Journal October 7, 20`2

The cucumbers in the tent are sending out tendrils looking for something to climb, so I anchored a piece of twine in the pot and tied the other end to a support bar.  The lower lateral branches will be allowed grow along the floor of the tent.

When grown in the greenhouse, the leaves on the lower portion of the plants are fairly small, however, when grown under lights, all of the leaves tend to be of equal size.  The reason being: in the greenhouse, the light intensity drops off after the light passes through the glazing.  With the base of the plant almost on the floor, the intensity is reduced considerably by the time it reaches the lower leaves.  As the plants grow and climb the suports, the leaves and fruit tend to be much larger as they get closer to the glazing.  When using the grow lights; the lights are raised as the plants grow, so the level is pretty much consistent as they develop.

When I walk into the greenhouse on a sunny day, my eyes do not notice much of a difference in light intensity, but if I were to measure the levels the difference would be very apparent.