Any photosynthesis experts in here ?

[Kevin the grey]

I have a window with a partially overshadowed North-eastern exposure .
In other words it never gets bright light . My aquarium is directly in front of the window . Most of my houseplants that need bright to medium light are on a glass tray on top of the aquarium . I have a four foot fluorescent grow light about 18 inches on top of them .

It is not a high end grow light . It seems adequate . I use it to supplement the weak natural light . In winter I use it for four hours . from five A:M: to seven A:M: and four thirty P:M: till six thirty P:M: . My theory being it will give the plants light when they normally get little and extend the hours of winter sunlight.

I also use it for lighting in the room as it is the hours I am the most active there. To me it is a kind of win-win situation . I don,t use the light much so it lasts longer and I don,t use the main lights in the room unless doing certain tasks .

Am I making optimum use of the grow light ? Most of these plants are said to have a dormant period in the winter . Am I screwing around with their rhythms or is the light their only growth/dormancy issue ? It does get quite cold in there in the winter . It proabably goes as low as 62 degrees F in the early hours of deep winter morns . Not horrendous for humans . I am sure a couple of my tropical plants would care for more heat .

Would it be better to eliminate one of the light periods and have one near noon ? I am somewhat adapting to the lower light . I am gradually changing over to lower light plants and hardier varieties . I still have a couple of flowering favourites that need more light . I may move a couple of the cold intolerant plants out for the winter .

 

[kronckew]

don't forget that police can track power useage stats via the power company records & raid houses with excessive power consumption on the premis that they are using their heaters/grow lamps on 'tropical plants' of the hemp familiy. it pays in the long run to get your own solar panels or a wind turbine if you are going to grow 'tropical plants' .....

 

[FallingKnife]

I'm not an expert, but I've heard that pointsettias like to have a solid 12 (?) or so hours of dark during their "off" season to get them to bloom properly. That's why you can get one to survive to next Christmas no problem, but if you regularly have lights on in the evening, they don't get the distinctive blooms.

I suggest you research the specific plants. You're probably not hurting them. The worst you're doing is not getting the best out of them as ornamentals.

 

[Kevin the grey]

kronckew This is where I insert a happy face with a joint in his mouth .
My upstairs neighbour had thirty plants in his living room/bedroom . Let us say watering time was exciting around here . He disconnected the cable from the hot water heater and used that for his lights and air filtration system .

Most of the people who get caught around here are apprehended by the fires they cause .
I my dear sir would never cough cough stoop so low cough as to grow pot.(Why am I so hungry?)

 

[kronckew]

one of the advantanges of coming from an area a bit further south, no grow lights required;

one day when i was visiting my mother-in-law we got the word that the po-leece were on the way to the woods behind my brother-in-laws farm. the woods belonged to the bordering huge state forest (great hiking there by the way).

well, about 5 bus loads of state police and prisoners in their orange jumpsuits (mostly prisoners) arrived at the park, hiked towards a large open meadow about 20 min. walk from my brother-in-laws farm, and proceeded to chop down about 80 acres of sensemilla which just happened to be growing there. it had been spotted by a park ranger over-flying the area counting trees, & recognised it.

they piled it all up and set it on fire. someone told us everyone was stoned for ages, including the cops & guards, the prisoners had stuffed loads of it into their jumpsuits and all had to be searched before they went back to prison. they searched all the cops too. took them a few days. we could smell the fires for weeks. (the first day was fun, the wind blew the smoke back towards us).

my brother-in-law, of course, was not in any way connected with the crop . they never did catch the enterprising farmer.

 

[Kevin the grey]

they piled it all up and set it on fire. someone told us everyone was stoned for ages, including the cops & guards, the prisoners had stuffed loads of it into their jumpsuits and all had to be searched before they went back to prison. they searched all the cops too. took them a few days. we could smell the fires for weeks. (the first day was fun, the wind blew the smoke back towards us).

Hmmmmm . I hope they had permits to do that . Defacing a national forest is a crime .

I personally am against blatant displays of drug use . If you want to have a puff in the privacy of your own home I hope there is one important thing you have not forgotten to consider . Rolling papers . :thumbup:

You realise that no-one is going to answer the question about my poor old houseplants now ?

