lighting help- Indoor kale, pak choi, spinage etc under T8

dl290485

Well-Known Member
Ok guys I don't know if anyone is going to have the info I need here but..

I want to grow some short leafy vegetables indoors under a fluro such as dwarf kale, pak choi and spinage. What I need to know is what kind of fluro (how many watts etc) will support these plants in a healthy way? Ideally I want the grow to be horizontally long like a 5ft tube rather than a single 130watt light beaming down like a spotlight.

My goal is to grow healthy vegetables inside for at least slightly cheaper than they cost to buy. If the amount of electricity it takes is more than what it would cost to buy it then I won't be interested. I will not be doing it hydroponically though and it will be hand watered so only energy used will be the lighting.

Does anyone have any knowledge of how much energy a short leafy vegetable like kale or pak choi needs?
 
All I know is that any thing that you grow for their leafs doesn't use as much light as plants that have to produce flowers to produce the food you eat. I would say give it a try with the 5ft tube light. One thing I would do is calculate the cost of water if you have to pay for it between soil and hydroponic growing. Tbh I grow herbs in my AeroGarden and I produce more moneys worth of herbs to use for cooking , tea and such including taking into account the power usage and I still get more money worth then buying it at the store. It has been 2 weeks from seed and the water level has only dropped about 1 inch.
 
I know they won't need as much energy as cannabis, but they still could potentially need a lot. I think the T8 has a starting lumens of only around 2000 so about a foot away from the light only 1000 and 2 ft 500 lumens. I am planing to grow things that are only around 1ft tall though hopefully.
Water isn't a big issue as it will come from a rainwater tank and because it will be organic i can even re-use the runoff (or just not let it run off much).

I'm hoping someone who has grown the vegetables before (artificial light or sun) and knows a little about fluro lighting can give me an idea of what will be appropriate
 
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