These lighting systems are designed to be economical (7/12/21/28W globes use approx 0.08/0.16/0.3/cents/hr of electricity), & give the urban dweller the ability to grow all their own salad needs.
There are basically 2 types of lights to choose from.
LED grow lights
1- In the Fig.1,2,3,4 & 5 you see the new high intensity LED grow lights, these come in a mixture of blue and red lights, currently there is a 7w lamp(Fig.1), one of these lamps has 7x1w LEDs in either 6B1R or 1B6R. Fig2 is a 12w lamp, 4B8R. Attaching these LED lights to a flexible clamp lamp gives you unparalleled flexibility in being able to position the lights on to your plants. You can purchase the globes individually and build your own system, or you can purchase it with a vertical stand(Fig.4 & 5), you can add highly reflective aluminium sides to this single lamp solution. We have also put together a selection of parts that allow you to build your own light stand(Fig.1) which can be used to fix multiple 7w/12w/21w LED lamps. You can configure this stand in numerous ways e.g. so it fits inside a small bookshelf, fits at the end of your kitchen bench, stands against a wall or is free-standing(Fig.1 up to 2.1 m tall), with plants growing on either side of a vertical section, its users 25mm anodised aluminium square tube with flexible connectors, allowing it to simply snap together.
The picture at the top shows a 2 level stand being used to grow 6 pots of field pea sprouts, using 3x7W LED lights, this particular unit is freestanding and has all sides covered with highly reflective aluminium sheet. In its smallest configuration you can attach up to 3x7w LED lamps and many more as it is expanded in height. The aluminium light stand has also been designed to accept light weight highly reflective aluminium or reflective cardboard sheets that can be easily attached to the frame to make sure that all the available light is reflected back in towards the plants. The advantages of using LED lights are that they use less power and are more versatile in that they can be used to grow larger plants to flower and fruit.
Fig.3 shows San Marzano Tomato plant on the Right & the close-up, & a Roma VF Tomato plant on the left, both at 6wks, 1st 4wks using 1x12w globe per plant at 700mm above the top of the plants, then changed to 2x12w per plant lights raised to top level of three level growing chamber, 900mm above growing tips. They are growing in a Tomato tower plant pot with our organic potting mix & organic fertiliser.
Which lamps to choose:
If you are choosing to grow salad Greens like our Snow Pea, Field Pea, Wheatgrass, Cress, Mustard Sprouts etc, then I would suggest you use the 7w Blue light ie 6xB & 1xR, this will give you very good results needing 1 light per 1 or 2 pots(depending on height above plant pots, except for the Snow Pea which will need 1 per pot).
If you would like to grow greens that have a longer growing cycle like Rocket, Basil etc then I would suggest you use the 12w lights, 1 per pot.
If you would like to grow a plant to flower & fruit eg tomato, then you could use one 12w directly overhead for the 1st 4 weeks then place an extra one next to it, so they are about 8cm apart, this is an extremely efficient way of doing it as you just merely add extra lights when they are needed, a further savings in energy costs, or as in Fig.10 you can use one 90w,300w or 600w to cover several plants. For More Info. Click On-> (LED-Grow-Lights-90W-300W-600W). In all these situations the 7w lights can be used at any time to fill in any small dark spots eg lower foliage or increase the red lighting during flowering(best to swap the lenses to all 50° when using them close up, or simply take the lenses off, the LEDs without the lenses have a 120° light spread, obviously this is a waste of light in many situations, hence the use of lenses, but if you are using close-up and or you are using one of our reflective growing chambers then any light that spills past the plants will be reflected back to the plants by one of the reflective surfaces).
IMPORTANT:- these LED lights have electronic circuitry and like other electronic equipment they are subject to failure if they experience surges or spikes of electricity. We strongly recommend that you use a surge/spike protector device, these can be purchased from electrical stores, Harvey Norman etc for about $20.
For More Info. Click On-> Growing Under LED Lights.pdf
Compact Fluorescent grow lights
2- In the Fig.6-9 we have lighting solutions built around Compact Fluorescent lamps the advantages of these systems is that the globes are at present a lot cheaper, however they do not last as long and use twice as much power, also when growing salad Greens the plant can be closer ie 100 mm versus 200 mm for the LED so you have a slightly more compact solution, both solutions will give you great results when growing plants with a short growing cycles(1 to 5wks) we call them vertical sprouts eg Snow pea, Field pea, Sunflower, Cress, Mustard. There are basically 2 types to choose from.
Single Lamp- (Fig.6 & 7) show examples of lamps that can be easily adjusted in height in relation to the growing plant, this is done by moving the lamp up & down the pole as the plant grows, one adjustment required for a leafy sprout such as a Snow pea(Fig.6, white lamp) & Sunflower(Fig.7, black lamp). No adjustment required for the shorter plants eg Cress.
Double Lamp- the 2nd option is where two lamps are bridged by a highly reflective, lite weight shade(Fig.8 & 9), giving room for 3 pots to grow, using slightly higher powered globes which require no adjustment. This comes in two varieties, firstly a single unit made up of 2 desk lamps Fig.8, shown here growing three small pots of rocket lettuce at three different stages of growth, the light stands have been elevated to allow for the extra height, this entire kit sells for less than $100, much much less than some other so-called kitchen garden products that use the same 28 W compact fluorescent lights. Secondly a Stainless-steel stand with two levels, with different heights, giving a top level for early growth & a lower level for taller growth Fig.9. For More Info. Click On-> Growing Under Compact Fluorescent Lights.pdf
To learn more about each particular option click on the products Tab at the top of the page & select the product group, or click on ->
Salad Greens Under Lights.