Hey maybe if I go down to one of the local pot growing stores .

 

[kronckew]

...You realise that no-one is going to answer the question about my poor old houseplants now ?

ah, well, confucious said:

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

and he also said:

And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

anyway, plants respire like humans and other animals, except they inspire co2 and expire o2 while photosynthesizing the sugars and other components that actually are their food. they reverse this at night by inspiring oxygen & expiring co2 in order to process the food sugars. thus they should have a reasonable period of darkness. here's a link on grow lamp duration for plants indoors....Linky

p.s. - i grow my herbs outside in the front garden. we're too poor here to afford police, they're reserved for politicians photo opportunities and sound bites, so they never come round our village; the few that we have, they're much to busy filling out govt. forms and reports on targets, bean counting and resource reallocations to bother actually patrolling, the govt. thinks that is a poor use of management potential. beside which, every time they try it someone seems to get hurt. (i grow coriander, lavender, mint - along with the normal dandylions and stinging nettles so dear to our hearts)

p.p.s- as i am at 52n latitude i am more northerly than most canadians! we get a fair variation in lighting over the winter here. canada does get a tad cooler than we do here tho.

 

[Kevin the grey]

I,m not crying Kronck me mate . One of the plants I am trying to overwinter is a vietnamese mint . I was hoping it would flower outside so I could collect seeds. I think it will be used for some kinda potpourri as it has a perfumey taste. It is pleasant to smell .

I think my situation demands some experimentation . My optimum would be plants rooted in the aquarium trailing over the edges . This would be accompanied by plants in the aquarium and palnts in front of the aquarium and you guessed it....plants on top .
I know I am dreaming in color . I must be smoking some of that wacky tabacky .

 

[jurassicnarc44]

Youse Guys slay me!!! Honestly, no fed in his right mind is going to take a couple plants into Federal District Court. Worry about the local constabulary if you will, or light up on the courthouse steps, but don't flippin' tiptoe...

Your tropical plants are O.K. down to sixty degrees F. or so, but will probably not flower well at those temps. Flowering plants key their blooming to the length of day, short day plants bloom spring or fall, long day plants in summer, but the key here is you can't have two sundowns.....i.e. don't turn the lights off at six, back on at seven thirty, off again at 10 pm....you're sending mixed signals!! If you can't control usage of that room, put the plants elsewhere. Once they actually bloom you can move them from room to room to show off. Get a timer for your lights and then set your times based on which plant you are incouraging. Add plant food every other watering....Talking to or singing softly to your plants often helps, but avoid head banging or heavy metal "music". Cows literally cut milk production on heavy metal, but thrive on classical.

Your S.E. Asian mint isn't Patchouli, is it? It's one of my favorites

 

[Kevin the grey]

Youse Guys slay me!!! Honestly, no fed in his right mind is going to take a couple plants into Federal District Court. Worry about the local constabulary if you will, or light up on the courthouse steps, but don't flippin' tiptoe...
head banging or heavy metal "music". Cows literally cut milk production on heavy metal, but thrive on classical.

Your S.E. Asian mint isn't Patchouli, is it? It's one of my favorites

I,ll go smell that mint again . Its perfume scent isn,t that strong . It just isn,t a food smell to me . I overused patchouli in my youth. That may be reason for my slight aversion to it . As mentioned it did smell like it would be good in a potpouri . Perhaps that is a clue .

I enjoy mint and use it as a relaxing pickmeup as opposed to the jolt of caffeine from coffee . Its numerous varieties have an incredible potential both as a foodstuff and a medicine . I hope to find a society of mint growers . So far my internet search has not turned up much .

I was hoping the plants would see my early/late lighting as a longer day with only one sundown . I may capitulate and treat the plants as semi dormant in winter . Perhaps if I learn more I can address the issue from a different direction .

I do tend to tiptoe as far as puffing weed is concerned . I respect that others have radically different views about it . I also feel public drug use is kind of a slap in the face to police . I think it is best to be considered a personal choice which should not be aired in public. (Feel free to wince at pun.)

