My self watering pipe pot setup w/ capillary mat

[ASFx2600]

Here's how i've been starting my seeds. It's been working great. I bought 10ft lengths of 3" ABS pipe, then cut it up into 4" tall segments. I then use them as bottomless pots which are sitting on a capillary mat with a water reservoir under them. The soil in the pots stays just perfectly moist all the time. Not too much, not too little. They stay here under my LED lights for 6-8 weeks until they go out into the garden. The only thing I have to do is refill the water reservoir about once every week.

[Timmah!]

Very nice setup! Are those 45's?

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by Timmah!

Very nice setup! Are those 45's?

Yup they are the GlowPanel 45 model. I've found them to be great for growing the seedlings until they're ready to go outside. I also have a fan blowing on the shelf for ventilation.

[OkieJason]

That's a nice looking rig! Please show us a picture of a seedling right before you put it in the garden. I've been thinking about led lighting for starting them out. Build it once and never have to build it again! Very intrested to see if the seedlings get all stocky under leds?

Thinking about a fall garden....

Thanks
Jason

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by OkieJason

That's a nice looking rig! Please show us a picture of a seedling right before you put it in the garden. I've been thinking about led lighting for starting them out. Build it once and never have to build it again! Very intrested to see if the seedlings get all stocky under leds?

Thinking about a fall garden....

Thanks
Jason

There's actually some video from last week where you can see come plants i had grown under the lights. John Kohler from youtube wanted to come visit me and show my new garden to his viewers. I planted them outside just after the video was made. There's a tomato, some peppers, marigolds, and sage. You'll see the peppers are slightly wilted in the video because they got neglected for several days while i built all the raised beds im my previous thread. They're outside in the garden now and doing just fine.

You can see my LED light setup in the first part of his 3 part video series about 4 minutes in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPk40617Kwc

And here are parts 2 and 3 if you'd like to see more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPh8_OwkKZc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1FQFRAZJS8

[Timmah!]

Watched the first video. Plants look really healthy with the nice setup you have. Was thinking, when you mentioned the mylar: you could use some thick corrugated cardboard or thin paneling to which you could affix the mylar and simply stand it on the open side.

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by Timmah!

Watched the first video. Plants look really healthy with the nice setup you have. Was thinking, when you mentioned the mylar: you could use some thick corrugated cardboard or thin paneling to which you could affix the mylar and simply stand it on the open side.

I thought about doing something like that, but i like being able to look at my plants all the time as I walk by my shelf

[Timmah!]

I hear ya man. Several times a day I go to the garden and check on my plants on my days off & before & after work. I'm wondering: how long have you had the glow panels, & how many leds or rows have gone out on them?

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by Timmah!

I hear ya man. Several times a day I go to the garden and check on my plants on my days off & before & after work. I'm wondering: how long have you had the glow panels, & how many leds or rows have gone out on them?

I've only had the Glow panels for a couple months now. I used them to start my first batch of seeds this summer in peat pellets before i got my pipe pots all set up. I have a total of 8 glow panels. None of them have burnt out bulbs. They are supposed to last quite a long time. Something like 10+ years. Each one uses only 28 watts of power too. My entire shelf of 8 glow panels uses only 224 watts of power which is about the same as a single 4ft/4 bulb T5 florescent light fixture.

[OkieJason]

Thanks for the videos! I'm going to build a LED rack, I have been a big fan on LEDs for a long time. I think most of us would like LOW heat, low cost on power bill. OH yeah, and LED's last forever if you don't over volt/amp them. How much did your grow panels cost?

Thanks,
Jason

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by OkieJason

Thanks for the videos! I'm going to build a LED rack, I have been a big fan on LEDs for a long time. I think most of us would like LOW heat, low cost on power bill. OH yeah, and LED's last forever if you don't over volt/amp them. How much did your grow panels cost?

Thanks,
Jason

The GlowPanels were a significant expense up front, about $115 each on amazon. I bought 8 of them. They definitely pay for themselves in the long run though. All 8 of them use a total of 224 watts, which is nearly half the power usage of a single 400 watt HPS/HID fixture. if i had gone with the normal 4 bulb T5 fixtures for each shelf, then they'd be using 216 watts per shelf (864 watts total), or nearly 400% of the power consumption.

[OkieJason]

400% is a lot, not to mention if you had T5's you know how hot that would get?
Hot! Its so hot where you are, are you going to use any shade cloth / or mister combo on your raised beds?

[ASFx2600]

Originally Posted by OkieJason

400% is a lot, not to mention if you had T5's you know how hot that would get?
Hot! Its so hot where you are, are you going to use any shade cloth / or mister combo on your raised beds?

For my tomato bed, the plan is to use reflective mylar film as a mulch, combined with netafim sub-surface drip line, about 2 inches below the surface. They have built in emitters every 12 inches, and i'm running three of them down the length of my beds, 12 inches apart.

I do have some shade cloth which i'll use to cut up into 1x1 squares, then i'll fold them in half and place them over groups of tomatoes which aren't already shaded by the leaves. As long as I use heat tolerant varieties, the leaves don't actually need any shade, just the tomatoes. In vegas we don't prune the tomato plants during the summer because it just gets too hot. They just sprawl along the top of the mylar film where it's cooler. They need all the shade and humidity they can get. I wont be using misters, because it uses too much water and evaporates almost immediately, so it has limited benefit.

[Mischka]

First rate setup you have there. As LEDs overtake CFLs as the predominant indoor lighting source, it shouldn't be too long before they become less expensive. ( I hope!)

[OkieJason]

ASFx: thank you for the response. You have inspired me!

Mischka, When I get the led light project completed I will post on a new thread. Hopefully your wish of "low cost leds" will be realized then.... If your willing to solder a few wires together . I worked in electronic warfare shop for the USAF for 3 yrs, even considering becoming and EE. Might as well put some of that experience to good use besides installing new light fixtures around the house.

Jason