Indoor Garden Lighting (Part 1): Obstacles to Overcome!

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

“Fiat Lux,” Latin for “let there be light,” is the famous quote that begins the third verse of Genesis.  We all know that plants need light to carry out photosynthesis and the best (and cheapest) way to get it is to use natural sunlight.  Alas, that is a luxury many of us don’t have.  We are relegated to growing our plants indoors; in closets and cubbies, in basements and bedrooms.  So for us, what is the best way to light our gardens?  We have several options: Fluorescents, HID (Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium), Plasmas, and LEDs.  What basic grow light information do we need to know when we choose how to light our garden(s)?  First we need to know what our obstacles are…

One of the biggest problems we as indoor gardeners face is that most of our lighting options produce heat, a lot of heat; approximately 3.4 BTU (British Thermal Units) per hour/per watt.  That means that a single 1,000 watt HPS light system generates 3,400 BTU of heat every hour.  A BTU is the amount of energy required to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.  To give you an idea how much heat that is; each 1,000 watt HPS light radiates enough heat into a grow room to boil 3 gallons of water an hour!

Another obstacle for indoor lighting is the penetration of light through the plant canopy.  Light diminishes from its source with distance.  The relationship of light emitted from a point source (a bulb) and distance is known as the inverse square law.  The law states that the intensity of light changes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance or I (intensity) = L (light) / D (distance.)  That means that the intensity of light 2 feet away from the source is 25% of the intensity 1 foot from the same source.

The last challenge of indoor grow lights is that most lighting requires huge amounts of electricity.  In order to cover a 10’ x 10’ room high light plants require 4,000 watts of lighting or more.  The average American household uses 14,000 watts of electricity per day according to the Department of Energy so the above mentioned garden would account for 28.6% of their total electrical consumption.  Use this handy electrical usage guide to find out how much your electricty will cost per month.  With the cost of electricity ever on the rise the search for more efficient horticultural lighting has LED down several roads…  Check out part 2 of this blog series for a review of different types of horticultural lighting and how they stack up. 

Strong Plants Pump Iron: Facts about Iron Nutrition in Plants

I have been growing for decades and at a certain point I was able to diagnose problems with a quick glance.  Iron deficiency was always one of the first I would notice because it has a very specific look.  The signs of Iron deficiency present as interveinal chlorosis or yellowing of young leaves between the veins.  This can be accompanied by necrotic spotting (brown dead tissue spots) on leaves.  Iron is an immobile element meaning deficiencies will always first show at the top of the plant or on the newest / youngest growth.  Iron is required for photosynthesis, respiration, as well as the production of enzymes. 

There are three forms of Iron chelate, FeEDTA, FeDTPA and FeEDDHA, although the most common form is FeEDTA.
 
With Iron nutrition, the form of Iron is very important. The three common chelated forms (Iron-EDDHA, DTPA and EDTA) differ in their ability to keep Iron soluble and available to plants as the media or hydroponic solution pH increases. Between a pH of 4.0 to 5.5, any form of Iron will work (including Iron sulfate) at supplying Iron to a plant.  As pH climbs over 6.0 less than half of the Iron from FeEDTA becomes unavailable to your plants.  However, as the media / fertilizer solution pH increases above 7.0, only the Iron from Iron-EDDHA will remain soluble. Research has shown that the ranking of Iron forms from most effective to least effective at supplying Iron at high media pH are:
 
Iron-EDDHA (pH up to 11.0)> Iron-DTPA (pH up to 7.0)> Iron-EDTA pH up to 5.5)> Iron sulfate (pH up to 5.5).
 
When choosing an Iron supplement make sure to check the Iron source and match it to your growing needs.  I always recommend that soil and soilless growers use the Iron chelate FeDTPA because it will provide the Iron the plants need and allow them to set the pH of their irrigation solution to the ideal 6.3-6.6 pH range.  The product I use myself and recommend is CALiMAGic from General Hydroponics.

Atlantis Visits 18th Annual Southern Brewers’ Festival

Chattanooga, Tennessee is often thought of as having spectacular views, endless outdoor activities, and a growing number of hip, progressive people. What is not so well known about the scenic city is its long lost love of fermentation. That’s right, BEER! 

