Introduction: Grow With CFL Light Experiment
The intensity of light radiating from a point source that reaches a surface is inversely proportional to the square of the surface's distance from the source - Inverse square law. This simply means that if an object is twice as far away it receives only a quarter of the light.
Step 1: Lamps and Growing Compartment
Artificial light is light radiation that comes from lamps which are used to provide light. Its light that does not come from the sun.This is the light that am going to use in this experiment. More productive experiment shave used LED(Light Emitting Diode) which have proved by far to produce more healthy plants.In this experiment I will use CFL(Compact Florescent Lamps) which are in the class of fluorescent lamps. CFL's work on the same principle of fluorescent lamps through their design is more compact making them easy to use in confined spaces.
CFL's can run for upto 10,000hrs and have a 44-80 Lumens/Watt light output. They come in 125,200,250 and 300W Power ranges. The following list shows the amount of light in Kelvin required by plants when growing. CGL's produce Red and Blue Spectra which combine to make white light that we can see. 2700K - Warm/Red - Flowering5000K - Full Spectrum/Daylight6500K - Cool/Blue - Vegetative/GrowthDifferent grow lamp types emit light in different ways. The light spectrum in grow lights is expressed in degrees Kelvin (K), a number that indicates a visual “temperature.” Grow lights with higher color temperatures (5000-6500K) provide the full light spectrum and promote all stages of vegetative growth. They emit light with a bluish tinge. Grow lights with lower color temperatures (2500-3000K) are known to encourage flowering and are often used when the plant develops fruit. They put off a reddish or even yellow glow. The best artificial light source for tomatoes imitates the light in their natural environment. Natural daylight has a high color temperature (about 6000 K). Select your grow lights accordingly
Step 2: Growing Plants
Peas
Peas will sprout in 21 to 30 days if the soil temperature is 38 degrees Fahrenheit and the germination rate, or number of seeds that do sprout, will be low. At temperatures of 65 to 70 F the seeds will sprout within 7 to 14 days and the germination percentage will be in the high 90s for fresh seed. Above 75 F the germination percentage goes down quickly even though the seeds sprout quickly. Remember, these are soil temperatures, not air temperatures.
Beans
Most green beans should be planted after the soil warms and the danger of frost is gone, and need to be planted about an inch deep (and as deep as two inches, especially in arid climates). As a rule of thumb for planting, plan for about 10 to 15 green bean plants for each person in your household. Once planted, the beds should be watered to stay evenly moist until all of the seedlings emerge from the ground, at which point the surface of the soil can be allowed to dry out between watering. Green beans will do best in fertile soil that is rich in organic matter, and digging some finished compost into the garden beds will help them thrive. Once the green bean seedlings have several true leaves, cover the garden beds with several inches of mulch to conserve moisture, keep soil temperatures cooler, and keep weed seeds from germinating.
