Day 22 Update! Peppers and lettuce: The same peppers and lettuce from the previous shot. They're in the second-worst part of the UFO grow chamber -- far from the UFO in the center. Nonetheless, the peppers are doing beautifully. I've got a whole tray of them looking just like that. The lettuce, only so-so. They're putting out leaves at a good rate, but two of them never did stand up like I was hoping they would. Next up, the monsters: Okay, these pumpkins are getting a bit scary: The larger of the two now has three tendrils on it, and leaves the size of my outstretched hand. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep them in here before they decide to crush everything else in their path, but I'll keep them in as long as I can ;) I realized that last time I forgot to photograph my eggplants. They're doing just shiny: So, now for my crazy okra: If you'll recall, one germinated tall like a freak, but with a strong stem, and dark green leaves; one germinated short with dark green leaves; and two germinated short with pale, chlorotic yellow leaves. I credit this to using old seed. I'm pleased to report that all of them are doing great. The tall one is now working on its second true leaf, while the two chlorotic ones are starting to turn green. All three of the small ones have just started on their first true leaf; I expect they'll look like the tall one (minus the crazy height) next week. My Ronde de Nice squash that just germinated? I transplanted one, and surprisingly, the transplant is doing better than the non-transplant! Now for the one that was my biggest concern last time: my watermelon. If you'll recall, its first true leaves had turned crisp and stopped growing. Well, I'm glad to report that it has not one, but two sets of normal, healthy true leaves now! Here's a shot of some of my miscellaneous squash and melons. Not a complaint from me about a one of them; they're all growing very healthy. My cinnamon basil was looking healthy enough that I felt it time to thin it out into individual pots. The remaining plants in the original pot are below: So, what's my primary concern this time? I'm starting to suspect that I'm getting more growth in the UFO chamber (red, grow) than in the Christmas chamber (blue, veg). I'm not sure yet, though. Now, that is to be expected to some degree, since that chamber is higher wattage (~105W vs. ~85W), it may be more than that. It's really hard to tell, though, because I moved my most mature trays to the red chamber and kept the youngest trays in the veg chamber. However, I do have one good comparison point: basil. I have a basil pot in the veg chamber that's exactly the same as the basil pot in the grow chamber -- same soil, same size, same plants, and same planting time. So, next week I'm going to photograph and measure the two and see how they compare. But overall, another good week :) The plants pretty much take care of themselves (since the LEDs are pretty cool, the soil takes a long time to get dry, so I rarely even have to water). Hence, I've been busying myself readying my outdoors for the new plants, for once it gets warm enough. I'm going to be training my vining plants to strings suspended from guyed poles this year, via vine clips; should be neat to see how they do.

Not if the recessed cans will be the sole source of lighting. The thread below has more details. Here is a link that might be useful: Recessed light guide

Thanks David, In trying to figure out what to but and where to buy it I really have no idea. There are so many variables to juggle... I contacted Sean Chiu at Phontonier and he sent me a price list (very promptly I might add). The lights they offer seem equivalent to the "Premium" lights (3.3W/ft, 220 lm/ft) at Environmental and also the lights solds by Superbrightleds. On the Photonier spec sheet they list 5W/ft 220 lm/ft models but Sean says they do not sell those to end consumers. Those seem to be equivalent to the "High Brightness Premium" at Environmental. The specs are confusing because I have seen the lm/ft range from 166 to 220 for the WW color (Photonier specs list both numbers) also I have seen the CRI listed from 65 to 80. But I think the 3.3W/ft LEDS have a 65-70 CRI and 5W/ft ones are 80 CRI. Prices for the 3.3 W/ft lights seem to be: Photonier: cheapest approx: $18/ft Superbrightleds: approx $20/ft Environmental: approx $30+/ft(and a huge premium on the 6"), they have volume discounts that start at 5 pieces but that only takes about 10% off) For the "High Brightness Premium" line at Environmental you pay an additional 20% premium. I'd really like the 80 CRI and the higher brightness, but the cost is practically double. And of course the final question is transformers: Once upon a time way back in the summer members of this forum were buying transformers from Magnitude for approx $50. Magnitude no longer will sell to end customers. Environmental's transformers are quite expensive ($125 - $170) and Electric Supplies Online sells a 150W transformer for $60, but 150W seems like overkill and there is a little voice in my head that has some idea that transformers work best when they are loaded at something like 60-80%. Too many choices... too many decisions...

My neighbor switched to LED outdoor Christmas lights last year. What I didn't like was how puny the light was....toooooo dim. Big contrast between our C9 reds and his LEDs. We usually run four or five strands of outdoor lights 24 hours a day for the month. We turn off the regular outdoor lights for December. In the house, the tree and a lighted garland and a couple of small lighted things are the extent of it. Our electric bill doesn't rise that much...a couple of dollars from the lights. One of the keys is that we turn off our regular outdoor lamp post and garage light. Indoors one lamp doesn't get used during Christmas. It's a trade-off. We are slowly replacing all our incandesent bulbs in the house. I'll miss the warmth of the old bulbs, but the new energy savers are looking better and better each year. For now, the LEDs are staying in the stores. Someday....maybe..... Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul