If you are one to grow plants indoors, you need to make sure all the conditions are met properly. A plant, whether grown indoors or outdoors, requires sunlight. When you are growing them in a room, however, direct sunlight is not an option. In those cases, you need to use grow lights.
Grow lights, in simple terms, are those lights that you put on in a room to simulate the light of the sun to provide your plants with nutrients and a viable growing condition. However, there is a lot more to using grow lights, than installing a few in a room.
If you want your plants to thrive, you need to maintain the room and lights properly. In this article, we will take a look at how to use grow lights for indoor plants, so that you can have a beautiful indoor garden.
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How to Use Grow Lights for Indoor Plants | Complete Guide
There are many kinds of grow light available in market; like T8 LED grow light tube, T12 grow lights, full spectrum succulents grow lights, etc.
For those who want a functional garden indoors, there are some steps to follow. In the following section of the article, we will go over each of the steps to give you a clear guideline on how to proceed with the project.
Source: modernfarmer.com
1. Choosing Seedlings
The first step to growing indoor plants is to choose and buy the seeds. Your grow light requirement, to a large extent, depends on the flora of your choice. For example, exotic plants usually need less light than vegetable plants. The amount of space available in your house also plays a role in your decision.
2. Check for The Light Color Requirement
The color of the light is essential for your indoor plants. In most cases, a plant can utilize the entire light spectrum. However, if, for some reason, your one does not, you need to go with a color that suits your plant precisely. Typically, the most important color for a plant is red and blue.
3. Choose the Light Bulb
When choosing the bulb for your project, you have a few options. You can go with incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, or high-intensity lamps for the plants.
- Incandescent bulbs are great for providing red light. However, they lack the power in blue lights.
- Fluorescent bulbs have a higher intensity than incandescent bulbs. You also have different color options to choose from when going this route. These bulbs are popular options for growing indoor plants.
- High-intensity discharge lamps are great when you have a large amount of plant to produce. However, the cost of the unit makes it unpractical for any homeowner. It is more suited to commercial gardens and farms.
4. Set up the System
The next step is to set up the lighting system of the room. When you know where you want to place your plants, you need to hang the bulbs at the appropriate distance from it. Ideally, you want the light to be at least 10 inches away from the plant. However, keep it within 40 inches for the best effect.
5. Provide Proper Light
When you want to grow indoor plants, you cannot just set up the light and leave it at that. Plants need some rest from sunlight every few hours, and you need to make sure your plants get that rest.
Generally, you should turn off the light every 12 hours. However, your plants might have different requirements. It is a good idea to read up on this when looking at the plants you want to get.
6. Regular Maintenance
You need to regularly check up on your plants if you want them to thrive in indoor conditions. If one side of your plant gets the light constantly, you need to rotate the other side so that it gets the same amount.
Also, make sure you replace the bulbs when they are about to expire. Additionally, you need to water and fertilize your plants as required.
Final Thoughts
There are many small things to take account of when you want to grow indoor plants. Proper use of grow lights is just one of the many things that you have to learn when taking on such a project.
We hope our article on how to use LED grow lights for indoor plants could help you with enough information regarding the topic.
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