Normally to prevent plants from getting sunburned when I move them outdoors, I put them in the shade for a few days to get used to the sunlight. But I feel like I could cut this step out and save myself time if I had the right kind of light in my hydroponic garden.
What type of light can I use for this? Is a normal fluorescent blacklight (like the sort used at parties) good enough? Or do I need a more dangerous wavelength?
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rainbowgardener
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You are thinking UV light is closer to sunlight than regular fluorescents are? I don't know about that. Sunlight certainly does contain more UV than fluorescents emit, but if you turn the fluorescents off to turn the UV on, I would guess that you lose more than you gain.
And if you are thinking by doing this you could skip hardening off and just plop your hydro-grown plants outside, I'm pretty sure the answer is no. Hardening off is not only getting plants used to high intensity full spectrum sunlight. It is also getting them used to breezes, temperature changes, etc. And for you it is getting them to grow soil roots instead of water roots.
If what you were doing was working, why invest money and effort in changing it?
And if you are thinking by doing this you could skip hardening off and just plop your hydro-grown plants outside, I'm pretty sure the answer is no. Hardening off is not only getting plants used to high intensity full spectrum sunlight. It is also getting them used to breezes, temperature changes, etc. And for you it is getting them to grow soil roots instead of water roots.
If what you were doing was working, why invest money and effort in changing it?
I don't need to get rid of my visible-spectrum lights, I just want to add a UV light. If the plants are exposed to UV while they're growing, then I won't have to worry about them getting sunburned when I transplant them.
I realize wind is a problem when transplanting, but I don't normally do anything to harden them against the wind. The shady spot I harden them in is probably just as windy as their planting site.
I feel like buying a lightbulb and another timer would be completely worth the investment if it saved me from having to harden them off. A lightbulb would be $5 or maybe more, depending on the wavelength, and a timer is like $7. Once I consider the value of my time, I would be saving money by cutting the hardening step out.
Still not sure what wavelength to get. Party-style UV lamps only have relatively safe wavelengths. Maybe I should get a bulb that people normally use for tanning. I think those have both UVA and UVB wavelengths.
I realize wind is a problem when transplanting, but I don't normally do anything to harden them against the wind. The shady spot I harden them in is probably just as windy as their planting site.
I feel like buying a lightbulb and another timer would be completely worth the investment if it saved me from having to harden them off. A lightbulb would be $5 or maybe more, depending on the wavelength, and a timer is like $7. Once I consider the value of my time, I would be saving money by cutting the hardening step out.
Still not sure what wavelength to get. Party-style UV lamps only have relatively safe wavelengths. Maybe I should get a bulb that people normally use for tanning. I think those have both UVA and UVB wavelengths.