IKEA Cultivation LEDs - Page 2

PureHarvest · January 3, 2017

My experience with indoor lighting would indicate you can grow tomatoes to seedling stage only. You will not be able to take a crop to full term. This light does not have the intensity needed.
I think what others were trying to say is, don't get hung up so much on the color/spectrum. You need INTENSITY and coverage to actually grow a tomato all the way to harvest.
You could at best do one microgreen or baby leaf tray under it. Or raise seedlings of tomatoes for a few weeks after germination.

Hatgirl · January 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

My experience with indoor lighting would indicate you can grow tomatoes to seedling stage only. You will not be able to take a crop to full term. This light does not have the intensity needed.
I think what others were trying to say is, don't get hung up so much on the color/spectrum. You need INTENSITY and coverage to actually grow a tomato all the way to harvest.
You could at best do one microgreen or baby leaf tray under it. Or raise seedlings of tomatoes for a few weeks after germination.

The young dwarf pepper I put under it 2 weeks ago decided to put out a flower today, so I'm cautiously optimistic ;-)

PureHarvest · January 3, 2017

You will technically get flowers and fruit but it will be a token amount for the space and resources used. Plants are still gonna do what they are designed to do, but not at the level that might warrant the effort or resources for most. If that is cool with you and brings you joy, then go for it!
You are a patient soul if you can go the distance and be happy with the size of the fruit and yield you will get for the effort and time you will put in.
You'd be better off Putting those t-8s to use maybe even in combo with your LED.

Hatgirl · January 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

You will technically get flowers and fruit but it will be a token amount for the space and resources used. Plants are still gonna do what they are designed to do, but not at the level that might warrant the effort or resources for most. If that is cool with you and brings you joy, then go for it!
You are a patient soul if you can go the distance and be happy with the size of the fruit and yield you will get for the effort and time you will put in.
You'd be better off Putting those t-8s to use maybe even in combo with your LED.

The T8s are in use already, for Cacti. A lot of cacti. So many cacti :-D
As for effort and resources, the plants are sitting in a box under a desk, the lights are on a timer, and I occasionally pour water into their tray. They're not exactly a resource hog

I grow micros exclusively. Without a polytunnel growing tomatoes outdoors in Ireland is very difficult. So I make do with Micros on my windowsill. But now I have a box AND a windowsill :-D

Ricky Shaw · January 3, 2017

Well now you got me interested in how far along I could bring a Red Robin indoors, I'll start some earlier than planned. Tonight, matter of fact.

Keep us posted Hatgirl, and good growing to you.

artis · January 3, 2017

Hatgirl,

Thanks for the reference to the NASA paper - interesting to see somebody actually comparing various LED configurations to maximize electricity conversion efficiency. Too bad the full text is not available for free. I agree it would be even more interesting to see the results with tomatoes, which prefer more light than lettuce.

I have grown tomatos indoors a couple of times under T8 fluorescent lights with some LED side lights. I got a decent crop from Clear Pink Early and Danko varieties of compact early tomatoes. Unfortunately, this required a lot of electricity. I used eight T8 bulbs for a 4x4 ft space for the total of ~300 W energy consumption. The best LEDs might be able to cut the electricity use compared to T8 fluorescents.

What is the color of the light that these IKEA lights give off? Is it bright purple or nearly white? In either case, one may need to buy ~10 of these units and hang them side by side. Tomatoes like a lot of sunshine and 18W does not go far.

Worth1 · January 3, 2017

It would be nice to see NASA not blow tax payer dollars on research already done by the private sector and companies.
There is one right here in Austin that is on the cutting edge of this technology.

Worth
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...RPGpKJ8_FV-a5g

Worth1 · January 3, 2017

https://youtu.be/gZs3oV8Srno

Ricky Shaw · January 3, 2017

The referred paper is copyrighted in Germany, to The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), an old line international research consortium. Anyway, I think NASA's blowing money where they've always blown money, Tang. They drink the stuff by the barrel.

artis · January 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

All any plant needs is red and blue they dont even see green.
The indoor light for people have a green led added to make a bright white.
Plants dont need it but there it is for us.

