Under the Lights

I picked up this LED grow light last year. I didn't really have any place to put it or real need for it at the time. It emits a fairly narrow blue and red spectrum of light which the plants enjoy but it's not that great to look at. I started some cucumber and melon seeds last month and normally I just place them in the window but not this time. I placed half under the LED light on a metal shelf in my kitchen. And they appear to be growing well. Much more compact than the plants growing in the window.

The problem with the light fixture is that despite its size, the lighting strip only runs down the middle of it. Even with two rows of pots beneath the strip I still see the plants leaning towards the light in the middle of the fixture to maximize their exposure. I could probably lower the pots a bit at this point. I don't think they need to be that close to the source. But I'll probably move them all to the window soon to make room for a tray of pepper plants. They probably need the light more than these guys.