More Free Growing Light

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Even though the lumens-per-watt conversion is lower with 400-watt bubs than 1000-watt bulbs, hanging ten 400-watt amps over the same area that four 1000-watt amps cover, provides more even distribution of light and minimizes shading. Three 600-watt lamps that produce 270,000 lumens from three point sources, instead of two 1000-watt HP sodiums yielding 280,000 lumens from two points, lower total light output by 10,000 lumens, but increases the number of sources of light. Lamps can be placed closer to plants, increasing efficiency even more.

Manually rotating plants helps them fill out better, promoting more even development. The monger plants are in their flowering growth stage, the more light they need. During the first three to four weeks of flowering, plants process a little less light than the last three to four weeks. Plants flowering during the last three to four weeks are placed directly under the bulb where light is brightest. Plants that have just entered the flowering room can stay on the perimeter until the more mature plants are moved out. This simple trick can easily increase harvests by five to ten percent.

When plants get big, it can become laborious to rotate them. Difficult jobs often go undone. Save the strain and use a light mover, or put the containers on wheels.

Add a shallow shelf around the perimeter f the garden t use light that is eaten by the walls. This sidelight is often very bright and very much wasted. Use brackets to put up a four to six inch wide shelf around the perimeter of the garden. The shelf can be built on a sight angle and lined with plastic to form a runoff canal. Pack small plants in six inch pots along the shelf. Rotate them so they develop evenly. These plants can either flower on the short shelf or when moved under the light.

Installing rolling beds will remove all but one walkway from the garden. greenhouse growers learned long ago t save space. We can use the same information t increase usable grow space in a grow room. Gardens with elevated grow beds often waste light on walkways. To make use of more growing area place two, two inch pipes or wooden dowels below the growing bed. The pipe allows the beds t be rolled back and forth, so only one walkway is pen at a time. This simple trick usually increases growing space by about 25 percent.

Growing a perpetual crop and flowering only a portion of the garden allows for more plants in a smaller area and a higher overall yield. More plants receive intense light, and no light is wasted in such a garden.