This little town has managed to brew up an Annual Southern Brewers Festival proving time and again just how serious it is about finely crafted fermented beverages. This year’s local line up inlcuded The Terminal Brewhouse, McHale’s Brew Pub, Moccasin Bend Brewing Company, Big River Grill, Chattanooga Brewing Company, and special guests The Barley Mob.

There’s not much that compliments an ice cold locally crafted beer like super awesome music on an open-air stage in front of the River City skyline.

Walking around the festival grounds I saw the most convincing Brett Michaels look alike ever.  And who could forget this cool fellow dressed up like the Beer Drinker’s Mascot. He looks prepared with that hard hat…
Safety First!

After recently making the acquaintance of one particular Mobster, I had my heart set on finding the Barley Mob booth and trying their Honey Peach Ale. This curiously delicious concoction, as I’m told, is not your average Pale Ale, nor is it a Mead or Wine, and yet it seems to have the best qualities of all three. The drinkability of a craft ale, the sweetness of a honey mead and the potency of a fine wine.  I should have known when the description stated “ABV (Alcohol By Volume) uncalculated ” that I was dealing with a whole different breed of beverage. Thank you Mr. Beecher!

Some brewers took in excess of ten kegs to return home with less than two. I think it  goes without saying, the festival was a hit! Tasty brews, good music, and all the sunshine one could ask for.  I can’t wait for next year’s celebration of brewing. I can only imagine what sorts of new recipes our local crafts people cook up next. Until then, why not give beer brewing a try? Happy brewing!

New App for Home Gardener Insect Identification

New App Can Identify this Critter for You!
Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scientists at Clemson University have developed a new app designed to allow home gardeners the ability to identify insects plaguing their garden.  The app called IPMLite costs $9.99 is and is available for both iPhone and Android platforms.  The app also gives tips about garden maintenance and timing.  The app’s name comes from IPM which stands for integrated pest management; a new movement in professional horticulture utilizing organic pest control, predatory insects, and scheduled maintenance to minimize insect damage without trying to eradicate the bugs entirely.

New Ballast from PurGro is a High Tech Marvel!

The new 1K4 Flip Ballast, 1000 Watt MH/HPS Ballast With Built-In Lighting Controller from the geniuses or should I say genius (our buddy Greg) at PurGro is sleek and stylish delivering performance and features beyond its competition. The 1K4 boasts an impressive list of features:

• 4 individually dimmable ballasts
• Built in flip box option
• Wires directly to a 30 amp 240v breaker without a lighting controller
• Lights MH or HPS Lamps
• All digital
• Only digital ballast to be repairable

Those are all great features, but we have come to expect more from PurGro after the GroBot so here is an additional feature that will blow your hair back:

• Stealth Startup – This feature lights up each channel (lamp) on a random 1 seconds to 90 seconds after the last channel to keep the power company’s new digital meters from identifying the load as a room full of grow lights.
•  The ballast has a revolutionary new design that allows better heat dissipation from the internal circuitry to the heat sinks on the case allowing this beast of a ballast to run cooler than any other ballast that had been tested…Way to go Greg!!
• Technical Specs (for the real Grow Geeks out there.)
  At 92% efficiency and a crest factor of < 1.7, this is one sweet ballast. Strike voltage is well over 3000 volts to light the longest cables and the oldest lamps. Total Harmonic Distortion is less than 10% for low RF noise and minimal acoustic signature, and Power Factor is actively corrected to greater than 0.99 for maximum efficiency in power conversion. This is as good as a ballast gets!

Is there a Light at the End of the Tunnel? The Effectiveness of L.E.D. Technology in Horticulture Evaluated.

Can LEDs be the Answer to our Growing Prayers?

We have all seen the abundance of advertisements in all of the trade publications about LED lighting. In my next series of articles I will explore the effectiveness of LED technology, their application in horticulture, proper testing of light intensity and examine the ROI (return on investment) of using LEDs as both a primary, and supplemental light source. Check back soon to see the first articles.

Water Quality and Beer Breewing: Can Your Water Ruin Your Brew?

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Water makes up seventy percent of the Earth’s surface, sixty-five percent of your body, and about 90% of the beer you brew. Did you know that the water you use to brew your beer has a huge impact on the quality and type of beer you produce?

