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Old 09-28-2011, 07:54 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
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That's why I posted the link, so you could decide. I could easily say 50/50%, but there are too many variables to consider. Some are I have no idea how many plants you plan on growing, how far away the foliage will wind up being, how you plan to distribute the light etc.. From your post you plan to grow 3 large type plants (tomatoes, peppers, cukes). That would have me concerned with the minimal lighting (4 twin fixtures) you posted that you plan to use (even growing only one of each plant). That may do fine while the plants are young, but good luck growing those large (light incentive) plants to maturity without more light.

Bottom line, the amount of "light intensity" is much more important than the spectrum (especially with florescent lights, as well as the plants you mentioned growing). Typically blue spectrum (natural daylight spectrum 5000-6500k) focuses on foliage, and red/orange spectrum's (warm white, 2700-3000k) focus on flowering for florescent lights. But that isn't always the case, or even important with florescent lighting. The light intensity (how much light you provide) is much more important. Especially for plants like tomato's, cukes, and peppers that require much more light to do photosynthesis than non fruiting plants, and those plants don't rely on the spectrum of light to trigger fruiting. Their continuously fruiting plants. Witch means they grow fruit all season long (regardless of the suns light spectrum during the season).

If it were me, I would probably use all 6500k lights, unless I was sure I had enough light intensity (all around the plants) to grow the plants to full size. Then I might use 50% 6500k, and 50% 3000k for continuously fruiting plants like peppers, tomato's and cucumbers.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 09-28-2011 at 08:01 AM.
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