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South Dakota

Will it hurt to have light on the plant 24/7? I have a 125 watt heat lamp that I have hooked up to a thermostat to turn off/on as temp changes. I have the light over my plant shining down over it. I don't think pumpkins are photoperiod sensitive, so extra periods of light should actually increase growth. I may be all wet about this, so I would like some feedback. Thanks.

5/2/2019 11:12:35 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I’m putting my heat lamps inside ceramic planter pots this year, to radiate heat more efficiently in the hoophouse at night. Previously I placed the heat lamps directly over top of the plants, but only for the evening cold.

It gets too hot here to leave the heatlamps on 24/7, so just a waste of power. I like to keep the hoophouse above 60 degrees overnight.

5/3/2019 12:18:44 AM

Bethlehem CT

I don't think it will hurt them at all.

5/3/2019 7:19:35 AM

Hanson Ma

Actually they are photo sensitive and turning the lights on and of will disrupt them. So Ive been told by a mad scientist. By the name of Matt DeBacco. (Name dropping). With that said I have had my plants under light for a week straight. 24/7. Continuos light I don’t see anything wrong except that the light was out put is weaker than the t5 and t8s. I have on my other plants that are timer controlled.

5/3/2019 4:42:52 PM

Hanson Ma

Actually they are photo sensitive and turning the lights on and of will disrupt them. So Ive been told by a mad scientist. By the name of Matt DeBacco. (Name dropping). With that said I have had my plants under light for a week straight. 24/7. Continuos light I don’t see anything wrong except that the light was out put is weaker than the t5 and t8s. I have on my other plants that are timer controlled.

5/3/2019 4:43:05 PM

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=301977

This is what one pretty decent grower does.

5/3/2019 7:14:43 PM

Walhalla, ND.

I think it’s a very good practice. In my opinion whether it’s spring or fall one must to the best of their abilities keep the plant and it’s immediate surroundings above and below the plant a minimum of 70 degrees.

5/7/2019 8:46:46 PM

Muddy Waters

I like to keep it natural. Plants need darkness & rest. Bury the light in the soil a few inches I did that with the 2043 it helped to heat the soil & the heat rose in to the house & help keep it warm. no soil cables were used that year.

5/8/2019 6:55:13 AM

Muddy Waters

I use a 250 watt Chicken bulb a few feet away from plant 12 inches deep with a cover over hole

5/8/2019 6:56:46 AM

Slc, Ut

I still have two plants in my hoop house (waiting for the winner to show herself) and have been using two, 250w Red heat lights. They weren't producing enough heat in a terracotta pot so I clipped them on the pot and point them directly at it, in front of the plant (not above) about 18-24 inches away. I have one per plant. Is this a big no-no? I do have heating cables in the soil as well.

5/8/2019 11:20:37 AM

South Dakota

I have had this running for over a week now and the plant seems to be growing fast considering the lack of any direct sunlight since she emerged. I would like to see some scientific literature as to if a pumpkin flowers by genetic code or by hours of darkness. I would think it is more genetically programmed to begin flowering as opposed to photoperiod where exposure to a certain length of uninterrupted darkness is required to stimulate a plant to begin flowering. I do not believe that a plant has to rest. It reacts to the catalyst sun and photosynthesizes whenever enough light is available, hence increased daylight should equal increased growth. Kind of like in Alaska in the summer season when it never really gets dark. This could be the raging of a madman, not the first time accused, but I think it is sound reasoning. Somebody chime in please.

5/8/2019 11:45:58 AM

North Pole,Alaska

I don't recall any scientific literature at the moment, but do have first hand experience growing in Alaska.I'm further north than Dale and have even longer hours of light here. Flowering seems to be affected by plant maturation, and males vs females by night temps.As for plants resting, it depends on age and light intensity.My plants always are healthier the first 4 wks with 12-14 hrs light only. with more light, they tend to outgrow the root systems early on and show deficiency signs.They are grown aeroponically, so they have 24/7 access to all nutrients, they just don't have they capacity to draw in enough until the roots catch up. Plants also have an upper limit to the amount of light they can handle in a day. It's called the Daily Light Integral.It's the total number of photons per square meter per day. The stronger the light, the shorter the duration, and vice versa. Also, the stronger the light and hotter the temp, the greater the lag time in actual growth from day to night. During cloudy weather, I've seen uniform growth throughout the 24 hr period. On hot, sunny days, very little to no growth until the sun dips and very aggressive gains following.

5/8/2019 12:14:35 PM

Muddy Waters

I will promise you one thing for sure if you grow a plant 24/7 all the way to harvest.You will not get the fruit to grow 117 days. It will mature faster.Plants grow at night thats a given under constant lite it will stress & age the plant faster of that Im sure.Im not much of a science person. Just strong common sense.Now a days that aint to common.

5/8/2019 6:23:03 PM

Muddy Waters

LJ Grow one under constant light & prove me wrong

5/8/2019 6:23:50 PM

Muddy Waters

https://thepracticalplanter.com/do-plants-need-darkness-to-grow/

5/8/2019 6:41:44 PM

South Dakota

Bubba, I'm not calling anybody wrong, I am just trying to understand the growth physiology of the AG. I know some pot growers who grow veg under 24/7 light, then switch to night periods for flowering. They say the 24/7 makes their plants grow faster. They seem to know what their doing and have been doing it a long time. Maybe this is apples and oranges, just trying to learn and discuss. I am a 2nd year newbie at AG growing. Not accusing anybody of being wrong. Just like to hear differing opinions and experiences.

5/9/2019 8:26:11 AM

South Dakota

I'm not planning on running the light for the whole season, as soon as the weather warms enough I will be taking the heat lamp out. I'm using it just to keep my night time temps up. It's been a very wet and cold spring here.

5/9/2019 8:30:09 AM