In This Issue Hydroponics System at Alfred State College Plants, Light, and LEDs Part 3 Featured Distributor Henckel Gruppen ApS Roedby, Denmark +45 7022 7333 www.henckel.biz Featured Product: The LGM1 For leafy plants, seedling to early vegetative, where compact vegetative growth is desired. LGM1 led grow lights are perfect for counter top gardens Easily mounted anywhere you would like to grow. Receive 10% off of your purchase of the LGM1 model in the month of June by simply mentioning that you are a reader of the LED Gardener. Order now. 1-866-414-7244 Care to Comment? The LED Gardener appreciates all the input we receive from our readers. If you would like to submit an article or pictures concerning led grow lights or if you would like to comment on a current article please send submissions and comments or questions to angela@led-grow-master.com You are receiving this email because you subscribed at led-grow-master.com If you do not wish to receive this newsletter :Request your name removed angela@led-grow-master.com Contact LED Grow Master Global: Admin@led-grow-master.com |
| LED Gardener |
There may be snow on the ground and a nip in the air, but the cropping season is well underway at Alfred State College. Thanks to new greenhouse and led grow lights, the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Technology, located in the central Southern Tier, is growing vegetables year-round. Conventional greenhouse technologies are already widely used in Western New York; thus, Alfred State is focused on how greenhouse systems can be made more sustainable, using new growing technologies. There are many methods of hydroponic production, including growing the plants in soil media such as peat moss, perlite, or even sand. These media, which are lighter and less buffered than soil, allow growers to quickly and directly deliver nutrients to their crops. In the college’s greenhouse, hydroponics is being used for dynamic root growth. The plants are grown in polypropylene tubes which have thin streams of nutrients running through them -- a technique known as Nutrient Film Technique. The results are remarkable: for example, full lettuce heads are ready for harvest one month after planting. The hydroponic vegetable production is overseen by Dr. Matthew Harbur, ASC assistant professor, Agriculture and Horticulture Department. This project is just one of many exciting initiatives underway at the college’s new Center for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture (COSA). Harbur and Alfred State students are currently growing lettuce in the greenhouse, which includes red and green Summer Crisp, Oak Leaf, red and green Romaine, and Lollo lettuce. Other crops include herbs, edible flowers, other salad greens, and tomatoes. Volume will further increase as additional greenhouse models are constructed later this year. The greenhouse hydroponics system promotes a more sustainable food culture and local food production. The varieties of lettuce being grown now are provided by Johnny’s Select Seeds from Maine. The development of an LED (light-emitting diode) light system for the greenhouse sparked Harbur’s interest in a hydroponics system. The lights use far less energy than pressure sodium lights and there are no hazardous issues of florescent lights. The LED lights are used to supplement the winter sunshine, which alone is too weak to support rapid vegetable growth. The first lettuce crop from the greenhouse was sold to ACES (Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and Services—the campus dining and vending operation) to be used in the Central Dining Hall to feed ASC students. Soon ASC students will harvest 30 heads a day, which is roughly 20-30 pounds of lettuce per week. “Many people think growing with hydroponics isn’t as sustainable as growing plants in soil, but it reduces the greenhouse space that must be heated and lit, and increases the competitiveness of local vegetables with imported foods,” says Harbur, who also serves as director of COSA. He added, “There are a lot of advantages with hydroponics: less footage required per pound of food produced and, in our system, the ability to grow additional plants below our hydroponic system.” Kathleen M. Bayus Office of Communications TA Parish Hall Alfred State College Alfred, NY 14802 P: (607) 587-4228 Plants, Light, and LEDs Part 3
earlier, plants use pigments to catch light. Every pigment has something called an absorption curve that shows how well that pigment is able to catch light of different colors. Each pigment has one or more absorption peaks, which show the colors of light which that particular pigment absorbs best. That doesn't mean it can't absorb other colors of light, just that it doesn't absorb them as well. We've also learned that chlorophyll is good at absorbing red and blue light, but not so good at absorbing green light. Since chlorophyll is used by plants during photosynthesis, which is a major plant process, we know that if we shine red and blue light on a plant it will drive the photosynthetic engine better than an equivalent amount of green light would. For many plants it seems that they just look green, and we don't see any other colors that might hint at the existence of other pigments. In the fall, though, the spectacular color show put on by deciduous trees show us some of the other pigments within the leaves of trees. These other pigment colors are masked by the green of chlorophyll during the growing season. Then when autumn comes and the leaves lose their chlorophyll, the hidden pigment colors are suddenly revealed. Since these autumn colors are not green, but are instead yellows, purples, and reds, we also know these other pigments are absorbing different colors of light than chlorophyll. Sunlight contains roughly the same amount of each color of light that plants use, so when you grow plants outdoors you don't have to worry about whether or not the light is good for growing plants. Nothing works better than sunlight for growing plants. But when you're considering using a man-made light source such as led grow lights (i.e. a grow lamp) to grow your plants it's important to know whether or not that lamp will provide an appropriate mix of light colors for growing plants. --CEO SolarOasis ***************************************************************** |
 |
| |
 |
| June 1, 2008 Volume 3, Issue 6 |