Historically a correlation was observed between the liquor composition of an area and the type of beer that the region could best brew. The Pale Ales of Burton-on-Trent and Edinburgh, Porters of London, Stouts of Dublin and Lagers of Pilsen are classic examples.   Read more about water quality and brewing.

Choosing a Miticide: Don’t Show Up to a Gun Fight with a Knife!!!

When you are taking a leisurely walk through your garden and notice the telltale yellow speckles on the topside of your leaves (a dead give-away of your arch nemesis the spider mite) what do you do?  Do you grab for the nearest bottle of Neem Oil and a sprayer? Quickly covering everything in reach with a fine mist of that “garlicky” smelling organic insecticide; only to realize that it is 10 am and the weather report is calling for a beautiful sunny day?  Your attempt to eradicate your foe has likely sealed the fate of your precious garden.  In a few hours your garden will be basking in bright sunlight, and covered in oil will likely be burned to a crisp.  Maybe we can rationally deal with this pests in another way.  

Remember that a single female mite can produce a population of over 1 million mites in 1 month.  This incredibly fast rate of multiplication allows them to quickly form resistance to chemicals, and that multiple applications are almost always necessary to eradicate them completely.  Read my other blog to learn more about the life cycle of the spider mite.

First: We need to know what kind of mite we are dealing with.  There are over 48,000 different types of mites out there but most are not garden pests.  As gardeners we are mostly concerned with spider mites, southern red mites, citrus mites, rust mites, gall mites, broad mites, cyclamen mites, Lewis mites, and the thread-footed mites.  By far the most common of the garden mites are the two-spotted and the red mite.  There is a  helpful websiteIf if you need help identifying a mite .

Second: Determine the severity of the infestation by closely examining all plants in your garden and any close by vegetation.  If there is only a few visible mites with little visible damage then you may choose to use an organic or mild miticide.  If the infestation is severe (having larger mite populations and webbing) you may choose to use stronger professional grade chemical miticides.  

Third: Differentiate between plants that are edible and/or consumable as opposed to ornamental.  When treating infestations on edible plants you are limited by the types of miticide that are safe to use.  Using Chemichals on ornamentals on the other hand generally poses less risk to people because there is no fear of humans or animals ingesting them.  

Fourth: With the above information choose your miticide or insecticide.  Consider your crop type; ornamental or consumable, any necessary application tools or safety gear, as well as any chemical rotation necessary to ensure that the mites do not become resistant. Also keep available the MSDS sheets (material safety data sheets) should they become necessary. 

Fifth: Read all instructions before applying insecticides.  Follow all instructions to ensure you and your crop remain safe.  Also note the REI (the restricted entry interval) this is how much time must pass between the application of the insecticide and safe reentry into your grow-room / greenhouse without any safety equipment. Also note the maximum applications per cropping cycle, as some heavy duty miticides can only be used once or twice per crop.  

See the table below for some helpful information regarding different pesticide / miticide choices.

Brand Name	Active Ingredient	REI	Mode of Action	Target species	Target stage	Food Safe	Effectiveness
Avid	abamectin	12 hours	GABA Blocker	Southern Red, Two Spotted, Broad, Cyclamen, Eriophyid, Spruce	Nymphs & Adult	NO	Medium
Azamax	azadirachtin	none	IGR, Antifeedant, Anti Ovulent	Spider Mites & Mites	Any	Yes	Medium
Beethoven TR	etoxazole	12 hours	Not Yet Understood	Spider mites, Lewis, Pacific, Spruce, Citrus, Southern Red, European Red, Two Spotted, McDaniel	Egg & Nymph	NO	High
Bifen I/T,   Attain	bifenthrin	12 hours	Sodium & Potassium Channel Disrupter	Broad, Clover, European Red, Spider Mites	Adults	Varies by Crop	Medium
FloraMite	carboxamide	4 hours	GABA Blocker	Two Spotted, Southern Red, European Red, Spruce, Citrus Red	Eggs & Adults	YES	High
Forbid	spiromesifen	12 hours	Inhibitor of Lipid Synthesis	Two Spotted, Southern Red, Euonymus, Tumid, Lewis, Rust, Broad, Cyclamen, and False Spider Mites	Eggs, Nymphs, & Adults	NO	High
Insecticidal Soaps	potassium salts of fatty acids	none	Contact Dessicant	Spider mites,  Two Spotted, European Red, Broad, Citrus, Rust, Russet	Eggs, Nymphs, & Adults	Yes	Medium/low
Magus	fenazaquin	12 hours	Mitochondrial Electron Transport Inhibitor	ALL Mites NOT Spider Mites	Eggs, Nymphs, & Adults	NO	High
Neem Oil	neem oil	none	Suffocation	Spider Mites	Adults	Yes	Low
Organocide	sesame oil	none	Suffocation	Spider Mites	Adults	Yes	Low
Pylon	chlorfenapyr	12 hours	Prevents Conversion of ADP & ATP	Two spotted, Broad, Rust, Cyclamen, & Citrus Mites	Nymphs & Adult	Yes	High
Spider Mite Knock Out, Don’t Bug Me, Pyrethrum TR, Doctor Doom Fogger	pyrethrum/ pyrethrins	12 Hours or less	Sodium Channel  Modulator	Spider Mites	Adults	Yes	Medium

