LED light growing – gaias-gift.com

Swiss Chard Experiment – LED lights

Swiss Chard was one of those things that I used to like growing better than eating. There are so many different colors to feed the eye. But once I used it in Molly Katzen’s Pasta with greens and feta, that changed. So yummy; so pretty; my favorite, just for the looks is any red variety.

So as I started to grow greens under LED lights I became curious as to whether I could make this recipe in the winter with my own greens. Swiss Chard showed up on lists of things that people had grown successfully but there wasn’t much information; it can often be used as a micro or baby green; I think it was even in some baby and micro-mixes that I tried under the lights before I gave up on mixes (that’s a different story).

The seedlings were well beyond micro or baby sized when I blogged about them on February 1, 2015. As I mentioned in that post, I put three of the 2″ soil cubes into 3″, round coir pots. The pictures show them on the right (with some Simpson Elite lettuces in the picture before they are cut, but you can ignore them for this post.) To make it clear, the plants you see in both flats are from the same batch; the ones on the right were potted up. My poor record-keeping would make any real scientist want to shoot me but I don’t think the two flats were treated differently in any other significant way.

The results suggest that Swiss Chard wants deeper soil to mature normally. In the pots, the coloring is better, the stems are wider and the leaf shape is more elongated, more similar to what I would get in the garden. However, all of those characteristics are less than what I would expect from mature chard, grown in the summer garden.

Taste tests next.

LED growing 2015

What else could I be writing about in this weather? As I write, all I can see out of my basement windows is the snow. I started the usual lettuces and a couple of greens for the new year. My “big” experiment is Swiss chard. I was sure I could get them to micro green size and maybe even baby green size – done. I really would like to get them big enough for cooking. I wasn’t, and I’m still not sure how much room their roots need to get to maturity.

The leaves started quite rounded on long, thin stems, and the bigger ones are still not as elongated as I’d like to see, using what I’ve grown in the garden as a comparison. But I could start cooking with these if I really wanted to do so.

Today, I did what I’ve been planning to do for awhile and put some of the crop into small pots to see what effect more root space might have. We’ll see.

Last trial with arugula failed; because of fungus gnats, I think. (The arugula is the rounder leaf at the front of the flat in the picture above. The spikier leaves in the back are mizuna.) This trial is looking good except I expected these leaves to be more elongated, too and deeply lobed. They are quite hot; I should probably harvest the bigger leaves this week. I don’t know how they do for cut and come again; the mizuna in the back of the flat is great at that.

One flat of greens is going under the new LumiBar LED Strip Light and in the new environment; a sturdy shelving unit. I should be able to consolidate my setup and move the other two lights under the shelf where this flat of greens sit but I want to start with a simple trial of this light. The red and the blue for this light are adjustable; when they are both at max, it shows a lot more blue than the older lights. I’m leaving them at max because there’s no way of knowing what’s best for this exact mix and I’m not funded for trials!

Freida under the Lights

Alas, Fred and last winter’s pygmy sundews did not make it through the summer. Once I turned off the LEDs, I couldn’t find the right combination of light and coolness to keep them alive. So when I started up the lights this fall I made another order to California Carnivores. I let them pick the sundews, a sample pack, and unfortunately, none of them have colored as nicely as the ones that I picked last year. But they seem to be doing their job as I’ve seen the occasional gnat but no damage to the plants.

Fred’s variety was no longer available so I ordered a pretty Nepenthes spathulata x ramispina (M-SG). Lacking any better ideas, I named her Freida. She is bigger and her darker color makes her look fiercer than Fred did. Also the detail along her “blossom” edge looks like teeth to me. Very fierce. Shiver…

The slender stalk in the lower picture front right is an emerging “blossom”. The small structure at the end will develop into something like the large, complex structure in the top picture. By then the mature one will have shriveled up, hopefully after feeding.

Click on either picture to enlarge.

