPS light(s)? and what in wattage?

What

> distance is the light source from the plant, do you have

supplemental

> light( i.e. outside light, other ambient light)? How do

you grow

> them? soil? Hydro?
>
> What we use today for measurement is lumens, and bigger is still
> better until you can learn to fine tune for your

requirements.

> use these loose figures for approx. planning
> < 200W is good for a 2x2' area
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> " catalog prices.
> Thanks so much for your answer. We have a smaller teired

system using

> florescent lights. I'm thinking 200 to 300 watts.

No other

> ambient light and will be using soil.

The varieties you suggested will be tried first
and will let you know
how things work out.

Thanks again for your help.
mht@canada.com

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Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / September 2008

A1 Question - lettuce under grow lights -- which kind is best