Spider Farmer grow lights - two weeks in
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- If you are interested in the Spider Farmer light that was gifted to me, here's the links:
US: amzn.to/33cwddN
UK: amzn.to/2SZ291u
DE: amzn.to/32o6vm2
CA: amzn.to/32pOhjZ
If you have general questions, we have a FAQ document and video, which you can find here: steves.seaside...
If you are new to my allotment videos you might find a bit of context useful. We live in the north west of England, in Lytham St Annes, which I believe is the equivalent of USA Zone 8. Fairly mild, but very windy.
For more details on the databases that I use to manage my allotment, check out these two blog posts steves.seaside...
We have three allotments in my family, mine (Steve), my wife's (Debbie) and my middle daughter's (Jennie). We also have a small kitchen garden at home. They are all managed in an integrated fashion, so don't expect to see the usual mix of veg on each plot. I do most of the planning and seed starting. We each have our own plots, but we all help each other out.
Jennie's plot has been designed as a traditional allotment, but we put a lot of focus on minimising the work we do there. It's basically a plant and forget it plot, full of garlic, leeks, onions, beetroot, brassicas, squash, beans and fruit trees. It's heavily mulched to reduce weeds and to reduce the need water.
Debbie's plot is mostly full of perennials, it's an ornemental plot. Again we did a lot of work to keep the weeds down and Debbie's approach is inspired by the TV programme The Ornamental Kitchen garden.
My plot is all about experimental growing, maximum productivity and year round abundance. As with all of the other plots I did a lot of work to control the weeds, but it's a high maintenance plot. I'm always planting, harvesting, experimenting and generally having a great time.
Collectively the plots deliver an amazing abundance of fruit and veg all year round. Debbie, Jennie, Jon and I are effectively self sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit for much of the year. During winter we sometimes have enough surplus to feed our local family. During the rest of the year when the surplus from our house garden comes on stream we have surpluses in some crops for quite a few friends as well.
This video provides an overview:
• The big picture of our...
I do an update of the allotments, roughly twice a month, you can find the tours here:
• Full allotment tour as...
Our approach to allotment life is to: grow as much as we possibly can, to be self-sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit in season, to give away our surplus to friends and family, and to have as much fun as possible. For more on self sufficiency check out these videos:
• Super quick update on ...
We are not slaves to gardening though, I spend about 14 hours a week on the plots (on average) Debbie and Jennie a lot less. We keep nudging that down as we eliminate non-productive work: like grass cutting, weeding and watering as much as practical. We are both newbie gardeners, only starting the allotments in 2016.
I'm a bit obsessive about the nutrient density of the veg that we grow and making the plots easy to work because it's through this allotment lifestyle and food that I've overcome a debilitating auto-immune disease.
I'm always aware though that it might not last so I make sure that I don't work too hard, eat as much organic fruit and veg I can and design the plots so that I can still work them when I flare up.
I have several lights that I am using nothing of this quality--I actually cannot plant things like tomatoes and peppers out until May (last year I tried April with protection and neither tomatoes nor peppers did any better than seedlings planted out later) so I am shifting tomatoes to a sunny windowsill after they reach around 3" or so, in my case I want to slow their growth. What I do every morning is to rotate all the plants in my windows so that they get light evenly, I have a West facing window.
I'm the same, my polytunnel is full of crops right now and it won't be clear until early/mid May and so my tomatoes are only small and I don't want them to grow big, just healthy. I rotate all of my seedlings too, but they still get leggy by being drawn to the light at home. Autumn, winter and early spring are different though, I have lots of opportunity to being cool weather crops on early : All the best - Steve
Hi Steve....interesting results. I didn't put my brassicas under the lights, but I do mist spray them a couple of times per week. Only used T5's so far and the best noticeable benefits for me were with Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers...All the best
🌻 Nigel .......MuddyBootz Allotment 🌻
This sunny weather is playing havoc with my plans, my peppers - grown in natural light - are way too big and I have nowhere to plant them yet, or space to pot them on. Fortunately my tomatoes are still small plants because it will be at least 4 weeks before I plant them.
maybe the far red photons are having effects on the elongation?
I've had a lot more experience now and found that it's important to get the heat and light balance right. The lights are bright, but not bright enough for the heat levels in my conservatory, except in winter until the seedlings have a decent amount of leaf area, then they are ok : All the best - Steve
Wow the spider light works really well a little to well. I properly going to take u a while to get used to it. I like how u show the positive things and negative thing.
Thanks Mark, honesty is important, doesn't help anyone to hide the things that don't go to plan : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Yea i totally agree. Can i ask when u put carrots into pots how do u water them?
I always top water, as nature intended, but I can't claim to have done a test one way or another : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards yea I normally do the same. I might test it out this year and see.
Just curious how much distance you put between the light and the seedlings and at what strength level do you leave the light on with that distance.
Hi Ben, 18 to 24 inches depending on the plants and stage of growth. For salads 100% for brassicas about 60% - 70% : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Thank you!!
Looks like a small fan blowing , moving air near plants,would be appreciated by the plants. A small blue spectrum LED should prevent ' leggyness'.
Preventing legginess is about getting the balance of light and heat right, light alone isn't enough : all the best - Steve
Hi Steve, I have a question BUT not about the lights, Mushroom compost does the one you use contain straw.
It does Ronald. I have a question for you too, BUT not about the lights, how do you store and refresh your compost from year to year? : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards This last year I sorted my compost what I grew onions in I put aside to grow potatoes and carrots my potato compost I am now growing onions and garlic in, I put in chicken pellets and blood fish and bone around November to give it time to be absorbed into the compost, I will not be digging out my onion compost this year I will re-plant onions in it next year,
Thanks Ronald
The grow light plants are bigger and they look good.
Some look great Carolyn, a few demonstrate that quicker isn't always better : All the best - Steve
Amazing light with a shocking price.
Yes, I'm reserving judgement on value for money until I've seen what I can achieve through winter : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards it sounds like someone could actually use the light to produce crops indoors all winter without a poly tunnel or greenhouse, the investment might be worth it for someone who is stuck in a flat without access to an allotment.
I have loads of ideas for autumn, winter and early spring that I'm excited to try. I'm also very interested in consistency of timings, if I can use the lights to get early and late crops to be more predictable that will help me a lot. Since these lights are in my conservatory, which is my den, I think they will help with SAD as well, as the quality of the light is excellent and I have built a little shroud so that I can't see the LEDs. The room is Alexa enabled and so I just say "Alexa turn on the sun" and I'm bathed in lovely sunlight : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards years ago my partner and I grew cannabis under a halide lamp (don't judge, LOL, it is legal here now) at any rate, the dedicated room was so bright and warm that I used to go sit in there in winter, alas my cat loved it too and I found him in there once with every plant decapitated and him on his back passed out, haha
lol