On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:43:06 +0000, northwards
wrote:


Hi everybody

I'm new to these forums but I've been lurking for a while and they look
really informative. I live in the Cairngorm Mountains, in Aberdeenshire,
in Scotland, so the gardening conditions can be challenging, to say the
least

Because light levels here aren't great in the spring, I've always
started my seedlings off under grow-lamps. Does anybody have any
experience of the new LED grow-lamps, or do most people use the usual
high-intensity bulbs or fluorescent lights?

Any advice or opinions will be gratefully received!

I found a 400w metal halide lamp at a sale a few years back and though
it's more expensive to run it's another world compared to my old grow
lamps. With the grow lamps the lights had to be so close to the plants
that variations in seedling hight messed things up and when plants got
bigger the lower leaves didn't get enough light. None of that with the
pot farm light. No more spindley tomatoes.

northwards said:



Hi everybody

I'm new to these forums but I've been lurking for a while and they look
really informative. I live in the Cairngorm Mountains, in Aberdeenshire,
in Scotland, so the gardening conditions can be challenging, to say the
least

Because light levels here aren't great in the spring, I've always
started my seedlings off under grow-lamps. Does anybody have any
experience of the new LED grow-lamps, or do most people use the usual
high-intensity bulbs or fluorescent lights?

I replaced a metal halide lamp with a (very expensive) high intensity LED
light which uses a lot less power. My seed starting area is roughly
3' x3' (or 1m x1m) and lined with reflective mylar. I added a second,
smaller, and less expensive LED panel near the back wall of the box part
way through the process.

My plants were much stockier, most likely do to the lower heat.

This winter I hung the smaller panel in the window where I overwinter
my orchid, in place of the small florescent fixture I was using. It's doing
better than ever.

My very expensive light:
http://www.superled.net/ledgrowlights.html

My less expensive light:
http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/pro...c?productId=10

Just be advised that the plants will look strange under these lights, almost
black.

My verdict: they work, are admirably suited to growing in a small area
that won't fit long florescent fixtures or are prone to overheating with
high-output metal halide lamps.

But they are very pricey to buy.

On the other hand, they use far less power than any other option and
should suffer only minimal output loss over a very long life, with no
need for replacement lamps.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

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