 

[Astrodada]

huh...? Vietnam mint ? Would humidity level be the key ?

I once saw on a TV documentary (discovery channel) that thay used mint leaves (just mint) as tea in Turkey.

 

[Kevin the grey]

Thats a good observation about the humidity . It was left to fend for itself in the garden . While there was a lot of rain this year I am sure Vietnam would consider it a mere sprinkle . If I manage to overwinter it I will try what you suggest .

The great thing about mint is its versatility .If you buy mint in tea bags it is usually nothing more than the leaves . My neighbours neighbour let their mint go through the fence and run wild . In one harvest I gathered half a years worth . I dry it in a dehydrator or just hang the whole plant to dry .

I will take the stems off the main tunk and very little more. I plop leaves wrth stems attached right in the teacup or pot . I have never found the stems to introduce a bitterness . I will also munch a couple of the leaves while drinking. I am sure there are much more refined ways to drink the tea . If I were to have guests I might employ one .

 

[Astrodada]

Thats a good observation about the humidity . It was left to fend for itself in the garden . While there was a lot of rain this year I am sure Vietnam would consider it a mere sprinkle . If I manage to overwinter it I will try what you suggest .

The great thing about mint is its versatility .If you buy mint in tea bags it is usually nothing more than the leaves . My neighbours neighbour let their mint go through the fence and run wild . In one harvest I gathered half a years worth . I dry it in a dehydrator or just hang the whole plant to dry .

I will take the stems off the main tunk and very little more. I plop leaves wrth stems attached right in the teacup or pot . I have never found the stems to introduce a bitterness . I will also munch a couple of the leaves while drinking. I am sure there are much more refined ways to drink the tea . If I were to have guests I might employ one .

I had tried vietnamese mint in with vietnamese spring rolls. :thumbup:

Maybe you can try to grow mint in a little green house covered in poly-bags ? with added moisture ?

I shall try mint tea sometime as well.

 

[Kevin the grey]

Thats a good idea about the greenhouse . I tend to have a rather freeflowing carefree garden . (Patch of weeds the neighours say .)
It gets so hot here maybe I,ll try and set up a self watering system .

Let me know what you think of the tea . I like spearmint though mint selection is a highly personal choice .

 

[Astrodada]

Thats a good idea about the greenhouse . I tend to have a rather freeflowing carefree garden . (Patch of weeds the neighours say .)
It gets so hot here maybe I,ll try and set up a self watering system .

Let me know what you think of the tea . I like spearmint though mint selection is a highly personal choice .

When have chance you shall sample the the Chinese old furmented 'po lei' and the freshly picked 'long cheng....dragon well' !

 

[Kevin the grey]

When have chance you shall sample the the Chinese old furmented 'po lei' and the freshly picked 'long cheng....dragon well' !

I,m on the no brain free headache plan right now . I would imagine those are two kinds of mint ? Is there any special way of preparing them ? I have a good chinatown here . Its tough communicating with them as I don,t get Chinese accented French . It can get pretty hilarious . I wonder what they would think of Irish accented Chinese .

 

[Astrodada]

I,m on the no brain free headache plan right now . I would imagine those are two kinds of mint ? Is there any special way of preparing them ? I have a good chinatown here . Its tough communicating with them as I don,t get Chinese accented French . It can get pretty hilarious . I wonder what they would think of Irish accented Chinese .

Those are tea leaves....sorry my bad... ....not mint but if you try those, they can be a whole different dimension...

 

[Kevin the grey]

Those are tea leaves....sorry my bad... ....not mint but if you try those, they can be a whole different dimension...

My head is in a different dimension all by itself . The pain dimension . Time stands stll . There is no yesterday , no tomorrow . All is out of proportion .

Darn Argentine wine .

 

[jurassicnarc44]

Thats a good observation about the humidity . It was left to fend for itself in the garden . While there was a lot of rain this year I am sure Vietnam would consider it a mere sprinkle . If I manage to overwinter it I will try what you suggest . .

Try spritzing the upper plant every day, watering the roots every 10 -14 days, and see if that doesn't do it.....