Flowering/Fruiting time results
After 7 days the 219watt LED fixture was first to show signs of flowering. This was followed by the 152watt LED fixture which took 10 days to show signs flowering. And in third place the 680 watt HID fixture took 16 days.
By day 59 the 219watt LED fixture had finished producing its first batch of fully formed tomatoes. And by day 87 it had finished producing its 2nd batch of tomatoes.
By day 61 the 152watt LED fixture had finished producing its first batch of fully formed tomatoes. And by day 89 it had finished producing its 2nd batch tomatoes, initially growth was slower until feed was increased then so did the size of the tomatoes.
By day 69 the 680watt HID fixture had finished producing its first batch of fully formed tomatoes. And by day 76 it had finished producing its 2nd batch of tomatoes which showed good uniform growth.
Total yields produced as follows;
- 219watt LED fixture = Batch 1 = 223 grams + 188 grams =411g
- 152watt LED fixture = Batch 1 = 205 grams + 209 grams =414g
- 680watt HID fixture = Batch 1 = 185 grams + 134 grams = 319g
- Conclusion the fuller spectrum of the LEDs both outperformed the Hps and in the case of the tomato grown under 150watt LED it did so using virtually half the DLI of both the 220watt and the 680watt fixtures so clearly there is a point of diminishing returns. And clearly spectrum makes a difference.
Size and look of the tomatoes;
- 152watt LED fixture produced a ratio of roughly 9:1 or 28 large to 3 small tomatoes. The colour of these tomatoes were bright red, see pics below.