What light for starting plants?

I have a spot I can run a light to start plants in. The set-up is a shelf and I can put a light above on the ceiling, or on the wall above the shelf which is 1' x 2'. Which LED light, and how far away? This closet is where the air handler is, so plenty of circulation of 70* air. Is that too cool to start them at, and if so should I get a heater pad for the shelf?

70F may be a little cool. The light will increase the temperature when it's on also. No heater required I think. Do it.

Agree with Troutman. Just do it.

All you need is a screw in 20W light, that will do right up to 15cm in height.

A friend loaned me his starter set. Heat pad, red and blue LED, cover, vents. The 2' x 1' set fits perfectly on a shelf in a dark closet, where the controls for my tents will be. I my have to rig up a socket or two later for the screw-in later, if I can get anything to come up.

Way back in the day they had a sun.

Freaking spoiled ass kids

Starting on a window ledge always gave me plants with a long stem before the leaves. This is indoor, dead of winter, and thus the lights. That little starter set-up is going into action soon.

I am trying to do this right, on my first indoor attempt. I want to have a decent crop by the time my current stash runs out, in a few months.

flylowgethigh said:

I have a spot I can run a light to start plants in. The set-up is a shelf and I can put a light above on the ceiling, or on the wall above the shelf which is 1' x 2'. Which LED light, and how far away? This closet is where the air handler is, so plenty of circulation of 70* air. Is that too cool to start them at, and if so should I get a heater pad for the shelf?

Click to expand...

Can u find a bad boy t-5 setup.... prob the best seedling slinger Ive used

I start with small screw in LED bulbs by GE.

Then they go under a T5 until end of veg.

I found a seed while grinding a Runtz bud, soaked it and put it in soil on the window ledge, and it popped. Stoked with this rare flash of green power, I soaked the seeds for my first run and put them in soil. So I set up this little nursery with the small blurple LED a friend let me borrow. Only put out 60 umols, so I went and got a little 19W LED grow light from Home Depot, and supplemented it, getting 175 umols now in the center. Running 24/0 for now. I wanted more and didn't like the light concentration of the small blurple, so I replaced it with a T5. Now get around 250 umols at cup height. Hopefully the good plants won't get lanky like the rabbit.

LED with blurple: LED with T5:

How much light power is needed to keep them from getting tall and thin as a sprout?

I am calling that first plant the Runtz rabbit, cause it is a Runtz hermi, and several days ahead of the others. It added an inch of stem the first day, with no added leaf size, under that blurple LED, which is why I added light. That first added LED grow light helped. Pairing it with a T5, and ditching the blurple, has stopped the stem stretch in it's tracks. Now the leafs are getting a little bigger. We'll see what the others do if/when they come up.

My natural reaction is to want to go get more light, and add it to the mix. Some is good, more is better - right?

So, I have repurposed the LED grow lights (with red spectrum), that I ditched for sprouting. Is this a good or bad idea? I have 2 of these, would 2 be better?