Balancing Peripheral Light Levels

[MidgeSmith]

I have a small tent 2ftx4ft.  It yields enough that I only have to grow once or twice a year, which would be annoying if I could afford to grow all year round, but as it is, is rather pleasingly efficient.  Anyway, I have a lovely light, a 320W Kingbrite that I haven't needed to run over 80% and nicely fits the shape of my tent and offers a lot of bang for my buck.  I fortify the output with the Far Reds and UV lights I won from our beloved but now expired LED Grow Shop :/

The tiny little problem I have is the one we all know about, the light rolloff at the sides of the tent.  It's only 15cm left and right and 25cm front and back, but using photone shows quite a bid dropoff in the DLI around the peripheral third of the tent.

[Same light, not my tent]

Anyway, to cut a very long (and now deleted) story short, I wondered if it is worth buying supplementary lights to edge my tiny grow, or would it make a significant difference if I raised the light slightly and boosted the light to max output, rather than the 80% I have had it up to so far? Last grow I LSTd the central plant away from the very centre so I could raise the light output and get a very slightly higher average DLI without burning the lovely Cheddar in the middle.

Of course the third option is to shut up and get on with it, knowing there is drop off at the edges.

Any thoughts apart from "Shhhhhh Midge!"?

[Baron von greenback]

Raise the light and do 100% first then if that works you haven't wasted any money then you can make decision to buy more lights

[MidgeSmith]

Yeah, that is the plan, cheers.  You know how it is sometimes you sit back at the end of the day and get to thinking without wanting to wander the halls and grounds to go and do field checks

I just figure some other bugger had probably already had a crack at similar and might know tonight

Edited March 28, 2023 by MidgeSmith