Plant Gardens 101

The rumor of the LED light

There has been a lot of press and buzz lately about the new LED grow lights available from a number of manufacturers all over the world and Internet dealers. They have been marketed as the next generation of lighting for indoor hydroponics application. And maybe one day they will be, but today is not that day. NASA is currently developing LED lights to be used on the space station. Because they use very little electricity they can be run off of batteries for long periods of time, so that food can be grown in space. Disney is using hydroponics with traditional lighting to grow fresh produce for use in their Florida theme parks. So development of hydroponic systems and LED applications is definitely on the way, however they just don’t have the penetration power of a traditional lighting system. We’ll explore and contrast the differences between traditional HID lights and LED lights throughout this article.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using a LED grow lights. First we’ll talk about the advantages of using LED grow lights. To begin with LED grow lights can last on average from 8 to 10 years. A traditional high pressure sodium or metal halide lamp will need to be replaced about once every year to once every year and a half. However in contrast LED lights can often last for up to 8 to 10 years with heavy use. LED lights use of very little electricity and generate very little heat. (more…)

Hydroponics has a bad name

Hydroponics has received a lot of undeserved bad press lately. Because many grow houses are using hydroponics, common people will associate hydroponics with drugs and illegal grow houses. However the reality is this is just not the case. There are plenty of legitimate uses for hydroponics by gardeners all over the world. This article will discuss in depth plenty of legitimate uses for hydroponic technology and hope to open your mind to this technology

Let’s take people living in high-rise condos for instance. Many people living in tall skyscrapers do not have access to a large garden as you would if you own a house. The same goes for apartment living. Besides having maybe a small patio, you really don’t have your own patch of dirt. It makes it very difficult to grow simply using soil and pot on the patio when you want to grow plants to eat. A hydroponics grow box can easily be placed in any spare room, though allowing you to grow your own fresh organic herbs, fruits and festivals just feet away from your kitchen. With hydroponics you have no dirt, no waist, and everything stays perfectly fresh. Without hydroponics people wanting to grow their own organic, and pesticide free fresh fruits and vegetables would be unable to do so. Hydroponics significantly improves the lives of people living in tight, or crowded living situations such as condos, apartments, and high-rise office living. (more…)