Threw $300 at those "no-hassle" LED grow lights for my peppers

I bought a set of cheap LED panels off Amazon for $300 to start seeds indoors. They claimed full spectrum and good coverage, but my pepper seedlings turned leggy in 2 weeks. A friend with a proper setup showed me his PAR meter reading under mine was barely 150. Now I rewired some old shop lights with better bulbs for $60 and the plants are actually thriving. Anyone else get burned by those marketing claims on indoor lighting?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.jason15d ago

Leggy seedlings are usually too little light or too much heat, not just the price tag.

emerycarr14d ago

and honestly even if the light is only 150 PAR that's still enough for seedlings if you keep them close enough. people act like you need a nuclear reactor to grow a jalapeno plant. i started tomatoes under a single 15 dollar desk lamp with a 100 watt equivalent LED bulb like 2 inches above the leaves and they were fine. not the stockiest plants ever but they caught up once they went outside. sometimes i wonder if half the "leggy seedling" posts are just people freaking out before their plants have had a chance to harden off.