Carnivorous Plants and the LED Farm

I promised you a serious blog post about Fred (N. chaniana x veitchii (S-TC)) and the pigmy sundews. Since the sundews are blossoming, it seemed like a good time to deliver. To give you some context, I was having problems with fungus gnats and their larvae in the soil cubes where I grow lettuce under LED lights. They were especially destructive of some of the slower growing greens like mizuna and I lost much of one crop to them. I didn’t want to use insecticide and read that these insects are a favorite feast for sundews. I consulted with California Carnivores about plants that would stay compact and ordered a few pigmy sundews. Fred was an impulse purchase.

Although Fred’s picture looks quite similar to the one I posted earlier, he gorged and lost one of his pitchers and replaced it with a new one. The small appendage that you see in the foreground will be another. The larger pitcher has already closed so I expect that it will soon turn brown and wither. I read that this is the natural progression. Since Fred has covers on his pitchers, I can’t see if he’s getting enough to eat but his color looks good, more like the catalogue description; more rose than the green that he exhibited just out of shipment.

Drosera callistos, “Brooklyn Large Form”

Pigmy sundew Drosera callistos, “Brooklyn Large Form” is not large at all. The largest cluster is about the size of a dime and most of them are smaller. These have tiny, fuzzy white centers forming that I suspect are or will be the flower.

Pigmy sundew Drosera paleacea ssp. Palaeces has miniscule white flowers held on string-like stalks, about ¾’ above the clusters. To any gardener who has a blood lust for the critters that want to eat what we produce, notice the little back specs in the dewy pink fuzz: former insect agents of salad destruction. <Evil laugh>

I still have questions, like whether these plants need to go dormant and if so, what will that look like? And will those flowers have seed that I can harvest?

Fred the Assassin

I’m small. It’s not my fault. I was designed this way. Petite and tender green like the emerging shoots of plants in spring, touched by delicate pink. Pretty but deadly, I’m the deceiver, the destroyer. I eradicate.

My brothers and I were cloned. Mercenaries, our lives were sold to aid in the war against bugs.

I do not march. My skills are of a different kind. Slender stems, springing from an innocuous stalk carry lightly capped amphorae. Rounded, voluptuous, each curve gently highlighted in the sweetest blush contains a precious liquid deep inside that attracts the hungry enemy to my door.

“What is that perfume, that luscious smell?” They move closer.

“Come on in,” I encourage. “You’ll find out.”

The charming cup is lined with soft and gentle fuzz, a zillion hairs to smooth your path. “Go deeper, my friend. Please be my guest.”

It’s one way into the chalice.

Temptation is how I kill. I will suck your juices. I will dissolve your bones. I will feed.

It’s lonely here. Except for some silly, oozing pygmies, I stand a solitary watch. My insidious skills protect flats of lettuce that share my colors but not my deadly purpose. More red, more green, more leaf thrown out with careless abandon, they foolishly succor the enemy. They offer space between their roots to his offspring who feed on their dying leaves. Who grow fat and breed.

The fools.

The enemy is everywhere, in the ground and in the air. They taunt me with their flights, their freedom, as they visit destinations I can only imagine.

More fool I.

Those I protect become salad. For pity sake, I guard salad!

I was not cloned to question but to serve. The calculated result of an insidious breeding program by monsters seeking to combine subtle beauty with deadly appetites in ever smaller packages.

I am Fred the Assassin.

Serious article about Fred and his pygmy friends at http://gaias-gift.com/blog/?p=1991

LED First Harvest 2013

These greens were targeted for Thanksgiving but my timing is a little off. Someone said Thanksgiving was late this year? In the harvest picture below, from bottom left, clockwise:

Cilantro: Calypso, which takes cool weather, bolts slowly and can be grown as cut and come again.
Shiso: Aka Perilla; this is a red variety that I pick small for its color. It does put out more leaves after being cut and has a very muted, almost-mint flavor.
Mizuna: The common green variety. I like the results of growing it under lights as outside, it seems to attract every chewing insect known. Until growing it inside, I’ve always had to eat holey leaves.
Purple Mizuna: See the single leaf in the middle of the board, with spoon for sizing. My latest trial and I dunno? I was thinking it was too little leaf surface to use up space under the lights and it’s skeletal shape is a bit off-putting, but it has the nicest peppery flavor. It made my last egg salad sandwich quite elegant.
Spinner with Red Sails and Simpson’s Elite Lettuce
Majoram: I got the nicest tasting marjoram plant at Lyman Estate’s herb sale this spring; normally I would let it die this winter but it’s SO good that I started cuttings under the light. They weren’t happy; I’ve lost all but one; it’s more stem than leaves and I keep cutting it back without improvement. But if I can just string this one plant along until next season, the genetics are there.

