Lighting for Sprouts?

[Aqua sobriquet]

Have any of you tried using Aquarium light units for growing sprouts like Broccoli, Radish and Cress etc?

 

[plantnoobdude]

haven;t tried it, but itll work. just horribly expensive for how powerful they are. considering you can get grow lights really cheap nowadays, just get one of em I think.

 

[tam]

To start them off? Brassicas are pretty hardy so I'd just do them outside. They also get big so I think you'd struggle to get an effective plant inside with hobby growing conditions. I shouldn't imagine cress would have an issue with aquarium lights as you only want to grow it to it's seed leaves anyway so a big leggy not an issue.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

To start them off? Brassicas are pretty hardy so I'd just do them outside. They also get big so I think you'd struggle to get an effective plant inside with hobby growing conditions. I shouldn't imagine cress would have an issue with aquarium lights as you only want to grow it to it's seed leaves anyway so a big leggy not an issue.

You misunderstand, they are all eaten at the sprouting stage. Grown indoors so no problem with pests etc

 

[mort]

A sunny windowsill should work if you are only wanting the sprouting stage. Aquarium lights might speed things up or stop them getting leggy but as you are eating them at an early stage I'm not sure it matters as much.

We had a customer once that used to buy ro and was religious about cleaning out his drums and making sure the tds was 0. I found out later that he used to grow cannabis in old fish tanks using normal fish lights, so they are capable of growing plants but perhaps not as efficient as other lighting solutions.

@Geoffrey Rea grew some veg in empty tank

New Decade, New Decadence...

Does @Delirious know she is doing the maintenance? I can see it now, Geoffers junior maintains the 600. Arian doing the 1200. You sitting there beer in one hand dennerle extendable net in the other pointing with the occasional whack. When they’ve done they’ll both clap you to show how well...

www.ukaps.org

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

It was the first lockdown of the pandemic so the tank got used as a propagator whilst shops were shut. If you have spare aquarium lighting you’ll find they grow terrestrial plants through the sprouting stage just fine.

Equally, cheap SuperFish tanks (usual going free on FB marketplace) with lids and the E27 screw bulb fittings built in work well:



You can then get corn row directional bulbs to put in them:



LED grow bulb options a plenty these days too. With a lid on a tank the temp and moisture is easy to control as well @Aqua sobriquet .

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

Thanks for that. I don’t need anything quite that large but food for thought!