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lighting LED lights - again

For the record,

I did add the two toms to the 3-plant system and move the pepper and egg to the other one. Also lowerd the light so it is only about three inches above the canopy on the two-plant system - about the same as the one over the toms.

I have another reddish light at the office I'm using to highlight a Limon pepper in a window of a night. It get direct light for about eight hours a day and ambient for another eight hours, so I may swap them.

Mike
 
ABurningMouth said:
Who gets the money from the system's auction?
When is the fair?
Take pics of your display at the fair.
This is so cool!
Click to expand...

The fair gets the money. It will be held from July 30-August 3. And I guarantee you I will have pics, lots of pics. I will have about 30-35 pepper plants on display, hopefully many in full bloom, as well as a caged potato.

Obviously, I'll have to be there every day to add the nuits and pH balancer to the water. There isn't a lot of light, but I can turn the plants if they start to curve.

I'm also willing to go $20 for the 3-plant and $15 for the two plant system. I hope they go for a lot more.

One concern is transporting them to the grounds. It's only a quarter mile own the road, but I'm going to lose a bunch of water. I figure I need to collect some 2-liter pop bottles, fill them with water and get them pH balanced, then add the water to the tubs, though I don't know if using tap water for one evening and adjusting the pH the next day will work.

I'm completely new to hydro so I really am doing this stuff as I go.

Mike
 
ABurningMouth said:
I might have sounded harsher than I meant to. Sorry. I just wish everyone could see these things in action in person.
Mine are only the 13-16 watt kind, but my plants love em.
Click to expand...
I understand completely. Each project I've ever become involved with has been systematically dissected with enthusiasm, rebuilt to my satisfaction and completed to the strict standards that only I can place on myself. I'm known as a bit of a fanatic while learning a subject that is new to me. One friend compares me to a pit bull with a rag. He says I won't quit until I've read, understood and put it into practice by example, everything I can discover about that subject.

One of my current new studies is "Everything that can be known about pepper plants". That's why I'm here. When I started, I knew very little about peppers as compared to what I've learned in the past weeks. My largest problem now is finding specific data about the topic. Things such as *Exactly what spectrum and intensity of light are literally perfect for various type of peppers*. I've searched quite a bit for that little tidbit and haven't found any tables or charts pertaining to that data yet. I'm sure someone, somewhere has studied this information and proven things through scientific method, but so far the information has eluded me. Also, *what is the exact breakdown of nutrients for each stage of a pepper plant and what ppm for each substance within that nutrient*. I haven't found that one yet either. Just generalizations like the N-P-K standards. I want to be able to build the nutrient both organically and chemically, piece by piece. Books? Links?

Anyone who has discovered ANY specific scientific data about peppers and can link me to it or give me the names or ISBN's of books.....cool.

I look forward to reading your discoveries and the results of your experiments.

Good luck to you!
 
I'm still trying to figure out the white leaves thing. I'm just guessing, but I think they are reflecting back excess blue and red light, and if they were in a darker environment or one with limited red and blue, would the leaves have more green in them?
I also want to know why Charlestons are always yellow looking. Every kind of pepper has different needs it seems.
 
Nute,

I certainly don't blame you for trying to find the optimal lights to use in an array. But your earlier posts were not so much "I want to see what works" but rather "this is all hype by capitalists who want to sell lights."

If someone wanted me to try a LED that was 4/7 red, 2/7 blue and 1/7 amber I would. But I wouldn't buy it, unless it was like $10. Too much science exists that says plants use only red and blue light for photosynthesis.

You should be able to find all the amber bulbs you want via a Google search - I've found dozens of sites selling bulbs and you can specify the exact spectrum you want. I wish I had the time and knowledge to build LED light panels - for 20¢ per bulb, if I could simply replace them in a socket, I could try all kinds of combos.

I'll report my findings, not just now but with seedlings I grow later. Plus, I try to get the exact specs from the seller I bought the panels from to find out what wavelengths the lights are emitting.

Mike
 
I have a mixed red and blue one pointed on the white leafed plant, so it should be getting the right balance.
Anyway I think it looks cool. I hope it stays healthy for a while.
My other variegated plants don't seem to be reacting this way.
Fish:

Hab Lava Drop C. Chinense
​
Click the thumbs to make it bigger.
"Make what bigger?"​
 
The Fish is neat especially under blue.
Are they a weaker, thinner stemmed or slower growing pepper?
Mine are that way but seem to be gaining some strength now at a few months.
 
Nute said:
The Fish is neat especially under blue.
Are they a weaker, thinner stemmed or slower growing pepper?
Mine are that way but seem to be gaining some strength now at a few months.
Click to expand...

Yes they are kinda wimpy. They would rather hang over the side of the pot than grow straight up. They would be great for the upside-down pots.
 
NatGreenMeds said:
Anyone who has discovered ANY specific scientific data about peppers and can link me to it or give me the names or ISBN's of books.....cool.
Click to expand...


This is a bit vague but...
last winter I was looking for the same kind of info and I stumbled across some interesting things about polarized light and photosynthesis. Problem is, I don't know if LEDs are a naturally polarized light source or not.

Some interesting reading but a bit over my head in the plant physiology jargon.

polarized research
 
Thanks caroltlw. I'm looking more towards species specific data concerning the growing of peppers. Nutrient formulas, growing techniques, various methods used in hydroponic applications, that sort of thing.

I do appreciate the link though. It was kinda interesting.
 
Nats,

Follow me. Whatever I do, do the opposite!

My pH and TDS meters came today. I had been checking the pH level regularly - not every day, but a couple of times a week since I really got going, and the level was alway about six. But the meter, which I calibrated in NaCl, said the pH was 9.0.

I figure it will take me until this winter at the earliest, and probably next spring to get things sorted so that a seed placed in a cup and transplanted to the hydro system will produce a bushel of tomatoes or a half-bushel of peppers.

Barbie is going to order the high-power LED lights in August, so she should have them by October. By then, I should have my 5-gallon, homemade hydro system set up and running.

I'm only getting two of the lights, as I figure by February, there will be newer, better versions on the market.

Mike
 
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