Total harvest this year so far has been about 12 oz. Very fresh and pretty; organic, too. The organic fertilizer that I’m using is based on fish pooh and kelp. Sundays, when I fertilize, are smelly. And I’ve learned from experience to only mix what I need. It gets truly abominable when it sits. It’s interesting that a few days after fertilizing, most of the smell is gone, well-metabolized by the fast growing plants.

Under the Lights

This lettuce was started to harvest for Thanksgiving, less than a week away. I went with an organic fertilizer this year, kelp and fish based, 4-3-3. I’m not completely thrilled with the results (not that I’m blaming the fertilizer); the leaves look a little leathery. The red lettuce is “Red Sails” and the green is either “Yugoslavian Yellow or Simpsons Elite” I started some cubes of both and can’t tell them apart. Most of he Red Sails are a little too deeply red, there should be more green and variation, so I’ve been moving the lights further and further away. Does anybody know what I’m doing wrong to get leathery leaves?

None of what I’m growing now requires heat and I leave the basement cool; 60 degrees or less.

I’ll pick them early and crisp them well; with the addition of pears and goat cheese, they should still be fine for Thanksgiving Day salad but I’d also like to improve my results. I’ve seen red lettuce that was blanched by crimping the outside leaves together; maybe I’ll need to learn how to do that.

A friend from a warmer climate (apparently) asked me why I’m not still growing lettuce outside. I’ve been waking daily to frost and a crusty soil. I could use crop covers or season extenders but on my north side of the hill, I don’t get much sun, either. So for comparison’s sake, the first picture below is Mache, (variety Vit) aka corn salad that I planted in September outside. It will sit at this size all winter long but will be my first food crop in April when the sun hits this bed.

The picture below is Mache that I planted on October 19; it’s growing slowly but has definitely pulled ahead of the outdoor planting.

LED Lights and Seed Starting

All of the articles that I could find talked about growing things under LED lights were for just that purpose, growing things to maturity. There were also some cautions about how they could hurt seedlings. So I dithered about whether to use my old setup with shop lights or try the LED lights that I’d purchased for winter growing. I think the things that decided me are first, the shop lights are getting old and the recommendation is to use new bulbs. And second, the LED lights are cheap. My electric bills don’t show the use enough for me to know how much this lighting costs

I did hedge my bets and keep some of the seedlings under a single cool light fixture, but the ones that I put almost immediately under the LEDs did better. I did keep the LEDs a couple of feet away. I started lettuces and Piracicaba in the guest room under one light. When these cool weather plants were ready to go out, I moved the light down to the basement to enlarge the warm planting area where I can provide bottom heat, giving the tomatoes, basil and eggplants more time while the outside temps warm up.

The area over floweth. In addition to my seed starts, one of the dahlia companies sent me plants, not tubers, so I’m babying them on the heat mats that are no longer needed by the bigger seedlings.

My remaining worry is that the plants are so comfortable in the basement that they will sulk outside. I’ve been removing suckers and even blossoms, which tells me that they are too happy. Next year I move back the start date by at least two weeks (the seed went into the cubes on 3/25/2012.) It’s also a clue that I should probably be using a more limited spectrum of lights for seedlings. In addition, Supersweet 100 is the plant that wants to blossom so that also suggests a tomato I should try inside this winter, if I want to. Here’s a shot under normal light for those of us who can’t see through the lurid LED colors.

Out and In

Although we’ve had warm weather off and on, it only served to pack the snow tightly to make it harder to melt on warm days like yesterday.

Dry steps from the deck let me get to the garden to see if the mache was showing any growth and it was not. Friend Margaret thinks it’s a problem with the variety and recommends “Vit”. I think I’ve tried it with the same results but may try it again next year to be sure.

