Grow light questions
 

My first time growing seeds has made me wonder why I waited so long to try this. My started plants (Tomato & pepper) are doing great, I know things can change quickly. I went with a CFL for my grow light 100watt equivalent with 1,600 lumens & 6,500 kelvin for my small set up its more than proven to me that its very capable. Yeah I saw the LED bulbs but there were so many and so many claims I was overwhelmed and didn't know what was good and what wasn't, so I decided to go with what was recommended by the video I saw from the "Rusted Garden" So why can't a white 100 or 150 watt equivalent LED do the job, everything I see says you need red & blue leds to really get good results. So school me people will white LED's work or are multi color LED's the only way to get stocky seedlings. The white LED"S are much cheaper. And if your going to make recommendations could you give me brand name of the bulb... Thanks

This will give you all the answers your looking for and maybe more. Happy gardening.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPAy79_Kh-o[/url]


This part will show actual results of the lights in a side by side test. [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HawgP5SXPko[/url]

I had to turn off both videos, too much babble.

I use 2- 4ft, shop lights with daylight bulbs and have great success.No need to spend a lot of money.But everyone has their own methods.Use what works best for you.:)Used a heat mat this year to start my pepper seeds..I find my tomato seeds germinate fine at room temperature.

I won't say that white led will not work at all, but take a look at the spectrum of light that is visible to plants, in the graph below, and you can see why grow lights are not white. However, it should be noted that seedlings have such low light requirements, it may not matter. The chart below would be most applicable when growing plants to maturity.

[IMG]https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-bc84a795dae6871555eb8c9d6a84a483[/IMG]

Great video Tiny Tim it answered my question and I'll look into getting a regular white LED bulb because for my tiny grow box set up a reg.screw in bulb will more than cover the need. Cole Robbie I'm just starting seeds that will be planted outdoors in about 10wks so the red/blue LED's wont be needed. And cjp1953 the 4ft. shop lights while nice for most folks just wont work for my small set up. The Set up I have will allow me a max of 24 started plants more than enough for my grow bag garden with a several left over for my neighbors grow bag garden. Now my only concern is with LED's are lumens or kelvin numbers more important? What would be a minimum number I should consider when looking for a LED bulb? I know the CFL I'm using now has 1,600 lumens and 6,500 kelvin, but I don't know if those same numbers that work for the CFL's would be the numbers I'd want in the LED's so any advice here would be welcome... Thanks!

The white lights have a greater spectrum or “full spectrum” when compared to the “blurple” grow led lights.

I agree with others though, they’re not necessary for seedlings. Some T8 in 6500k should do just fine. The led T8 bulbs are fine also, just make sure to get the higher kelvin rating. 5000+. I’ve grown plants to maturity using the LEDs @ 3500K with no problem even.


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okay guys this will explain my situation and what I use better than I've been able to, my grow box is a plastic 18gal.tote here.a video that shows you exactly what I use. And while what you've shown me is awesome it just wont work for the tiny grow box I use. What I need to know is do they make a LED regular size light bulb that can be used as a grow light? here's the video... [URL="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F6e4P53TdW-8&h=ATMXz8i0mzNX9uyuTDyh2J6nC3FoO7Z-j5UabGacnN4GdwypSRSsYhmbJbHKerXRhkMo2t4zboBZW2pseE-6KrRzHmcHNWHN6l0YxQ_5-o91n9Ac"]https://youtu.be/6e4P53TdW-8[/URL]

I found the answer guys & gals, found what I was looking for I went to my local Menards building supply store and they had just what I was looking for. Sylvania has 100 watt daylight equivalent A21 LED it has 1,600 lumens and 5,000 kelvin for 7.49 thanks for trying to help me this will do the job for my little grow box.

Do yourself a favor, get rid of the foil, spray paint the inside of the box flat white with plastic spray paint like krylon fusion and get rid of the reflector on the lamp.

Worth1 I think your making a good point and if my grow box was larger that would be an option, howeverI'm using a small CFL so the foil allows me the best reflective option. Paint is great but foil IMO is a better option, I use the reflector for the same reason it directs all the light where its needed on the plants. I wanted to try growing seeds and I didn't want to spend a lot because I don't need a lot, as it is the 20 or so seedlings I have started now of tomatoes & peppers are more than I can use in my grow bag system,I'll be giving some to my neighbor who also uses grow bags. Neither of us has room for a regular garden, So the tiny grow box I'm using will probably be what I'll be using in the future, its more than big enough for me.