Ceramic Metal Halides: A New Material Makes Your Garden Glow!

Phillips Ceramic Metal Halide Bulb

In our ongoing quest for bigger and better it is not always the mighty watt that needs to be increased.  We all know that yield is based on a confluence of factors including: genetics, light intensity, light spectrum, proper nutrition, grower ability etc.  However sometimes we find ways to advance our ability to grow plants by improving our equipment.  To that end lets look at a less utilized type of metal halide lamp know as a Ceramic Metal Halide (or CMH.)  CMH lamps use a ceramic composite material to make the arc tube (the cylinder inside of your bulb that holds the gasses & produces light when electricity is passed through it.)   The problem had been that when using the ideal mixture of gasses the arc tube got so hot that it melted.  This led to using different mixtures of gasses that do not get as hot; however as a trade-off they did not produce an ideal spectrum for photosynthesis. 

That has all been solved with the CMH!  The ceramic composite that the arc tube is constructed of can withstand 1,500 degrees Kelvin opposed to the older Quartz or PCA arc tubes that were only able to handle 1,300 degrees Kelvin.  The increased operating temperature has allowed the bulb manufacturing companies to tailor the gases in the arc to provide a better spectrum of light for photosynthesis.  This advent will let the light shine brighter and better on your garden with a simple twist of your bulb.

Here is what you need to know when considering CMH’s:

• ONLY use CMH lamps on standard coil and core HPS ballast.
• Ceramic Metal Halide bulbs can be used in BOTH vegetative and bloom cycles.
• They should not be operated with digital ballasts. CMH bulbs cannot handle the high frequency vibrations caused by digital ballasts.
• CMH lamps are known to increase vegetative growth so much that you may want to implement the use a Potassium Silicate fertilizer supplement (i.e. Silica Blast.)  Silica fertilizers strengthen plant cell walls, thereby making the plant’s leaves, stems and branches thicker and heavier as well as better able to support heavy clusters of fruit.
  

  Spectral Comparison of Ceramic Metal Halide to HPS Lamp

Battle Your Garden Pests With Ladybugs

We recently had a thrip and aphid infestation in one of our hydroponic grow rooms at the Atlanta Woodmont location. So what’s the greatest way to get back some order in the room? Ladybugs! These cute little beetles are completely harmless to humans and deadly to small crop pests like aphids and thrips.

Adult ladybugs can eat up to 50-60 aphids per day, with larvae ladybugs eating about half that much. After feeding for a few days, female ladybugs will lay 10-50 eggs daily depending on how bad the pest infestation is. That is a lot of hard working ladybugs!

When you receive a package or carton of ladybugs, wait until the cool of night (for outdoor gardens) or while your grow lights are off (for grow room gardens) to spread them around your garden. If you scatter them during the day or under your grow lights, the ladybugs have a tendency to become overly active and dissipate from your problem area. Also make sure that the plants have been adequately watered, as the ladybugs will need to hydrate while they feed.

Do you also have an aphid problem? We have plenty of ladybugs in stock and ready to be sent your way. Don’t have a pest problem but anticipating? Ladybugs can be refrigerated and stored up to 2 months. Either way, get your little ladies now and be ready to fight back for your plant’s health. Click here to order your 1500 ladybugs or stop by one of our retail stores today!