Lifted the glass to remove the snow. A little more light can’t hurt. Not that there IS a lot of light. This time of year our warm days come from the south and are usually overcast.

Inside, under the lights, I’m finding that the pea shoots, harvested as baby greens will put out a second growth. Probably not as robust as the first, but still another serving for me.

You can see a bit of my passive humidifier, water over glass stones. It doesn’t work terribly well in the cool basement but better than nothing.

LED New Setup

Finished. While I understand the meaning of the word, I don’t do it very well. Last weekend I made enough progress on the new setup to move the cool weather plants, but caught a cold that’s slowed me down this week. After a small wiltdown because the fan in this light creates a lot more dry air so that the plants need more water, everyone seems to be happy.

The frame is made from a saw horse kit. The legs are 5′ long 2X4s. And the crossbar is a 1 X 3′, about 4′ long. I’m still trying to determine the optimal measurements so extra lengths just hang there. I can always cut later. My desk is in this area so I’ve found that an old quilt helps keep the light out of my eyes while I work at my desk.

The sides are made of 1/4″ sheeting. They are just laid across a bar (1 X2) that also strengthens the rigidity of the structure. The sheeting will be covered with silvered mylar or aluminum foil after the lettuces adjust to the stronger light. I’m leaving them freestanding so that I can easily get to the plants from either side.

From left to right are a few pea shoots, ready to harvest; Simpson’s Elite Lettuce, Red Sails Lettuce and the remainder of the old batch of lettuces that have been cut several times.

I was curious about how the old lettuces would age in their small soil blocks. They are showing some stress with the occasional brown tip, and all of the new leaves stay small. But I’m still getting salads and sandwiches from them. The basil continues to grow very slowly under the old setup. I designed the “tent” thinking two would fit in my basement but I’m undecided about whether to try a warm plants setup this year.

LEDs again

I’ve purchased a new, larger light and I was hoping to have pictures of the new, more permanent basement setup. Between poor design and construction skills, it’s not ready yet. So here is a quick status, with pictures, instead. Click on the pictures for a bigger view.

The older lettuces are showing signs of stress with more tip burn on the outer leaves. I was not sure how long they would last in 2″ soil cubes. But there’s still plenty to harvest from them. I will probably harvest and throw away about half of the older plants to make room for the second planting which is approaching maturity.

picked lettuce tip burn after a week in the fridge

Some of the picked lettuces developed brown tips in the lettuce keeper after about a week in the fridge. This is not the bad stuff, which happens on the inner leaves of growing plants. However, it gives me something to improve upon. While the simple cause of tip burn is not enought calcium uptake, it seems that its not a problem that can usually be solved by making more calcium

: old lettuce plants

available to the plant.

Low light sometimes contributes, but too much light will, too! I’ll try to compile a some of the resources that I’ve found or that friends have sent me in a different post, specifically about this issue in lettuces.

The basil is getting two hours of low speed “wind” a day from a fan to, hopefully, strengthen the stems. This is in addition to being on a heat mat. And it’s still growing exceptionally slowly. Growing warm weather plants may not be worth the energy; hard to measure since I’ve mixed them in this temporary setup.

Also trying to get more variety by starting micro greens. It was a package of mixed greens and that may be a mistake.

When you are working with such short development cycles, if one green is a few days behind another it creates problems. And you can tell these would like to have a bigger share of the light.

My goal is to blaze a trail (if feasible) for us northern gardners who have a spare bedroom or some unused basement space and who want to extend their growing season inside with LED lights. I don’t find many others in my research; the most help is coming from greenhouse growers. But here is yet another innovative business trying to grow under LEDs for commercial use: Podponics.

