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Hot take: My $30 grow light from the hardware store beats my friend's $200 'full spectrum' panel for my basil.

His fancy light gave leggy, weak growth while mine produced bushy plants with twice the leaves in the same 6-week window. Am I missing something, or is the marketing just that good?
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2 Comments
xena_anderson
My buddy had the same thing happen with his lettuce setup. His expensive light made everything tall and thin, but a cheap shop light fixed it right up. Maybe some of those fancy ones just aren't tuned right for herbs.
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the_blair
the_blair10d ago
Yeah, the "tuned right for herbs" part is spot on. A lot of those pricy full spectrum lights are made for flowering plants, so they push growth up instead of out. For leafy stuff, you just need a strong, simple light close to the plants. Your buddy's shop light fix proves it. I've seen leggy basil turn into a bush just by swapping to a basic bright white LED panel.
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