Home gardening offers a rewarding experience, but the availability of optimum sunlight may not always be consistent—especially during the winter months.
Every plant requires light to sustain, but the amount may vary dramatically. A sunny nook at your house may supply sufficient sunlight to houseplants, but your other indoor green babies might demand more consistent and brighter light to flourish. That's when grow lamps come into the scene, aiding as an artificial source of light that can help indoor plants facilitate photosynthesis, promoting subsequent foliage development and harvest.
Whether you are propagating a spring garden or harvesting an indoor veggie patch, choosing the right grow lamp will make all the difference—stimulating growth and good plant health. Here are a few things every novice gardener should consider before investing in growing lamps.
Make sure the grow lamps you are choosing offer a wide range of spectrum—such as blue (to aid vegetative growth) and red (for fruiting and flowering). The best LED lights are praised for their multi-functionality, to emit the ideal spectrum.
When choosing grow lights, the wattage will help determine their intensity. After you have decided which grow lamps are ideal for your green babies, consider the size of the fixture you will need to illuminate the given space.
Calculate the total wattage needed to illuminate the space—typically, low-light plants need 10 to 15 watts for every square foot, medium-light greens demand 15 to 20 watts, and high-light foliage thrives best when the power of the light is over 20 watts.
Adjust the light setup according to the needs of your plants. Minimise or maximise the light’s intensity by shifting your potted greens’ placements—enabling the plants to stay farther or closer to the light source.
Some grow lamps generate immense heat, as a result, you may have to invest in additional cooling systems. Therefore, consider buying lights that generate minimal heat—to avoid damaging your plants.
Make sure you are investing in grow lights that can evenly distribute light, to cover your entire indoor veggie patch or growing nook. Even light distribution will check uneven growth and guarantee adequate light reception to all plants.
LED grow lights are a popular choice for their versatility and energy efficiency. These lamps emit a full spectrum of light required to support plant growth, generate minimal heat, and are long-lasting. If you own an urban or indoor kitchen garden, LED grow lights make an excellent option.
Fluorescent lights are like LED lights in some aspects—they emit full-spectrum light and are usually the second-best option. Fluorescent lights consume 75 per cent less energy than incandescent grow lights. However, in terms of efficiency, they are not as good as LEDs. Opt for the narrower light tubes—they emit brighter light and particularly help plants that demand medium-to-low-light conditions—to thrive and grow.
Incandescent lights are perfect for growing houseplants that thrive in low-light conditions. Grow lamps fitted with incandescent lights are not the best option for plants with higher light requirements—because 90 per cent of their energy is spent on producing heat while only 10 per cent is used to emit light. Incandescent grow lights are cheaper than LED and fluorescent lights but less efficient. Since incandescent lights have high heat output, placing light-loving plants under them will likely result in scorched foliage.
If you are caring for young plants or recently emerged seedlings, remember they thrive well under full-spectrum lights that generate red and blue wavelengths. You can opt for fluorescent or special LED grow lights to promote their growth. Install the light nearly 4 to 6 inches from your seedlings, and subject them to light for at least 16 hours regularly.
For growing fruits indoors and spurring plants, you should invest in growing lamps with red light waves. Invest in LED fixtures or bulbs that are specifically designed to promote growth in fruiting plants.
With so many grow light varieties out there, each one catering to specific plant needs, you don't have to fret about the growth of your indoor plants anymore.
