14 watt LED Panel....Herb Garden?

My wife wants a 5 pot herb garden using my new found hydro skills. I'll be using a small 18in wide container as the base. I bought a couple 2' T5 lights but she doesn't want the lights to be that long. So back they go. I'm thinking a 225 LED panel might be just the thing for her. I'm not looking for super growth yields here and she really truly is growing basil, thyme, oregano, that sort of thing, in the kitchen. I expect the plants will get no higher then 8 to 12" at best. Either the 225 panel or I saw several 125w CFL bulbs but I think the foot print is much bigger then the LED panel.

So has anyone ever used one of these 14 watt 225 red/blue LED panels and would it keep your wife's 5 basil plants happy? I'm sort of trying to replicate the Aero Garden I guess. I fucked up and told my wife I could do better then the Aero Garden guys could, so now I sort of have to prove it.

ok..first~those lite brite models are a waste of money and time! 14w 225 LED's...thats .06 watts per LED...you need to get to at least .5w per diode before they will be effective! So look for another LED light...that China panel is a sure way of failing!:smokin:

... the few guys I know in TO who are using LEDs are using 'em to veg, mostly, and the /minimum/ is one of those 90w (90x1w) UFO thingies, in at least both major spectra.

IF you look around, you should be able to pick up one of these for like 125-140bux, from a reputable dealer off'n eBay. They retail for 150 to 195ish, tho I wouldn't pay any more than 160. I /have/ seen some 'cheapie' 50w panels that look cost-effective enough to play with, (would need 2 minimum, of course), but you need to look at true quad-band, or higher, to get good results with LEDs. Or So I Hear.

There is also a new company supplying these in my area, from a little tiny suburb town on the edge of the Known Universe, and another starting up in TO to manufacture 'em... light is getting interesting out here...:cool:

(c)C :chainsaw:

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Originally Posted by stra8outtaWeed

ok..first~those lite brite models are a waste of money and time! 14w 225 LED's...thats .06 watts per LED...you need to get to at least .5w per diode before they will be effective! So look for another LED light...that China panel is a sure way of failing!:smokin:

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Hi,

I hope this will not sound very offensive, are you saying that based on your personal experience or just a mere guess of calculation? I don't think .5 w will work. :rastasmoke:


Thanks,
Carmel

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Originally Posted by craftsmaster

Hi,

I hope this will not sound very offensive, are you saying that based on your personal experience or just a mere guess of calculation? I don't think .5 w will work. :rastasmoke:


Thanks,
Carmel

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Allow me to interject here because I can speak from personal experience.
The 225 led "china panels" are next to worthless for growing anything but mushrooms.
Hadda open mine when it had a partial failure.

Who'm I kidding?
I open up everything just to see what's inside.
[attachment=o247510]
In this case, I was taken aback by the shoddyness of it's construction.
The "power supply" would be amusing were it less likely to become a cheery little fire.
[attachment=o247509].

Str8 knows what he's on about.
And I'm not sure what you mean by " .5 w " ?


(You can actually grow something with 225 1/2Watt leds of the proper wavelengths.)

Aloha,
Weezard

thanks Weez....you are the tech man :thumbsup::thumbsup:

i just grow em and call it as i see it :jointsmile:

That's made it clear Weez. So basically, the 225 lead China panel isn't good enough to grow herbs except mushrooms.
_________________
Carmel Santos
CEO of Herb Gardening Guide
The Australian Guide to Herb Gardening

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Originally Posted by craftsmaster

That's made it clear Weez. So basically, the 225 lead China panel isn't good enough to grow herbs except mushrooms.

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Well it will work for smaller herbs like thyme, which doesn't produce broad leaves.

I use .5w diodes in my lights for NFT systems that I install. This is the BARE MINIMUM I would dare use (and these are new-gen .5w diodes, which just now got into maturity for this setup.)

However, our OP has mentioned basil. Basil produces LARGE leaves in hydro. You're not going far with that lite-brite panel.

Best bet is a 15w spot (if you're going with small plants) or a 50w panel for larger basils.

Send me a message over aim, yahoo, or skype, I'll help you out. I'm around all times.

And I did try to grow oregano.

They didn't cut it for that, or for basil, or thyme.
Like tryin' ta grow chamomile wit' a candle, it was. :D

No shoot da messenger.:rastasmoke:

Aloha,
Weeze

I ended up settling on T5 HO's for vegging my own plants. I think I will also use a similar setup for my wife's herbs as well. I believe a single perhaps a double 2' T5HO is more then enough for a 2' bed of herbs. I'm planning to build a 2' bed of T5 light for her to grow her herbs in. I cant imagine how quickly these herbs will grow after I apply some of my high tech growing methods. Lettuce will likely be another I want to try as well.