LED First Harvest

I picked some of my first batch of lettuces last night from under the LED lights. I had them tested by Everiss Labs and since this was the first time I’d ever seen tissue test results, I was a little concerned that the nitrogen levels were a little high and the calcium levels a bit low. Although I had no direct way to tie these percentages to the ppms that are used to measure the nitrates/nitrites when scientists talk about the issues of low light lettuces, I thought this might indicate that the plants had a problem with high nitrate/nitrite levels that would make them unhealthy to eat. However, when I asked for clarification from the lab, they said absolutely no problem, not to worry. The averages weren’t meant to delineate healthy ranges, just averages from plants over the years and my marginal variations weren’t significant.

lettuce plant and sample — Lettuce plant and sample

I had wanted a worst case analysis for the testing, too. I’d fertilized them 24 hours before the test (Scotts Miracle Grow again). I don’t think they really needed it; this was part of the test plan. And since I read that nitrogen levels go higher at night, picking my sample first thing in the morning would have helped make it worst case, too. From now on, I will not fertilize for a week or two before harvest and always, only the minimum necessary. The second batch, already under the lights, is made with a combination of ProMix and compost; I’m hoping that will have everything the plants need. And I’ll harvest in the evening, after a full day of light; the lettuces may be sweeter that way.

To the right is a shot of the sample that I sent to the lab (bottom), and remaining plant. Notice the strong root structure; air pruned because of the soil blocks. I expect these may bolt a little earlier than lettuces with all the root space they need but we’ll see. With a new flat started and a pot of basil to go under this same light, I am at or above the space limit so some of them have to go, anyway.

Another possible, very low level symptom of high nitrogen stress, that I actually had to look for, is leaf tip burn. What I found was on a couple of the older leaves and when it’s really a problem, I read, it’s on the inner, newer growth. But it is related to low calcium in the tissue. Low calcium uptake is associated with the low light (high nitrate/nitrite) issues of lettuce, and while this is so marginal that it’s not really a problem, I thought I would post a picture. Since most of us are judging plant health from observations, it’s good to know what to look for.

So it’s harvest time! Although the lettuces are about as clean as lettuces can be, I soaked them in very cold water in the lettuce keeper as I normally do and rinsed and drained them. A taste test before I put them into the refridgerator revealed sweet and crunchy. Here is a picture of “the farm”, as sister (aka the backup LED light gardener) calls it.

From seed to the table in eight weeks is a happy outcome, in my opinion. I’ll stick with leaf lettuces for now but work on more variation in my harvests. And probably smaller batches so that I have a few plants ready at any point in time. For more information about timing and processes, see the category LED light growing or ask a question in your comments. Sharing is half the fun. The other half is eating! Fresh and healthy from “the farm” to the table.

Outdoors and In

The temps are forecasted in the teens, next town over to the west and north. I went out to see what I could get before it was frozen and came back with a couple of handfuls of good stuff. Small but brightly colored Swiss chard, Piracicaba and Parsley.

: garden harvest 12’10’11

Here is where it came from.

sad Piracicaba plants — Sad Piracicaba plants

But still producing Piracicaba blossoms — But still producing edible Piracicaba blossoms

And here is the self seeded mache (corn salad). I left a few of the plants go this spring, hoping to get a fall crop. These will probably not grow very much until next spring.

I picked this one, less than 2″ accross but I’ll add it to the salad bowl.

And here is a shot of my indoor lettuce. Kicking myself, as I watered them today and then found the test kit in a soggy plastic bag on my door. I’d intended to give them a shot of fertilizer, 24 hours before sending off the sample as a worst case for high nitrogen but I don’t think I can wait much longer to start harvesting the bigger leaves.

Lettuce under LED lights, week two

The lettuces continue to put on mass. The red colors in Yogoslavian Red (heading lettuce) are showing up nicely but it’s also the slowest growing. And I cannot see a visible difference between Australian Yellow and Simpson Elite (with toothpicks).

I split the soil cubes between two flats to give them more room and now I do a littly dosie doe with the flats every day to move the outside lettuces closer to the light. Fertilized again; I will drop back to once a month now, I think.

Just to recap, for people who stumble accross this post first: Lettuces planted 10/23; sprouts show by 10/27; lights out and no heat 10/29-11/3; put under LED array on 11/8. See Week One and It Begins for more history.

I ordered some “Red Sails” from Pinetree Seeds, an easier red leaf lettuce and I’ll start my next batch as soon as they arrive. Hopefully, this weekend.