My apologies for nitpicking but plants do utilize green light. Here is one of several research articles:
'Green Light Drives Leaf Photosynthesis More Efficiently than Red Light in Strong White Light: Revisiting the Enigmatic Question of Why Leaves are Green'
http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/684.abstract

Not to trying to say here that deep red with some blue is not the most energy efficient combination for growing indoor plants, just wanted to comment that green light is more useful to plants than commonly thought.

One of the reasons why deep red LEDs (~650 nm) are so good for growing plants is that deep red LEDs have some of the highest conversion efficiencies of electricity into light (~50%) among LEDs of various colors.

Worth1 · January 3, 2017

No worries I think plants like Rob Zombie music but I cant prove it for the life of me.

Worth

artis · January 3, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

No worries I think plants like Rob Zombie music but I cant prove it for the life of me.

Plants have eyes, of course:
http://science.gu.se/english/News/Ne...nts.cid1217463

Thanks for providing the link to Illumitex, they definitely seem to be the most advanced manufacturers of agricultural LED lights. Really cool stuff.

Hatgirl · January 22, 2017

My tomatoes grown under LEDs at 3 weeks old. Really impressed with them, the stems are so thick! The seedlings I grow on my windowsill even in full Irish summer sun are much more leggy.
Was initially a bit worried by how purple they are until some googling revealed this is a common side-effect of cold treatment, along with a lot of warnings about not overwatering them!

Top image - Left: Mohamed. Middle: Peardrops. Right: Patio Orange
Middle image - Top: Mohamed. Middle: Peardrops. Bottom - Patio Orange.
Bottom image - Left: Mohamed. Middle: Peardrops. Right: Patio Orange

artis · January 22, 2017

Beautiful seedlings, Hatgirl!

In my experience, the purple stems and veins are quite typical for tomato seedlings grown indoors under bright artificial lights.

Would be interesting to see your LED lights in action with the plants under them.

oakley · January 23, 2017

I think the Ikea systems would be great for education. We don't have them in the US yet
but maybe only the led strips, not sure.
The hydroponics are here end of March.
http://www.curbed.com/2016/3/14/1121...-gardening-kit

No you can't grow your own food but if it sparks an interest in kids....

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January 3, 2017	#16
PureHarvest Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b Posts: 1,369	My experience with indoor lighting would indicate you can grow tomatoes to seedling stage only. You will not be able to take a crop to full term. This light does not have the intensity needed. I think what others were trying to say is, don't get hung up so much on the color/spectrum. You need INTENSITY and coverage to actually grow a tomato all the way to harvest. You could at best do one microgreen or baby leaf tray under it. Or raise seedlings of tomatoes for a few weeks after germination.

January 3, 2017	#20
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	Well now you got me interested in how far along I could bring a Red Robin indoors, I'll start some earlier than planned. Tonight, matter of fact. Keep us posted Hatgirl, and good growing to you.

January 3, 2017	#22
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	It would be nice to see NASA not blow tax payer dollars on research already done by the private sector and companies. There is one right here in Austin that is on the cutting edge of this technology. Worth https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...RPGpKJ8_FV-a5g

January 22, 2017	#29
artis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: central NJ z6/7 Posts: 73	Beautiful seedlings, Hatgirl! In my experience, the purple stems and veins are quite typical for tomato seedlings grown indoors under bright artificial lights. Would be interesting to see your LED lights in action with the plants under them.

January 23, 2017	#30
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	I think the Ikea systems would be great for education. We don't have them in the US yet but maybe only the led strips, not sure. The hydroponics are here end of March. http://www.curbed.com/2016/3/14/1121...-gardening-kit No you can't grow your own food but if it sparks an interest in kids....