Light(s) for pollen/breeding "chamber(s)"? Please help.

I am setting up a couple (maybe even a few) pollination chambers to form new strains (seeds). I am wondering if it is necessary to use the same grade LEDs that I would with my normal plants that I grow, or if I can get away with using something more budget conscious? Don't get me wrong...I do not want to be a cheapskate or anything, in fact I want great seeds to come out of this...but saving money is always a "win". What do you all think?
A less expensive (but highly rated) LED? CFL Tubes (I use these on my smaller plants/clones)? Something else?

Let me know what you think so that way I am informed on what I should buy for this endeavor. ALL opinions will be greatly considered and appreciated! Take care.

Red light (2700k) is always good

use the same lights you use for budding

red light is used to make the flowers the buds and the seeds

good luck

Appreciated Vostok! Thank you!

Any light will work. Cfls or cheap mars blurple doesnt matter too much

Okay.....so are the G8LED ufo lights worth the higher price, or just go cheaper CFLs? Thats the follow up question.

Growdict said:

Any light will work. Cfls or cheap mars blurple doesnt matter too much

Click to expand...

Do Please the membership

and explain ur reason

Didn't understand if last post meant for me and what it means, or if it was for growdict. If for me, please explain.

vostok said:

Do Please the membership

and explain ur reason

Click to expand...

My reasoning is that it takes very little pollen to create a lot of seeds and since most home growers are not trying to make 1000s of seeds, any light will do. He was talking about a separate light for pollen collecting

David Ferguson said:

I am setting up a couple (maybe even a few) pollination chambers to form new strains (seeds). I am wondering if it is necessary to use the same grade LEDs that I would with my normal plants that I grow, or if I can get away with using something more budget conscious? Don't get me wrong...I do not want to be a cheapskate or anything, in fact I want great seeds to come out of this...but saving money is always a "win". What do you all think?
A less expensive (but highly rated) LED? CFL Tubes (I use these on my smaller plants/clones)? Something else?

Let me know what you think so that way I am informed on what I should buy for this endeavor. ALL opinions will be greatly considered and appreciated! Take care.

Click to expand...

Throw them outside.

Growdict said:

My reasoning is that it takes very little pollen to create a lot of seeds and since most home growers are not trying to make 1000s of seeds, any light will do. He was talking about a separate light for pollen collecting

Click to expand...

Oh okay...I understand now

mr sunshine said:

Throw them outside.

Click to expand...

Thats a decent option, I suppose. Will keep that in mind.

You'll get better light than a cfl by using a standard led bulb from Home Depot. I'll link to the ones I use below. You also have the option of removing the diffuser and getting alot more light out of them. They pop off with a small screw driver and a couple minutes effort. I veg in a 3x5 tent with a 400w T5 light. I wanted to increase the light, so I installed power strips at each corner of the tent, and used outlet-to-socket plugs to place two bulbs on each power strip. They only use about 13 watts per bulb, very efficient. My girls now lean towards the corners of the tent, where before they would lean toward the center of the T5.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-100W-Equivalent-Daylight-A21-Non-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-4-Pack-5bSA1600SSQ107/206668052
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-White-Outlet-to-Socket-Light-Plug-R52-00061-00W/100170446

14 watts, not 13

For seeds I'd use higher quality lights, for males/pollen you can use pretty well anything. The suggestion of LED bulbs from like a Home Depot would work well enough for males.

Reasoning is I've flowered out seeded females under blurples, older 3070 COBs, CMH, and recently 3590 COBs. The CMH and 3590 COBs produced better plants all around and better seeds from what I've seen.

Males on the other hand flower much faster and they tend to produce the same quality and quantity of pollen regardless of the lighting.

There's also no reason to separate seeded plants from your main crop/flowering lights. I pollinate something almost every round. Take them out, pollinate s branch or two, let sit for a few hours for the pollen to take. Then spray them down with water and throw them back in. The only dedicated tent I have for breeding is primarily for flowering out males. I'll use it the odd time for seeded females but typically only if I'm doing open pollination. Even last round I open pollinated a couple of females, left them in the breeding tent for ~4 weeks, then finished them in the flower room after spraying them down well to avoid cross pollinating the others.

JohnnyLawrence- very much appreciated, thank you.
GroErr- if that is the case, what light reccomended for females/seeds?

David Ferguson said:

JohnnyLawrence- very much appreciated, thank you.
GroErr- if that is the case, what light reccomended for females/seeds?

Click to expand...

Whatever best lighting you can afford, my preference are the COBs and CMH 315w and try to use those for females, if not available I'll use my older 3070 COBs.

If you have none of your primary flowering lights available or want to test the waters in a separate tent, I'd suggest the LED bulbs off the shelf over CFL's. Cheap and dirty and decent quality, also very cool so you can use a small tent with no heat issues. My dedicated breeding tent is 2x2x4'

At one point I used CFL's for seedlings and clones. I made a "panel" using $12 bathroom lighting fixtures with standard E27 bulb sockets rather than having a bunch of individual CFL's. This would work well for LED E27 bulbs and cheap.

I posted the build a few years back and it;'s still there. Same idea, just use LED bulbs
https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-cfl-panel-safely.752784/

To get pollen I'll often just cut a branch off a male and stick it in a glass of water under a 23w - 40w 2600K CFL in a box with tinfoil on the bottom to catch the pollen and dead flowers. That can go on a shelf in a closet somewhere far away from the grow room. No fan so the pollen doesn't blow around of course. The rest of the plant can go to the chickens. They love 'em.

Clean the pollen well, put it in a jar and dry it by putting that jar, open, in a larger one that has some kind of drying agent in it and seal up the large jar for a week at least to dry it well then seal the small jar. Should last for 6 months or so. May last longer if frozen but I've never bothered.

I have one in the bedroom closet now and need to set up another one yesterday for a couple or three branches from a different strain as I cull the males from my current SoG grow.

OldMedUser said:

To get pollen I'll often just cut a branch off a male and stick it in a glass of water under a 23w - 40w 2600K CFL in a box with tinfoil on the bottom to catch the pollen and dead flowers. That can go on a shelf in a closet somewhere far away from the grow room. No fan so the pollen doesn't blow around of course. The rest of the plant can go to the chickens. They love 'em.

Clean the pollen well, put it in a jar and dry it by putting that jar, open, in a larger one that has some kind of drying agent in it and seal up the large jar for a week at least to dry it well then seal the small jar. Should last for 6 months or so. May last longer if frozen but I've never bothered.

I have one in the bedroom closet now and need to set up another one yesterday for a couple or three branches from a different strain as I cull the males from my current SoG grow.

Click to expand...

Vostok had a post where he had done the same but for the branch being in a 2 liter with the bottom cut off. Branch went through a "seal" on the drinking end and it extended into the glass of water...

I saw that and thought..."Shit, I like that idea! I gotta try that one!" Who says us old dogs can't learn new trick's...
I also agree with OMU's 23-40w cfl for over the branch's. Do the drying thing and simply brush some pollen on a few buds pistils with a fine squirrel hair paintbrush - get that at an art or hobby store.....Do as much of the plant as you want....or need...