Light setup tips for tomatoes and lettuce

[s3rpens]

Just finished my first basil run and I'm hooked! Time to get experimental with some dwarf tomatoes and lettuce. I'm comparing my cheap, blue-spectrum CFL (which made my seedlings leggy) with my new, stocky-plant-producing full-spectrum LED bar.

My main thought is: Can I use both lights at once during the vegetative stage? I'm hoping to get the full spectrum benefits from the LED while saving a little power with the CFL. Also for the LED is there a recommended blue-to-red ratio I should be aiming for to prevent the stretching I saw earlier?

Should I just stick with the LED and learn to dim it or is light mixing a good idea? Any tips are appreciated!

 

[Alan]

Congrats on the basil! You can combine lights, but the LED likely gives better results alone. Have you checked the spectrum specs or PAR output on your LED?

 

[happyc4t]

Should I just stick with the LED and learn to dim it or is light mixing a good idea? Any tips are appreciated!

yeah, it's safer and more energy efficient than CFLs. A CFL contains a small amount of mercury vapor, which is released if the bulb breaks