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Indoor Plant Grow Lights

by Admin on April 11th, 2010

The hobbyist gardener who lives in a cold region or in an apartment will revel in the abilities that grow lights allow them to have.  Indoor plant grow lights attempt to reproduce natural sunlight wavelengths that are needed by plants so that they can be grown almost anywhere.  This will allow for a small herb or vegetable garden to be grown on the kitchen counter or a flower garden to be grown in the living room.

A grow light give you the option to grow plants when and where it is convenient to you, rather than having to own land and wait for the perfect planting season.  You can have flowers and vegetables year round, rather than when nature allows.  Although they can be pricey upfront, their benefits are numerable and they are cheap to run long term.

The various grow light types all attempt to do the same thing when trying to emulate natural sunlight.  They output the wavelengths of light that are most crucial to plant growth and reproduction.  Since different wavelengths are needed by plants during the different phases of growth, bulbs exist to target each.  There are also bulbs that attempt to target the full spectrum of light, but these will be more expensive due to their flexibility of use.

The benefits of these lights are numerable, but there are also some drawbacks.  The most efficient light will still consume energy and increase your electric bill.  As technology advances, the impact on electricity use is going down thought.

Another major concern is that grow lights have to run for a fairly specific amount of time each day.  You want to try to match the natural lighting environment of the plants you’re cultivating.  This can be done manually or with a timer, but make sure you adjust for the change in day length throughout the year.  The timing usually doesn’t have to be perfect, since nature’s timing isn’t perfect, but you definitely need to be close.

There are various types of bulbs that can be used as grow lights.  The most technologically advanced type is the LED grow light.  These use very little electricity when running and are designed to hit the four major wavelengths in the spectrum that are most needed for the different parts of plant growth.

The drawbacks to LED grow lights include their lack of ability to reproduce the full spectrum.  Since each LED bulb is targeted at a specific wavelength due to their digital nature, there is a gap between the target light types.  Since they are designed to produce the light that plants need, this isn’t a big issue for most plant types, but it can be a problem for finicky plants.

Indoor Plant Grow Lights

The hobby gardener who lives in a cold region or in an apartment will revel in the abilities that grow lights allow them to have. Indoor plant grow lights attempt to reproduce natural sunlight wavelengths that are needed by plants so that they can be grown almost anywhere. This will allow for a small herb or vegetable garden to be grown on the kitchen counter or a flower garden to be grown in the living room.

A grow light give you the option to grow plants when and where it is convenient to you, rather than having to own land and wait for the perfect planting season. You can have flowers and vegetables year round, rather than when nature allows. Although they can be pricey upfront, their benefits are numerable and they are cheap to run long term.

The various grow light types all attempt to do the same thing when trying to emulate natural sunlight. They output the wavelengths of light that are most crucial to plant growth and reproduction. Since different wavelengths are needed by plants during the different phases of growth, bulbs exist to target each. There are also bulbs that attempt to target the full spectrum of light, but these will be more expensive due to their flexibility of use.

The benefits of these lights are numerable, but there are also some drawbacks. The most efficient light will still consume energy and increase your electric bill. As technology advances, the impact on electricity use is going down thought.

Another major concern is that grow lights have to run for a fairly specific amount of time each day. You want to try to match the natural lighting environment of the plants you’re cultivating. This can be done manually or with a timer, but make sure you adjust for the change in day length throughout the year. The timing usually doesn’t have to be perfect, since nature’s timing isn’t perfect, but you definitely need to be close.

There are various types of bulbs that can be used as grow lights. The most technologically advanced type is the LED grow light. These use very little electricity when running and are designed to hit the four major wavelengths in the spectrum that are most needed for the different parts of plant growth.

The drawbacks to LED grow lights include their lack of ability to reproduce the full spectrum. Since each LED bulb is targeted at a specific wavelength due to their digital nature, there is a gap between the target light types. Since they are designed to produce the light that plants need, this isn’t a big issue for most plant types, but it can be a problem for finicky plants.

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