On Mar 18, 10:00*pm, "gunner" wrote:
"Bobo Bonobo®" wrote in message
...
I'm trying to get a head start on tomatoes and chiles. *I've heard
that incandescent lights, while not worthless, are not really adequate
to grow the seedlings for transplant. *The LED panels out there look
promising. *Comments?
Thanks,
--Bryan
Bryan, I bought 4 of the *LED *EBay model grow lights as an experiment
last year to supplement the CFLs in the nursery. *I was not impressed. *15 x
15 on a square foot
*panel, blue and red spectrum, each panel is about 12-15 *watts total, *they
appear older
generation LED, which despite the proper spectrum, *do not have the horse
power to be of value except maybe as supplemental light. The newest
generation LEDs are coming in at about 10 watts a piece, very spendy as yet
but offer the best promise of the technology. *What you see on EBay and some
of the Hydro stores appear unused
Christmas lights from China, *repackaged as grow lights and at very Starbuck
prices. *I would wait
a while yet to see when the prices are going to come down on LEDs with real
HP.
For nursery starters, I would stay with 40W fluorescents, but w/ *6500k
tubes, *about 10$
Where do you get 40w 6500k tubes for $10 a pair?
for pack of 2 vs. 4$ for2 of the 4000Ks at Home Depot. *The CFLs in the
range of 85-150
watts are nice, *but again you are back at more watts/lumens. Watch to
ensure overlapping area coverage in any
light system and think about the law of inverse square . *I would again
consider 6500K bulbs in as high a wattage
as you can in CFLs. *Then turn them out to play in the sun to save $$$s..
The 54w *HD T5 link below is a nice *system for starters and growing to term
for even most flowering plants.http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com...g_fixtures_35_...
these are 2-3 times less than similiar setups at the Hydro and Gardening
stores.
If you do buy them, *please *let me know the particuliars and how you do
with them.
I'm using the 14w, 12" x 12" one to raise tomato and chile seedlings.
The first thing I noticed is that under that light, while the
surrounding area is illuminated, the cotyledons appear almost black,
as if they are reflecting almost none of the light. Above, you
mentioned the inverse square law. That is an advantage because you
can put the plant 1/2" from the panel, as they put out very little
heat. A coworker gave me a 4', 2 lamp growlight, and another that
just has regular tubes in it. They are standard fixtures. Replacing
those with the above mentioned 6500k would be nice if I really could
get them for ~$10. If I could just grow tomatoes for my own household
in Winter and Spring, I'd be pretty happy.
Is this what I need?
http://www.1000bulbs.com/F40T12-Full...inition/33923/
Thank you.
gunner
--Bryan