Veggie Garden Lights ...

[MostlyH2O]

Hi Folks,

We have a decorative herb and vegetable garden in the front of our house. I recently put a few of those dim, solar powered lights in the garden to make it look nice in the evening.

Does this sound like a bad idea? The lights are VERY dim. But I wondered if it would attract bugs. Or if the night-lights would mess with the plant growth. They put out far less light than a quarter moon, but ya never know.

Does anyone have an opinion about accent lighting in the veggetable garden?

Thanks very much,

Jack Coletti St. Petersburg, FL

[Doug Kanter]

Don't worry about whether they'll affect plant growth. If there's an effect, it'll be minor.

As far as bugs, you said you already installed the lights. They're right in front of you. You can observe what's happening. How would we be able to answer the bug question better than you, if we're not there?

[Bill R]

Jack,

I have used solar lights in my garden (plants and vegetables) for years and I have never noticed any change (or problems) in plant growth. As you said they are dim and really don't give off enough light to change growth patterns. Around here, bugs aren't a problem either (they might be in your area, Florida has a LOT of bugs). The biggest problem that I have with the solar lights is that the kids steal them. Last year they managed to make off with 6 of them. No matter how good I secure them they manage to get a few of them every year. You might want to consider that when adding them.

[MostlyH2O]

It did occur to me that someone would bring this up :-) I thought, maybe there could be some bugs later in the evening when I'm not looking - or later in the year - and I don't realize it until too late. Guess I'll wait and see .

Thanks, Jack

[MostlyH2O]

Little rascals! I got mine for $4 each - so I can afford reasonable attrition :)

Thanks for the tip, Jack

[Doug Kanter]

Jack, I'm sorry if my response seemed severe, but I have real problems with people who choose to rely on the observations of others, versus what they have the ability, time and energy to see for themselves. Notice the word "choose". I had a biology teacher in high school, in 1967, who would've literally killed us if we asked questions like yours. We were expected to conduct experiments without outside assistance.

[myrl_jeffcoat]

Absolutely gorgeous pictures on your webpages Bill. . .What kind of camera did you take them with?

Myrl Jeffcoat (Sacramento, California)

[Snooze]

How could the light from an battery powered LED alter the plant's growth's rate? If it could we'd be really concerned about plants growing in cities where they are being bombarded by reflected light pollution. Can you even see anything beyond the brightest stars at night in major urban areas?

What insects are attracted to light and are also a threat to plants? Snails, slugs, and catepillars seem to do far more damage then anything flying around the porch light.

If you think it looks nice, why should you care about what some guy on the internet thinks.

-S

[MostlyH2O]

Our skies range from a magnitude 3 to 4. Not bad for the west coast of Florida. The street light probably sheds about as much light on the garden as the accent lights.

Very good point.

Thanks! Jack