[QUOTE=Jetstar;689972]Worth1 I think your making a good point and if my grow box was larger that would be an option, howeverI'm using a small CFL so the foil allows me the best reflective option. Paint is great but foil IMO is a better option, I use the reflector for the same reason it directs all the light where its needed on the plants. I wanted to try growing seeds and I didn't want to spend a lot because I don't need a lot, as it is the 20 or so seedlings I have started now of tomatoes & peppers are more than I can use in my grow bag system,I'll be giving some to my neighbor who also uses grow bags. Neither of us has room for a regular garden, So the tiny grow box I'm using will probably be what I'll be using in the future, its more than big enough for me.[/QUOTE]

If you are not stuck due to physical limitations, flat white paint is a better choice, foil/polished chrome will not reflect as much total light but will reflect more heat.

double post, sorry

Been a common misconception that foil is the way to go.
When flat white is the choice of people in the know.

You have to be really careful with what you buy because of so much misinformation and sales gimmicks that just dont hold water.
I cant think of any logical reason a person would want to use anything other than 6500K for lights.
The whole red spectrum thing is hog wash because the 6500K bright daylight mimics the light from the noon day sun.
It has every color spectrum you need and many you dont need.
I have had plants start to bloom under it with no problems what so ever.

This is yet more stuff the plant grow suppliers will sell you to get you to spend more money.

Light sensitive plants dont start blooming because of light color change they bloom due to the amount of light they get.
as in total hours.
Or to be more exact the amount of uninterrupted darkness.

This is why most people never see a jade plant bloom.
Someone turns on a light at night and resets the timer of darkness.
The same for poinsettias too.
It just so happens this takes place in the fall with more red light due to the sun being lower in the horizon filtering out more of the light in the atmosphere.


Now we can move on to reflector shape.
Look up focal point and it will lead you in the right direction.
Like in an amphitheater and its sweet spot.

Using this it will allow you to concentrate that light in any given spot by not wasting it by having energy bouncing in all directions an a square box.

This is why I suggested to remove the reflector it is shading the light from reaching all of the plants in the small box.

Worth

When you explain it like this it makes sense to me, thanks for the follow up.

Walmart has the 4foot 6500k t8 bulbs $7.88 for a 2 pack.

[QUOTE=slugworth;691436]Walmart has the 4foot 6500k t8 bulbs $7.88 for a 2 pack.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like the daylight bulbs I bought only it was at Lowes.I use to have a few planted aquariums that had low light plants in them.Plants did great and I replace the bulbs every 6 months because the bulbs lose their light spectrum.You can't see it and the fish don't mind but other signs appear.I tried to use these older bulbs light bulbs I had laying around when I started growing my tomato and pepper plants.The plants suffered until I used new bulbs.Now I have the older ones over my drill press and band saw.:)

Last year I used a mix of 5000k and 6500k t8 with good results.
The trays don't have to be close to the lights.
I just switched to 6500k both bulbs in the fixture to see how that works.

I'm glad I didn't trash my old T8 fixtures after comparing with shoplight 4000K LEDs. LEDs have been great for greens without any input of natural light, but they are a problem for tomato seedlings. The narrowband spectrum of LED is harder for them to use, afaict, and the problem of tomato edema under LED's is well documented as I linked up in another recent thread. OTOH my repaired T8 fixtures with new 6500 K bulbs are definitely doing the job. I have tried 4000 and 5000K to compare but I always liked the 6500 K better, all my plants have responded better than other color temps.

Hello All -

I actually have my new seedlings under LED lamps setup....prior, I was using traditional CFL grow lamps. My LED lamps are insanely bright - has 3 dimmer adjustability for seedling mode, veg mode, and lastly bloom mode. Aside from Intensity, I still need to play with the settings, but I believe is the seedling mode puts out more white/blue and when I turn the veg mode, it turns on my Red Leds These new lamps also have COB leds.

NO clue what these do but I wanted to try something different this year with the new lights just to see what effect it would have...

Too early to tell.

I will say this. The annual Vinca's I've started is loved these LEDS at full blast. I have about 90 plugs going in right now and they are leafing out like gangbusters

Okay guys hearing about your 4ft. grow lights is kinda hijacking my thread if you read my original post I was asking for recommendations on what LED light bulb would work for my 18 gallon tote I converted to a small grow box. I'm happy to say I did find an LED 100watt equivalent bulb that offers 6,500 lumens and 5,000 kelvin. I think based on what I've read this should serve my needs. So if you want to comment on wht I found or if you have a better choice on what will work for my small grow box set up... Great!!

But please I didn't ask or want to hear about 4ft. florescent or LED grow lights, there nice but they'll never work for my small set up... Thanks for understanding.

clf 6500k
I put them in clamp light fixtures.
[url]https://www.feit.com/products/bulbs/general-purpose/compact-fluorescenttwistsesl40tn-d/[/url]

Slugworth Thanks for your recommendation, I'm using 100watt equivalent CFL bulb with 1,600 lumens & 6,500 kelvin. Your bulb has a lot more lumens "2800" does that make a big difference or is what I'm using gonna be ok?

