The brilliant indoor benefits of LED grow lights

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 02:33:46 +0000

Grow lamps were once massive, power-hungry, expensive and hot. Meet the amazing new LEDs

As a self-confessed science geek I am fascinated by technology. Yet in the world of gardening this is often synonymous with the gimmicky (fibreglass meerkat solar light, anyone?) or the hugely complex and costly – think hydroponic growers that require a degree in electrical engineering to install. So it was with trepidation that I started experimenting with LED grow lights last winter in my tiny flat.

Nine months down the line I am a total convert, eulogising about them to all my gardening mates. They are something I feel could be a gamechanger to many modern gardeners, if we could only get over our preconceptions. This is why…

Once upon a time grow lamps were massive, ungainly things – fluorescent tubes more than a metre long that required complex and hideous systems of stands, cables and reflectors. They were real power guzzlers, too, so not exactly great for the planet, or your wallet – which would already have taken a pretty eye-watering hit from the price of all the kit. They even kicked out quite a bit of heat, which apart from raising safety issues, could also damage the very plants you were trying to grow.

However, recent breakthroughs in LED technology have created a new generation of effective, cool-running grow lights that cost a fraction of the old-school behemoths both to buy and to run, consuming (according to some manufacturers) 90% less energy. Crucially, they have shrunk down enough to be easily incorporated into average living room decor, some seamlessly integrated into planter-cum-lamp designs.

Others are light and thin enough to be fixed pretty much invisibly into standard flat-pack shelves, turning existing pieces of furniture in my house into instant growing units. These LED lights are becoming increasingly widely available online and even at a certain Scandinavian home store.

But why bother in the first place? Surely part of the pleasure of getting out in the garden is to escape the relentless march of technology into every aspect of our lives. Well, here’s what my little experiment has done for me: I was able to grow houseplants in parts of my dark, urban flat that I never could before. This is a huge bonus to an obsessive plant collector like me, and could make an even more dramatic difference to houseplant lovers in basement or north-facing flats where lack of light is a serious issue.

Also, come spring seed sowing, I started off a good six weeks or so earlier and got zero etiolation on my baby plants. Stronger plants, much earlier, meant I got a bumper harvest of tomatoes and chillies weeks ahead of time. And all of this for the cost of a couple of desk lamps than run on minimal power. Brilliant!

Growing Plants With Artificial Light

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 08:59:36 +0000

Growing plants with artificial lights offers a great range of opportunity when it comes to growing plants indoors. Plants in different stages of growth have special lighting requirements in order to flourish indoors, and it pays to understand their lighting needs in order to meet them and get the best from your plants.

Vegetable gardening provides a good example of how grow lights and grow lamps work. Vegetable gardeners who live in cold regions of the country know that in order to get a head start on the growing season they will want to start seeds indoors approximately six to eight weeks before their last average frost date. You can find out your last average frost date from your local county extension agent's office. Some seeds require light for germination, while others need it to be dark. This information will be given sometimes on the back of the seed packets, or you can research it in gardening reference books. Once the seeds germinate, the indoor lighting that is used will make or break your starts. Grow lamps need to be kept no more than two to four inches above the growing plant starts, so you will need a way to raise the lights as needed as the plant starts grow taller. Attaching the grow lights to chains, with a hook above, works easily and well for this purpose.

You will need to use different light spectrums depending on where you plants are in the growth stage. If it is early on in your new plant's life, then it will need light in the blue spectrum. When the plant is at the flowering stage, it will need light in the red and orange spectrums.

You can find a grow lamp for a specific color spectrum, or you can find lights that come in a full color spectrum, which is suitable for plants at any stage of development. In addition to the lamp, you will likely also want to use a reflector, which helps intensify and control the light that the lamp puts out, as well as electronic ballasts. The ballasts control the electrical current that flows to the lamp. A lamp ballast is used with high-intensity discharge lights, also known as HID lights, because they put out a very strong intense light similar to sunlight, and this makes them a very good choice for growing plants indoors. Fluorescent lights are also used in indoor gardening. They emit light in the blue and green, as well as the red spectrums, making them another great choice for growing plants indoors. Other popular lights include led grow lights.

The larger the plant is, the more light it will need to produce food and grow, so lighting is all important to the health and vitality of your indoor plants.

LED Grow Lights For Sale in New Zealand Blog.

The brilliant indoor benefits of LED grow lights

Growing Plants With Artificial Light