- lumens - measure of light output from a light source
- lux - one lumen landing on a square meter
- full sunlight is 32-100k lux
- plants absorb about 50k lux max full broadband light
- absorption limited by atmospheric co2...unless you provide them more co2
- foot candles - one lumen falling on a square foot
- watts - power consumed. normal measures
- par - photosynthetically active radiation. measure of light intensity specific to the different types of chlorophyll and carotenoids. includes frequencies outside of human vision.
- frequency - plants like (absorb) between 400-700nm light
- the term par watts is often misused
- watt hours - power consumed per unit time
- kelvins - a measure of color temperature
- seedlings want high kelvin color quality 4100-6700 kelvins, usually sold as 'day light'
- 'day light' has more blue
- better for vegetation or pre-bloom cycle
- to initiate a bloom cycle (flowering) - low kelvin color quality (sold as 'warm light')
- micromoles (µmol) - actually micromols per square meter per second. quite literally 6.02x10^17 photons falling on a square meter in a second
- concepts
- normal luxmeters measure lux not par. lux meters are cheap. par meters are not. lux meters work fine for non-led light sources. leds require either a par meter or...intuition/trial and error
- a 1,000 lumen light does not produce 1,000 lux (except in a perfect world) because every single proton would need to fall within the square meter.
- moving the plants away from the light source with dramatically decrease the effective light energizing the plants (decreases with the distance squared)
- however, keeping plants too close to the light will expose them to heat. too much heat will kill seedlings. find a happy medium
- some seedlings can handle 24 hours of light, most 15 hours a day. too little light causes seedlings to be leggy (etiolation), more pale (chlorosis), and weak (weak)
- mature plants
- short day - flower if day is shorter than a specified period
- long day - flower if day is longer than a specified period
- day neutral - flower independently of a period. may impact type/quality of flowers
- good info
- how to start seeds in a bag. this is my go-to method.
- bag starting seeds: scatter seeds on a damp paper towel and lay flat in a plastic sandwich bag. put bag in a dark cabinet at room temperature. check after about a week for sprouted seeds (or recommended germination time). seeds will attach to paper towel so cut the towel around each individual seed sprout and plant in a starter tray under grow light and water lightly.
- this does not work for cold stratification seed starting requirements like native milkweed seeds (for butterflies) or lavender.
- cuttings
- cut of ends of branches
- put in sand or vermiculite
- add some root hormone
- plant when roots emerge
- layering
- take a live branch on a living plant, carefully bend it until a portion is touching the ground
- secure the live branch to the ground. leave at least four inches of the tip free
- wait until roots emerge
- clip branch from live host, and plant
- rosemary
- can withstand frosts
- little purple/blue buds
- can purposefully keep root-bound to stunt growth.
- seed balls are about double the size of the plant itself and transplant quickly.
- starting seedlings
- really hard to start from seed. about 5% of seeds will mature. recommend bag starting
- woody, aromatic, perennial bush
- lavender
- woody, aromatic, perennial bush
- can start like rosemary (moist towel/sandwich bag) or cold start by putting back in the refrigerator (cold-stratification) which potentially increases germination rate
- can withstand light frosts if soil is dry
- tomatoes
- overwatering causes split fruit (especially after a drought)
- permanently planting in a 5-gallon bucket can significantly stunt output for all but the smallest dwarf cultivars. use a much bigger bucket: 20-30 gallon for most heirlooms
- blooms produce fruit only if pollinated.
- watch for horn worms (caterpillars for five-spotted hawk moth). indicator: small, pellet-like excrement on the ground around the plant
- consider planting bush upside down
- if planting normally, consider installing a rope vertically from the plant and as the plant grows, attach it to the rope to maintain structure
- if harvesting seeds, ferment them before storing
- fermenting is a natural process where old tomatoes sit on the ground until the environment tips to the correct growing conditions
- fermenting seeds breaks down the shell portion of the seed and kills some disease
- steps
- remove pulp, keep the mucous-like goo.
- cover with water, let sit at room temp for a couple days until it starts to smell...fermented and there's a layer of white bacteria on the top of the water
- pour off the water, bacteria, and bad seeds that floated to surface
- rinse seeds that were on the bottom (good seeds) and store or sow
- cultivars
- cherokee purple
- reports that some grow up to nine feet tall
- at least 18 gallon pot
- black krim
- requires 20-30 gallon pot
- black from tula
- originated in tula, russia
- not quite as productive as black krim but arguably just as good or better taste/texture
- ruby gold
- 30 gallon pot
- not a classified black tomato but taste rivals cherokee, krim
- tomatillos
- 5 gallon pots
- 10-10-10 in soil before planting
- add 5-10-10 after harvesting first fruits
- mammoth dill
- beautiful, huge dill plants. fairly easy to start.
- tarragon
- cultivars:
- french - short, aromatic, for cooking, probably sterile seeds
- russian - over a meter tall, rapidly loses flavor with age, draught resistant
- wild - almost no flavor
- mexican - actually in the marigold family, flavors of tarragon and anise, flavors rapidly dissipate when heated
- 12-36 inches tall, 12-15 inch spread
- can be grown as perennial
- soil should be almost dry before re-watering and requires almost no irrigation
- sage
- woody bush with leaves
- purple flowers (depending on variety)
- 12-30 inches tall
- quality diminishes with plants after 4-5 years
- trim the more woody branches which don't produce highly-aromatic leaves
- well-fertilized sage is bigger but lacks the flavor of lesser-fertilized plants
- lemon balm
- perennial, can be cut or die all the way to the ground and still re-grow
- big root ball
- lemon grass
- delicious. easy to grow
- high oil content helps keep pests away
- propagate: put cuttings in a sunny spot in a glass of water. plant when roots emerge
- frost kills the plant so plant in pots if you want to keep this perennial alive
watering bushes and trees
- to save water consider an irrigation system that sprays bushes/plants longer at a slower rate than the lawn and individually sprays each plants
- trees
- best - use individual tree-rings that get dug in the ground as a reservoir
- second best - original tree gators (bag style) are easier to use than doughnut-style. put some duct tape over the outlet valve to reduce flow rate by half
- bushes
- bigger bushes can get tree-rings
- smaller bushes can use doughnuts
- pecan
- fruit producing varieties generally are weaker varieties. trees purchased at box stores usually are fruit producing trunks grafted onto resilient root systems.
- nuttal oak
- trident maple
- native to japan
- drought tolerant
- royal empress
- grows really fast
- listed as an invasive species in some states
- some states authorize exceptions to plant royal empress (and similar varietals) by exception and usually with sterile members
- tulip poplar
- member of the magnolia family
- drops sap
- ok in sandy soils
- great for making honey
- lilacs
- possible to grow in warmer climates with different cultivars of syringa x hyacinthiflora for zone 8/9 but not as aromatic
- some of the newer hybrids do quite well in hotter climates and are still aromatic