window light VS direct sun?

[johnwashburnx30]

Just wondering about window light. It's July now so that summer sun is powerful. I know that people grow in greenhouses and are fine too. Was going to order a 400w hps but it seemed like a waste of money since that hot sun is out there. I have only one thin pane of glass on the window and that window receives full sun all day. I'm sure it must be more effective than a 400w hps and especially the 400 watts of Cfls i was using before. I slide the window up too so there is direct sunlight at least half the time but was just wondering. knowledge is power.

any thoughts?

 

[danniuk]

1 - the sun is FREE, although CFL's are very cheap to run.
2 - nothing will ever be as good as the sun, life on earth was created around the sun, plants evolved to grow from the sun light, not a CFL, a light is just the next best thing.
the sun will have the perfect mount of lumens for your plant and will make it grow better than under any grow light can possibly do.

 

[johnwashburnx30]

well i know all that but i'm just wondering how much sun i lose through the window and what not. how does greenhouse growing compare to a 1000w hps?

 

[rolledupdriver]

Well in my avatar you can see my baby chilling by the window, I dont think it makes much difference as long as the window is kept clean you wont be losing any of the suns rays.

 

[Total Head]

my first grow ever was done on a windowsill. i would reccomend a southern facing window because those get the sun during the most intense times of day. i grew from seed to harvest on that sill, but i had the window open with the screen down. if it's dark inside no one will be able to see through he screen from outside until your turn the light on, and i would think that the window would block a bit of the sun but would still work. Plants like wind too, though. i turned the plant 1/4 turn every 5 days or so to keep it growing upright because it obviously started to lean toward the sun. as far as comparing it to an hps, the hps will hit more of the plant at once than the window sun and can be controlled, but the window sun is still much stronger. the down side to this whole idea is flowering can be tricky. if you are using the sun's natural cycle like i did you will have to make sure that the light never goes on in the room during flower, and if it does go on the plant MUST be moved because people will be able to see in. i still would open the window though. but i do tan through window glass so it still should work.

 

[rucca]

my first grow ever was done on a windowsill. i would reccomend a southern facing window because those get the sun during the most intense times of day. i grew from seed to harvest on that sill, but i had the window open with the screen down. if it's dark inside no one will be able to see through he screen from outside until your turn the light on, and i would think that the window would block a bit of the sun but would still work. Plants like wind too, though. i turned the plant 1/4 turn every 5 days or so to keep it growing upright because it obviously started to lean toward the sun. as far as comparing it to an hps, the hps will hit more of the plant at once than the window sun and can be controlled, but the window sun is still much stronger. the down side to this whole idea is flowering can be tricky. if you are using the sun's natural cycle like i did you will have to make sure that the light never goes on in the room during flower, and if it does go on the plant MUST be moved because people will be able to see in. i still would open the window though. but i do tan through window glass so it still should work.

What'd you yeild with your window weed?

 

[Total Head]

lol i yeilded over an ounce dry and i was a complete newb. the nugs were a good size too for an idiot. It was bagseed from my favorite bottom shelf dank. this was when overgrow was still around. i was never a member but lurked frequently. i owe that site and community for inspiring me. also i used all miracle grow stuff and still didn't screw it up. i plantd at the end of april and they finished around mid october, and new england doesn't exactly have the best sun for growing ganj. i am confident anyone can grow pot this way if they are willing to do a little babysitting and don't expect the world. if this was done in texas or somewhere i bet the results would be insane.

 

[johnwashburnx30]

lol i yeilded over an ounce dry and i was a complete newb. the nugs were a good size too for an idiot. It was bagseed from my favorite bottom shelf dank. this was when overgrow was still around. i was never a member but lurked frequently. i owe that site and community for inspiring me. also i used all miracle grow stuff and still didn't screw it up. i plantd at the end of april and they finished around mid october, and new england doesn't exactly have the best sun for growing ganj. i am confident anyone can grow pot this way if they are willing to do a little babysitting and don't expect the world. if this was done in texas or somewhere i bet the results would be insane.

Thanks friend. That's funny because I used to live in Texas, but now am in Canada. Anyways, thanks for the input. I've also been opening the windows, and I took the screen out. The first couple of days I had them under that direct sunlight they couldn't handle it and I came in to find them drooping, which resulted in sun burned leaves the next day. Even through the window they were taking a beating, so i guess you are right, thanks!

i wonder how this mid july sun will effect the budding? i would think that the high uv, hot sun would make some great buds, even though its not at the right spectrum...any thoughts on that?

 

[Total Head]

if you are using only natural sun the plants will start budding when the days shorten, the same as if you planted straight into the ground. and the sun is always at the right spectrum. the light will redden as the days shorten, so unless you plan on force flowering the plant with artificial light, the sun will always be just right. and yes the uv from the sun is good. if you have neighbors or the window can be seen from the street i would definately keep the screen down. window screens are very private when the lights are off inside. 3 inches from the screen and nothing is visible. i know people who got themselves caught by not being stealthy about it, so be careful.

 

[Net]

most windows these days filter some amount of UV rays.this may have a slight effect on efficiency of overall plant growth.

 

[Total Head]

most windows these days filter some amount of UV rays.this may have a slight effect on efficiency of overall plant growth.

good point. a lot of them now have that glaze on them. should still be ok with the screen.

 

[rolledupdriver]

good thing my windows are older then most of us here

 

[LeeroySlim]

does it matter if most of the UV light is filtered out?

 

[bigv1976]

Quite simply, direct sunlight during the summer produces 10,000 lumens per square foot roughly (even through glass). That is similar to a 400 w HPS sitting an inch or 2 above your plants. It would be almost imposible to replicate this indoors due to the heat issue.