Basil seedlings under a 200-watt LED grow light develop distorted
leaves...I've tried either/both "Veg" and "Bloom" modes (separate
strings of LEDs; different spectra). Only one of the lights I have is
dimmable, which takes us to the next question:
Is there a listing of recommended lux levels for different plants? I'm
guessing hydroponic/greenhouse growers must have something like this,
but I seem to not be asking Gooble the right questions.
TIA
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fingerprint = E2 6F 50 93 7B C7 F3 CA 1F 8B 3C C0 B0 28 68

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On 09/03/2021 19:13, Gary Woods wrote:
Basil seedlings under a 200-watt LED grow light develop distorted
leaves...I've tried either/both "Veg" and "Bloom" modes (separate
strings of LEDs; different spectra). Only one of the lights I have is
dimmable, which takes us to the next question:
Is there a listing of recommended lux levels for different plants? I'm
guessing hydroponic/greenhouse growers must have something like this,
but I seem to not be asking Gooble the right questions.

LED grow light sets off alarm bells for me.

IIRC the reason why plants are green is that they reflect the green, and
make use of the red and the blue (human eyes see only those three colours).

LEDs are famous for having discontinuous spectra. Often they produce
only two wavelengths of light, one in the blue, and one somewhere
between red and green that we with our terrible eyes call yellow.

Whether these are any good for photosynthesis is another matter entirely...

A "grow light" _ought_ to be better, but I wouldn't count on it.

Your local drugs squad may be able to advise - I've heard there are a
lot of indoor cannabis farms!

Andy

On 09/03/2021 19:13, Gary Woods wrote:
Basil seedlings under a 200-watt LED grow light develop distorted
leaves...I've tried either/both "Veg" and "Bloom" modes (separate
strings of LEDs; different spectra). Only one of the lights I have is
dimmable, which takes us to the next question:
Is there a listing of recommended lux levels for different plants? I'm
guessing hydroponic/greenhouse growers must have something like this,
but I seem to not be asking Gooble the right questions.
TIA

Have you got anything else growing in that compost? I'm wondering if it
has been contaminated with lows levels of a herbicide like aminopyralid.

--

Jeff

On Tue, 9 Mar 2021 21:59:31 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

Have you got anything else growing in that compost? I'm wondering if it
has been contaminated with lows levels of a herbicide like aminopyralid.

I mostly use "Pro Mix," U.S./Canadian product. Pretty much everything
else does fine in it, under the same light. Tomatos, Leeks, Tuberous
Begonia cuttings and seedlings. The light I'm using has a number of
colors in series string, including IR. Look up "Vipar Spectra;"
Chinese made so probably widely available, perhaps under various
names.
--
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fingerprint = E2 6F 50 93 7B C7 F3 CA 1F 8B 3C C0 B0 28 68

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On 09/03/2021 22:26, Gary Woods wrote:
On Tue, 9 Mar 2021 21:59:31 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:

Have you got anything else growing in that compost? I'm wondering if it
has been contaminated with lows levels of a herbicide like aminopyralid.

I mostly use "Pro Mix," U.S./Canadian product. Pretty much everything
else does fine in it, under the same light. Tomatos, Leeks, Tuberous
Begonia cuttings and seedlings. The light I'm using has a number of
colors in series string, including IR. Look up "Vipar Spectra;"
Chinese made so probably widely available, perhaps under various
names.

I first played around with with "Grow-lamps" around 40 years ago (240W
MBT), and later with a 13W fluorescent. That's my total experience, so I
never used leds. Reading some articles suggests there's been quite an
improvement, but there's maybe a way to go. FWIW I don't remember
getting leaf damage with the very inefficient MBT lamp (which produced a
lot of heat), but it was a long time ago!

I see there are some reports of leaf damage due to overheating (see Myth
#14 at https://www.gardenmyths.com/18-led-grow-light-myths/), but that
doesn't sound like your problem. There's some discussion here as to
whether it's due to heat or something else:
https://growdiaries.com/grow-questions/538-does-the-leaf-curling-mean-lights-are-too-close


If you've still got some basil seeds from the same packet and the same
batch/bag of compost it would be of interest to try a comparison of
led-assisted and non led-assisted growth to see what happens.

--

Jeff

On 09/03/2021 21:45, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 09/03/2021 19:13, Gary Woods wrote:
Basil seedlings under a 200-watt LED grow light develop distorted
leaves...I've tried either/both "Veg" and "Bloom" modes (separate
strings of LEDs; different spectra). Only one of the lights I have is
dimmable, which takes us to the next question:
Is there a listing of recommended lux levels for different plants? I'm
guessing hydroponic/greenhouse growers must have something like this,
but I seem to not be asking Gooble the right questions.

LED grow light sets off alarm bells for me.

IIRC the reason why plants are green is that they reflect the green, and
make use of the red and the blue (human eyes see only those three colours).

LEDs are famous for having discontinuous spectra. Often they produce
only two wavelengths of light, one in the blue, and one somewhere
between red and green that we with our terrible eyes call yellow.

And of course plants also like ultraviolet...which LEDS don't normally
produce.

Whether these are any good for photosynthesis is another matter entirely...

A "grow light" _ought_ to be better, but I wouldn't count on it.

Your local drugs squad may be able to advise - I've heard there are a
lot of indoor cannabis farms!

Indeed. same thought sprang to my mind

Andy


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If I had all the money I've spent on drink...
...I'd spend it on drink.

Sir Henry (at Rawlinson's End)