Way Light
Using Grow Lights for Indoor Soil and Hydroponic Gardening
The use of grow lights for indoor and hydroponic gardens will be of major importance for growing healthy plants. Plants require the energy from light in order to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds via photosynthesis. Indoor soil gardening and hydroponic gardening need this light produced by grow lights. Nowadays the most widely used grow lights for indoor and hydroponic gardens are high-pressure sodium (HPS/SON) and/or metal halide (MH) lamps. The lights from these HPS/SON or MH lamps are generally directed at your indoor or hydroponically grown plants by the use of reflectors. In this way, light is produced for your indoor garden in the most efficient manner.
Many types of grow lights are available for indoor soil gardening and/or hydroponic gardening:
Incandescent lights are typically used to highlight indoor plants and are not “true” grow lights.
- Fluorescent grow lights are useful in growing vegetables such as leaf lettuce, spinach and herbs or for getting a jump on planting season by growing seedlings using this lighting. High output fluorescent lights produce much more light than a standard fluorescent lamp. Compact fluorescent lamps are available. These are smaller and are used both for propagation and for growing larger plants.
- High-pressure Sodium Lamps tend to produce plants that are taller and have longer stem growth. Generally, they are used as secondary lighting in greenhouses where plants get their main source of lighting from the sun rather than grow lights. Plants grown with this type of lighting tend to look pale and washed out but, even so, the plants are generally healthy.
- Combination high-pressure sodium and metal halide grow lights come in dual reflector systems. Manufacturers say these lights produce an ideal spectral blend and high outputs. In reality, this type of lighting is a compromise. The lamps use two smaller lights rather than one larger light, therefore, the distance the light penetrates is shorter.
- Switchable, two-way and convertible lamps can burn either a metal halide bulb or an equivalent high-pressure sodium blue in the same fixture. However, these bulbs must be switched out and cannot be burned at the same time. First plants are grown under the metal halide light for propagating and for vegetative growth. For the fruiting and flowering stages, the switch must be made to the high-pressure sodium bulb.
- LED grow lights are relatively cheap, bright and long lasting. They are attractive to indoor gardeners and hydroponic gardeners, as they do not consume as much power. Today’s technology makes LED grow lights an attractive option.
In conjunction with and to increase light directed to the plants, indoor gardeners and hydroponic gardeners sometimes cover the walls of their growing enclosure with light reflective materials. These can range from painting walls with light-reflective white paint to reflective panels of insulation along with a myriad of other materials. This optimized lighting directed to the plants. The larger plants get the more light they need.
Lighting for various types and sizes of plants should be monitored by the use of a timer. Seedlings need fewer hours of plants than medium or fully-grown plants. Hours of lighting should be started at four to six hours for seedlings and then increased as your plants grow. For medium or fully matured plants, eight hours or more per day is the rule of thumb.
Indoor gardening and hydroponic gardening give people who love working in their gardens twice the amount of gardening time (or more) as seasonal changes do not put limits on growing vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit, etc. Indoor and hydroponic gardening is a great way for senior citizens to continue gardening as planting beds can be raised to comfortable heights. No more backbreaking digging holes, weeding, and all that bending and stooping.
Grow lights are essential to indoor gardening and indoor hydroponic gardening for production of photosynthesis and they generally accelerate growth of your plants.
About the Author
Karen Jones is an avid convert to Hydroponic Gardening. She is now retired, from the Health Insurance industry and enjoys expanding her Hydroponic Greenhouse.
You may visit our website
Or email me at karen@hydroponicsgardeninghub.com
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