[QUOTE=Worth1;690995]Been a common misconception that foil is the way to go.
When flat white is the choice of people in the know.

You have to be really careful with what you buy because of so much misinformation and sales gimmicks that just dont hold water.
I cant think of any logical reason a person would want to use anything other than 6500K for lights.
The whole red spectrum thing is hog wash because the 6500K bright daylight mimics the light from the noon day sun.
It has every color spectrum you need and many you dont need.
I have had plants start to bloom under it with no problems what so ever.

This is yet more stuff the plant grow suppliers will sell you to get you to spend more money.

Light sensitive plants dont start blooming because of light color change they bloom due to the amount of light they get.
as in total hours.
Or to be more exact the amount of uninterrupted darkness.

This is why most people never see a jade plant bloom.
Someone turns on a light at night and resets the timer of darkness.
The same for poinsettias too.
It just so happens this takes place in the fall with more red light due to the sun being lower in the horizon filtering out more of the light in the atmosphere.


Now we can move on to reflector shape.
Look up focal point and it will lead you in the right direction.
Like in an amphitheater and its sweet spot.

Using this it will allow you to concentrate that light in any given spot by not wasting it by having energy bouncing in all directions an a square box.

This is why I suggested to remove the reflector it is shading the light from reaching all of the plants in the small box.

Worth[/QUOTE]

Another issue with the foil is it can cause "hot spots" on your plant. This is because it is almost impossible to get foil flat without creases. Flat white is better because of ease and cleaning. You can wipe your walls down with a wet rag. And if the paint gets dirty...throw on another coat!:yes:

[QUOTE=Jetstar;691622]Slugworth Thanks for your recommendation, I'm using 100watt equivalent CFL bulb with 1,600 lumens & 6,500 kelvin. Your bulb has a lot more lumens "2800" does that make a big difference or is what I'm using gonna be ok?[/QUOTE]
I am using the same thing you are using because I got a good deal on a six pack The 2800 is just the 150w equivalent.Stick with the 100 w

Slugworth thanks for the straight answer !!

Grow light questions
 

Most white LED lights work similarly to fluorescent lights in how they produce white light. If you look at the LED when the light is off, if it looks like a yellow plastic material it works like fluorescent. Meaning the LED itself is producing light in the blue or ultraviolet spectrum. Then they put a phosphor coating on them (the yellow plastic bit in LED or the white powder inside a fluoro tube) that gets excited by the blue/UV light and emits a different color of light that we can see. Different phosphors used will give off different wavelengths of light, so a mixture is formulated to give out a mix of wavelengths that average out to the 2700k, 5000k, etc colors that are marked on the packaging. White LED tend to have a more continuous spectrum of light than Fluorescent, which has more concentrated spikes at certain wavelengths.

Of course there are other white LED like philips hue that combine red/green/blue leds to give off light that looks white, and these will just have spikes at red/green/blue instead of the continuous spectrum.

Then there are the grow light leds that are a combo of blue/red diodes that obviously are concentrated on those very specific points in the spectrum.

So my takeaway after reading a lot about this is that fluorescent lighting produces light that is somewhere in between the discrete spikes of the blue/red led arrays and the more continuous white LEDs. All three work well for growing seedlings, so no need to worry too much about which type to go with. If incandescent bulbs didnt put off so much heat relative to the amount if light they give off they would probably work fine too.

Just one more thing, white LED can “burn” your plants if you use too much power too close to the plants. They can pack a lot of power into a very small concentrated space, so be aware of that if you are using them. You may not want them directly on top of your plants like a fluorescent tube if they are strong lights.

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Nabardo My brother lives in 2 miles from Warsaw 1/2 block from the Osage. Enjoyed the read about LED's, what I'm using now is a 100watt equivalent Sylvania LED 6,500 kelvin 1,600 lumen my plants seem to like it. The light is 4-1/2" from the seedlings, I've been using this light for just over a week. I was using a CFL with the same kelvin & lumen as the LED, some have said the growth I've seen in the last week was because I re-potted the plants 2 weeks ago. Maybe so but I thought it was the LED that caused the growth spurt, no matter just glad their growing well, is 4-1/2" okay distance wise? Just don't want to screw things up. :?!?:

Its probably fine. If you notice any of the leaves turning white on top you know its too close. This happened to me this year with a couple seedlings. I ran out of room under my shop lights so i set up this tripod led work light i use to light up the yard at night sometimes. I set it about a foot away and after 2 or 3 days one of my potato leaf plants started showing signs of scorching. So i moved it to about 3 feet and all is well. But this thing puts out a lot of light... cant remember off hand but i think its something like 3000 lumens and there isnt a diffuser to soften it at all.


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Thanks!!