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lighting Lighting and Heating

Back to the original question and the kiss principle, 20-50 watts/square foot of plant canopy will produce fruit through winter with fluorescent or HID lighting. Lux, lumens and footcandles are simply a method of expressing lighting energy, just like watts.

If the room is at all insulated, lighting may produce enough heat for the chiles.
 
"If the room is all insulated...."

I rent an older home in OH, and the insulation in it is almost nil. I refuse to pay a thousand bucks per month to heat it well (couldn't afford to if I wanted to anyway), and spend all winter bundled up as well as possible. Lighting alone would definitely not be sufficient for germination under these conditions, but lighting plus a heating mat should do the trick. Don't know about frjeff's conditions, but hopefully they're better than that. But another thing to point out is the heating and moisture content of the air - how often the heat runs, of course,depends upon your insulation. You do have to ensure the soil for the seeds doesn't get totally dried out. A humidifier will help. I had one built into the furnace, and while it was okay, it was still dryer in the winter than plants usually like. (Old house, old humidifier: it doesn't work any more.) Just something to keep an eye on.
 
geeme,

The room I use to germinate seeds and grow seedlings is rarely gets above 75 in the winter and drops into the 50s overnight (like you, an older home and I don't heat all the rooms - only the ones I spend a lot of time in!). But I never have a problem germinating seeds (banana and peppercorns aside). I set the containers on a water bed heater set to 85 degrees with the thermostat under the container. Keep a lid on it until the first seeds germinate. This keeps the moisture in.

Mike
 
Yep - the heater (waterbed or otherwise!) is an absolute must in these conditions. And yes, the lid helps while the germination is going on, but I'm more thinking of after the lid is removed, or if you don't have a lid. I lived in warmer, more humid environments prior to moving here, and learned the hard way just how much moisture the heaters suck out of the air here. Totally fatal ...
 
I don't have that problem as I remove them from the heat once they start germinating. Cooler temps lead to stockier plants. I also use nursery flats and Ferti-lome potting mix. To water them, set them in a tub of water until they are completely soaked. Let them drain, stick them back under the lights and let them go for a week.

Mike
 
I'll try the potting mix next time I start some from seed. I was referring to the house's heater/furnace sucking the moisture out of the air, not the heating mat, as I agree - that gets removed after germination.
 
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