…been quite some time since I had my"sea of green" days and apparently, technology has bypassed me at a rapid pace. Autoflowering plants? Feminized seeds?
I mean, there was no Internet back when I was active. At best, back then we waited until the store was empty, snagged the newest copy of High Times for reference material, a pack of 1.5s, and got the hell out of there. I thought I was on the cutting edge when I was sexing my plants, and rolling cuttings in Rootone to start up clones.
Haven’t been a smoker for ages due to random hair tests, but am getting older/closer to retirement age, so it’s time to ease back into things.
Ok, back when I was growing, MH and HPS lights were THE way to go provided you could deal with the heat from the ballast. My workaround was using an industrial multitap 400w HPS for a small closet garden, but I would change out the capacitor to allow for the ballast to be separated a longer distance from the lamp. This minimized heat inside the closet.
A little fabrication, some thin guage sheet metal, and some pop rivets made a great reflector. A timer for the lamp, a rogue bottle of CO2 if available, a solenoid and valve, another timer, and it was on. LOL, y’all wouldn’t want me to describe my potting system, or creative use of dental floss to support the buds!
Fast forward several decades and it’s LED lights, red spectrum vs blue spectrum. …diode quality…drivers? I am sooo f-in lost!!!
Is there a primer for old farts on the newer technology? I still have my old 400w HPS setup, but if LEDs can give me the color and lumens I need with lower current draw/heat, I think I need to start doing my research.
Sorry for the long post, but figured it would be quickest to throw my cards on the table so y’all know my background?