LED Grow Lights Update

[JWFilips]

Hi Folks I know some here wanted to hear updates about my new LED Grow lights for starting garden seeds.
Well I got 2- 4 foot 2 light fixtures from Amazon AntLux LED Fixtures
I Hung them side by side to create a 4 tube array to replace my ancient, big, heavy 4 tube 4 foot fixture. Which produces heat So It is an energy hog! Considering my lights are on for 16 hours a day the estimated savings is 75% for the LED's
I started 8 -6 cell flats February 23 ( one week before March 1st) They are on Seed starting heat mats... They are my chillies & Pepper seeds and the lights are 1" away from the flats ( the tubes emit no heat!) Today it is 10 days since sowing & I have about 98% germination!
Outside of the eerie color of the fixtures lights which I hate, I would have to say they are right on par with my old set up but so much easier to set up because it is about a 80% weight difference! I also have 2 -6cell flats of Broccoli I started in early February in the kitchen window doing great in the strange light! Tomato seeds will be started on March 8th so we will see how they do.
The strange thing about the blue/red Led's is I can't measure the light output with my photographic Light meter on the LUX setting like I could with the old fashion Fluorescent lights! And another thing old lights were diffused while the LEDs are Direct That makes it hard to tell the dryness of the flats when I check them morning and evening! That is the worst complaint I have...but I get around that with turning on the room lights.
Below a Photo which is hard to take with the intensity of the light

 

[hporter]

Thank you for the link and the review. My wife's orchid grow lights that I bought at Costco years ago are starting to fail. Of course the bulbs are not replaceable. These might be a fine replacement for them.

 

[JWFilips]

That Company ( AntLux) sells the tubes also for these fixture but they say they last 25 years! The do not have ballasts in the lights.
So We shall see! They also sell smaller units as 12" square for growing house plants

 

[hporter]

We stored our pepper plants from the nursery under her lights while we waited for the last of February to pass. That is usually the safe date in Houston to put your peppers outside. It always surprises me how much growth a plant can put on indoors under these types of lights.

Some of the peppers are a good 10" tall already since we put them in the ground. She's got 4 or 5 habanero's going and I have a few tabasco and Thai chili's growing strong now.

It warmed up too fast for her watermelon radishes and they got woody and bolted like crazy. Still crossing our fingers that our Texas 1015's and Texas Legend onions will have time to mature before the warmer weather in April puts and end to that season too.

 

[JWFilips]

I'm In northeastern PA Can't put peppers or Tomatoes in until the end of May. My plants are about 12" tall by then but I pot them up into 3" pots in April

 

[fiver]

mine don't go out till about the 4th of July.

i know exactly what you mean about the light making your eyes weird out for a bit... looking in there and walking out side is about like you'd imagine the world looks like on mushrooms or something.

and not being able to tell if the dirt is dry or not under them... yeah, i just started watering at night after the lights go out.

 

[Farmerjim]

Onions are in the beds and growing, I will harvest the turnips and rutabaga in a few minutes, cabbage in about a week. Tomato, pepper, and eggplants are outside in the sun under an agrabon 19 cover. average last frost is in about a week.
If the 10 day forecast does not show a possible frost, I will put them all in the ground.
I have about a hundred plants still under the grow lights.
I am late with the tomatoes this year. I usually plant them Feb. 15 covered with Agrabon 30 floating row cover. In 30 years of doing this, I have only lost them twice to a cold snap.
Agrabon 30 will protect the plants down to 27 deg. , 26 and they are dead.

 

[JWFilips]

OK . Another update..... Peppers and Chilies are thriving & Tomatoes starting to hatch!
All in allI, I say I'm happy with the switch. The only 2 things I miss is the diffused lighting from the old Fluorescent tubes & The additional ambient heat around the Seedlings. I Upped the basement temps a bit to compensate & to keep the ambient 70 degrees I do not want to put a diffuser on the fixtures because it may cut down on the intensity of light! I'm sure I'm saving energy with the lighting but Increasing the ambient on the floor board electric fixture may negate that ! (?)

 

[fiver]

they grow a little slower under the LED's.
i'm positive it's because they ain't trying to grow a little leggy like they do under the flouro's.
look at the deeper green color..

 

[JWFilips]

Well I'm thinking: I would say the LED lights are like Electric Cars....Efficient and they get the job done However there is something to be said for the Old Fluorescent lights; They are brighter, Certain Plant seeds like them better ( Types of Tomatoes) and of course they waste energy in the process.
I guess I'm just an old fashion guy! I had zero germination on some species of Chillies and On some of my hybrid Tomato seeds they are trying to grow horizontal instead of upright! But 85% of the seedlings are doing fine.

 

[L Ross]

Well I'm thinking: I would say the LED lights are like Electric Cars....Efficient and they get the job done However there is something to be said for the Old Fluorescent lights; They are brighter, Certain Plant seeds like them better ( Types of Tomatoes) and of course they waste energy in the process.
I guess I'm just an old fashion guy! I had zero germination on some species of Chillies and On some of my hybrid Tomato seeds they are trying to grow horizontal instead of upright! But 85% of the seedlings are doing fine.

Oh oh, chile germination problems.

 

[JWFilips]

Just The Rain Forests (Capsicum bacattum) They are a strange genus

 

[fiver]

i've been having tomato problems too.
they come up then a couple of days later they just disappear.... happened three times now with three different types of starting soil.
i've never had a problem with getting a tomato to grow.

 

[JWFilips]

Hard to tell that problem.....Damping off would leave the seedling rotting on the soil.
How about a mouse or mole? Even a small bird perhaps....sound like they are being pulled out of the soil.
Last night I went to take my well developed Broccoli plants off the from window ( They were in the house yesterday because the night temps got below 25 deg) Saw that 3 of the biggest ones were totally defoliated since I looked at them at noon!
The blame has been place on our big Orange Tabby , Tangi .....She snuck onto the window sill and devoured the greens.
Why is she the suspect, well she can eat a bag of arugula in one sitting and just loves leafy greens!

 

[popper]

Think I have the only dog that likes asparagus and potatoes.

 

[fiver]

mine will eat asparagus raw, but you gotta cook the taters.
they will pull peas off the vine and eat only the seeds if given a chance though.

i'm wondering if it isn't some type of insect.
the barely started artichoke plant has some chewed on leaves on it this morning.
i can't find anything like a caterpillar though... maybe a cut worm made it through winter in one of the bags of soil?
never seen one around here though.

 

[JonB]

I had one cat that would eat watermelon.




Windy (the Tabby-Tortie) was only smelling, not eating.

 

[JWFilips]

I like your cats!

 

[blackthorn]

I had a cat that was crazy about green, stuffed olives. He would grab your hand and eat the olive from between our fingers.

 

[L Ross]

I had a cat that was crazy about green, stuffed olives. He would grab your hand and eat the olive from between our fingers.

We had one that wanted the pimentos from the green olives. Nuts about them.