Threw $80 at a fancy indoor grow light that was totally overkill for my little herb garden

I got suckered into buying a full spectrum 800W LED panel off Amazon thinking my basil and mint would explode with growth. Turns out a $25 cheap shop bulb from the hardware store does the exact same job for a 4 foot windowsill setup. Gave the big light to my buddy who runs a full basement hydro setup with tomatoes and peppers. Has anyone else wasted cash on gear way bigger than their actual space?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael88019d ago

Yeah I totally fell for the same thing with a "pro level" 600W blurple light for my window herbs. Read on a gardening forum where this guy swore by them for lettuce and I thought I needed one too. My basil and mint did fine with a regular 15W daylight bulb from the grocery store. Ended up giving the big light to my neighbor who actually has a basement setup. It's wild how much marketing makes you think you need expensive gear when simple stuff works just as good for small spaces.

gray_gibson19d ago

Man I feel that so hard @michael880. "Pro level" marketing gets me every time too lol. I bought a fancy pH meter for my houseplants once and it broke after two weeks, meanwhile my cheap plastic one from the dollar store is still going strong. The simple stuff really does work for small setups like window herbs, it's wild how much we overthink it. Your basil and mint prove that a normal bulb is plenty for most people just starting out.

faith_perez19d ago

Wait till you discover how much light your phone screen puts out for tiny setups.