Anyone using hps lights for growing figs indoors?

Not for figs. They put out lots of heat dont know if it will dry out cuttings. May help from mold issues. With tomatoes canr get four inchs of growth in one day. If you have one. start out 3 foot away check it in a hour if no drying out should be fine. Doest take long to damage. If they look l8ke no effect more closer etc. Mine was a large flood light but was HPS DONT REMEMBER WATTS 100 MAYBE TWO. TRANSFORMER WENT BAD. HOPE TBIS HELPS SOMEWHAT

I've never used HPS, yet I have use metal halides (MH). Heat is for sure a problem, so distance is important. One of the most important things, how many watts are you looking at? I would recommend nothing smaller than 400 watts, I would also recommend MH in place of HPS. MH's have better bulbs with bulbs with more choices. 


 Or high intensity LED's

Jesse, is there a reason you asked that question?

I do that for a few months in Winter-Spring and in the Fall to extend the season. I brought a CdDG and Panache into my grow room last week to try to give them a ten month season.  This is 2 months earlier than I've done before.  MH lights are better but the HPS is what I could get with the very low priced system I got.  I have a MH lamp to replace it  if it blows up.  My ballast is switchable so that works for me.  It has over 2000 hours on it and is going strong.  The one on offer now has one of each bulb.  I say if you're going to do it, go big.  I have a 1000 W light on a tall arm and I can adjust the height as needed.  The tube prevents the light from heating up the room but you get more life from the light if you have a fan blowing air through the tube.  I have citrus and am planning on getting a mango.

A fig plant can easily outgrow an HID light so you can't do this year round unless you have more than 1 lamp.

Bob, if you can find a ripe enough mango at the grocery store, you can grow a mango from seed.  It's really not very hard, I did it a few years ago.  The  seedling did great and grow like crazy for months till I went on a trip. ... oops.

I think I'm going to try it again, just for the fun of it.

Thanks for the responses.  The reason I asked is that I have access to a 600 watt hps unit, wondering if it would be appropriate for a later stage of growing out my cuttings.   Right now they are under t12 shoplights, and I'm not sure that those can sustain healthy, strong growth til springtime.

The 600 watt HPS will be a better long-term choice then three T-12's. I highly recommend a hardening off time moving to the HPS, a period of using both lights. I would put both lights on timers, the T-12's at 12 hours a day and the HPS at 30 min plus rather high above the cuttings (36 inch or so). Check the cuttings daily for moisture levels, and increase the photoperiod of the HPS by 15 to 30 min a day.  Watch and listen to the reaction of the cuttings, if they start to show signs of stress, either raise the light or cut the photoperiod back a little. Then stay stagnet for awhile untill the cuttings regain their health. Once you get to 10 hours a day, you can turn the T-12's off and continue to increase the HPS to 12 a day.  You can then slowly lower the light if you want, pRobably no need, the bulb should be strong enough and you will need room for all of the new growth. 

Once spring comes, you will still needed to harden off the cuttings to be outside. 

Also, HPS and MH bulbs loose around 25% of their intensity by 6 months of use at 12 hours a day and then slowly dim until they burn out.  I would start with a new bulb, howevef if you don't then replace the bulb later you will need to raise the light to compensate for the extra intensity. 

Good growing,  Scott

Jesse, if you can, get a Hortilux bulb for your HPS. It has added spectrum which considerably helps with vegatative growth. Make sure you have a fan in the room as well once they start growing well, a breeze will create some motion on the leaves which in turns makes the main stem stronger and have shorter/less stretched internode length which can be a common problem with plants grown indoors.

That's good advice coming from Colorado, thanks guys.   What kind of square footage do you think 600 watts is appropriate for?   

I've never used one so I can't comment on the 600W.  As for mangos, there are a bunch of "Condo Mangos" that do well in containers because of their natural dwarf tendencies.  Here's a list from Pine Island Nurseries

http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/container-trees.shtml

[QUOTE]What kind of square footage do you think 600 watts is appropriate for? [/QUOTE]

Not sure really, maybe 18-20 at most for good saturation? You could probably Google it. The shape of your reflector/hood is going to affect this, then the closeness or intensity you want will fill in the other half of the equation; higher intensity=smaller area of flooded light. For starters, I would think you would want the light around 3' from the plants, maybe more. Milar or white paint walls will really help keep bouncing the light around, a white cheap shower curtain laid on the floor/table will reflect a good amount of light back up.

I am Successfully growing and ripening fruit on a Sweet George in my garage greenhouse.  I have a 20,000 lumen LED on a light mover, space heater keeps it 90 and the humidifier keeps it at 80% humidity.  My TC figs (Violet De Bordeaux and Olympian) and some other tropical are in there as well, all growing out of control. Here are some pics of my very first ripe fig ever, which was ripened in the garage Greenhouse.

   
 
 
  

[QUOTE=rcantor]I've never used one so I can't comment on the 600W.  As for mangos, there are a bunch of "Condo Mangos" that do well in containers because of their natural dwarf tendencies.  Here's a list from Pine Island Nurseries

http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/container-trees.shtml[/QUOTE]

Bob, you are killing me!!!!  I either need to move to somewhere warmer or get my acreage here and get my walipini built in a hurry.

Great link, thank you!!!

[QUOTE=zone5figger]Anyone using hps lights for growing figs indoors?[/QUOTE]

I hope all of the info here helped.  Let us know what you end up doing.

Scott