I don't know if I can help since I know nothing about vertical growing however I do start under florescent and move to LED when the plants are big enough for net pots (I have two 300W and two 180W LED fixtures and one area that I still use SHO-T5 bulbs) . Kale and arugula do well for me in both ebb'n'flo and DWC, spinach is more difficult but my issue is keeping it from bolting. I'm not sure what you mean by crispy but between this post and the one about spinach it sounds like nutrient burn (dead and dried out leaf tips)... I say that because I have a 300W LED less than 18 inches over a tray of lettuce and peppers and they are not burned. I grow spinach, various types of lettuce, (some)peppers and arugula at between 800 and 1100 ppm (I am sloppy and lazy about exact numbers), I have a second reservoir for tomatoes, kale, (other) peppers and celery that I keep between 1300 and 1800 ppm. I use the Botanicare Pureblend nutrients and simply top up the nutrients when I add water.