Lettuce under LED lights – one week

The lettuces are definately adding mass, one week after the LED array was set up. They didn’t get their first feed until yesterday: Miracle Grow at the package strength. (Sorry OGL folks, I promise, the next batch will be in a mix that includes compost.) I forgot how little water seedlings grown in relatively cool conditions need; they should have been feed a week ago.

I’ve worried over the height of the lights and can’t find relevant information.

The 90 watt light is supposed to cover a surface of four square feet. At 12-18″ away, the Yogoslavian Red lettuces at the end of the flat seem to be straining for the light. But they are showing some color. Too much of this light, I read, can hurt small seedlings. But I haven’t found a description of what that harm looks like, either. There is a good reason that I call this an experiment.

At least for the next week, I’ll leave the light centered about 12′ above the flat, moving the flat daily so that each end is closer on alternate days.

Lettuce under LED lights – the experiment begins

I started lettuces on 10/23 and they were just showing green, under my usual florescent bulb starting mechanisms, when the power went out for five days. I was worried that the sprouts would be too leggy and get my trials with an LED array off to a bad start, but after watching for a few days, these look fine. I guess that the cooler house temperatures also slowed development.

The light is an Illuminator UFO 5-Band Tri-Spectrum LED grow light. I vaguely thought that I would start with simple lettuces but the leftovers from last spring didn’t really offer that choice, except for Simpson Elite, a popular leaf lettuce, so I started two rows of it. And a row each (four 2″ soil cubes) of Australian Yellow (leaf) and Yugoslavian Red, my favorite heading lettuce. A row of Red Velvet didn’t germinate for some reason, I have had that problem before with that seed; this was a replacement pack. Thus, the empty cubes in the last picture.

In spite of plans to take advantage of extra basement space with a well-designed setup, in my usual haphazard way, I stuck the light in the guest/junk room. It uses the very sophisticated setup that I use in spring, two cross country skis over the tops of chairs and chains to hang the lights. I left one florescent fixture in place for times when I want to work with the lettuces. In just the time it takes me to get from the door to the outlet to unplug the LED array, my eyes are already complaining about the lurid pink glow. And everything is green while your eyes recover.

If anyone has advice about how long these lights should be on for lettuce, please speak up. I keep the seed starting lights on for 16 hours a day but I think that may be too long for these. Also, I suspect that day length has something to do with lettuce “heading up” so I’m thinking I should plan for some room to increase hours for that heading lettuce when it gets bigger. I have been warned that lettuces grown under low lights could have dangerous levels of nitrates, and did some reading on that. I do not know if “low light” applies to LED arrays. And about the only plans I have to deal with this is to use a low nitrogen fertilizer and get one of my lettuces tested at harvest time. I’ve also read that foods that have this problem taste bad so, guess what! I won’t eat them if they taste bad!

LED Lights to feed the world

Update 10/13/11. The Boston Globe link no longer works but here is an ABC link that works today. Or use the search term as described below. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=13346712

I’m sharing a link to a Boston Globe version of an AP release about use of LED lights to feed the world. You can find it at other sources if you search on “LED lights and Gertjan Meeuws”.

Since my “win the lottery” fantasy, and the wishful purpose of this web site, which is now sustained by my real job, is to encourage sustainable gardening, this is fascinating news. I’ve also been evaluating whether using some of my basement space for winter gardening would be cost effective. However, some of the statements in this article, like fooling around with the light spectrum to get crops earlier and the idea the sun and other natural contributors to the garden can be a bad thing is all a bit, um, shivery. Orwellian, almost, and it’s not nice to fool mother nature.

However, since the existing market and research for grow lights has been s is so heavily influenced by cash crops, i.e., marijuana, I wonder if there isn’t a huge research opportunity for things like tomatos, herbs, lettuces; the kind of things that I would be interested in overwintering. Mixed growing, small indoor garden-type of growing. Keeping my citrus happier, and new ideas for yummy things to harvest in winter from under the lights.

First things, first; I’ll get through our outdoor season and then come back to this. I expect that the costs for these light arrays will go down over time, too. Are any of you considering a winter garden under the lights? What do you want to grow?