The first thing you might notice is that I had to move some basil under the LED. They were getting big so I spread them out so the light could hit their lower leaves too. I added another tray (3 total under one LED, I could only get two full trays under the T-5)
Notice too how I have the T-5 on an angle with the taller plants one side and the shorter plants on the other. All the pictures of lights from HTGSupply.com will be nice and level , and lets face it, they look better that way. The truth is you may want to put lights at an angle to maximize the amount of light hitting each of your plants. The same idea can be solved from a different angle, some people raise individual plants up so that all plant tops are at the same level. Find what works for you.
The T5 is much closer to the plants and uses more electricity. This first test of the LED also proves a topic from previous posts on -- Speed up the Growth cycle -- Higher light intensity sped up the life cycle of the basil. Under the T 5 it began to flower a week before the LED did (oops spoiler for next post) This is NOT due to the type of light but the intensity. By lowering the LED or adding a single tube T5 to the grow tent to equalize the watts used then I think the LED would win.
I am also very happy with the seedling growth. The LED is almost one meter above the seedlings. You get the coolness of a fluorescent with the light intensity of an HID with this light.
Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers
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