Plant Gardens 101

All plants, because of their need for photosynthesis, require appropriate light in order to ensure their proper growth and maturation. Indoor gardeners use indoor grow lights to supply the illumination necessary. There are a wide variety of indoor grow lights available, including LED grow lights, HPS grow lights, and even discount grow lights. There are some differences among indoor grow lights, so it pays to do a little research before you invest in them.

HPS Grow Lights
HPS grow lights, referencing high pressure sodium, are a type of HID, or high intensity discharge, light. Although a compact light bulb, they are capable of producing a lot of light, and thus their appeal to indoor gardeners. HPS lights give off light in the red to orange color spectrum, making it the lamp of choice for helping to coax your mature plants to bear fruit or flowers. HPS lamps need to be used in conjunction with a ballast, a piece of equipment that controls the flow of electricity to and through the lamp. The lamps are popular because they last a long time and are efficient to run.
(more…)

There are many different types of grow lights available for indoor gardening. You will see HID, high intensity discharge; MH, metal halide; and HPS, high pressure sodium, grow lamps advertised for use in greenhouses and all types of indoor plant growing situations. led grow lights are also now available, and offer a superior solution to indoor plant lighting than was previously available.

Lightweight

The LED grow light is quite a bit lighter in weight than other types of traditional grow lamps. This is because HID, MH and hps lights all require the use of a ballast in order for them to function properly. Reflectors, to cast a larger pool of light on the plants, are also used with hps light bulbs and others, adding to the bulk of the equipment. Because the lights are usually suspended in some fashion over the plants, weight is an important consideration, especially if lights must be regularly raised and lowered for plant maintenance chores, such as watering, to occur, as well as an appropriate distance from the plants to be adhered to. With certain high-end LED grow lights, they come with built-in fans, negating the need for air-cooled reflectors and ducting. (more…)

UFO led lighting is a fairly recent development in indoor gardening lighting. It takes the power of tiny LED lights and combines and configures them in such a way as to produce indoor light perfectly suited for growing plants. There are many types of indoor gardening applications where the ufo led grow light can be beneficial.

Seed Starting and the UFO LED Light
Many different types of seeds benefit from the application of appropriate light during the seed germination process. Seeds such as lettuce, mullein and evening primrose achieve germination only when light is applied. If they are outside in the garden, they rely on natural sunlight, but if indoors, it is up to the gardener to apply the light they need. The UFO LED light is suited to this purpose, because it not only offers the bright light needed for germination, but in the case of lettuce, which requires cooler soil and air temperatures for germination to occur, the LED UFO grow light produces no heat. This allows you to more easily control the air and soil temperatures so you can achieve the best germination rate for your seed. You can do this without the added expense of fans and vents, which are typically used with other types of lighting. (more…)

If you are a commercial plant grower or hydroponic gardener, you know that speed in getting your plants from seedlings to marketable size rapidly means the difference between making a profit and not. If you are a home gardening aficionado, you want to get your seedlings off to a great start in order to have your flower and vegetable starts ready to plant out when the weather warms up in spring. For all these uses, high output LED grow lights offer an indoor garden lighting solution that leads to healthy plants that grow rapidly.

Color Temperature and led grow lights for plants (more…)

Indoor gardening is one of the most relaxing hobbies you can pick up. No indoor garden is complete without its good and efficient grow light systems . Often times, the quality of the light bulb and light movers is the different between an average garden and one which is thriving.

There are a number of different grow light systems you can choose from. Incandescent, fluorescent and high-intensity discharge bulbs each have their very own benefits. Your choice of light systems and grow light movers is ultimately determined by the type of plants you are growing and where your indoor garden is located.

Incandescent Bulbs – You’ll quickly recognize incandescent bulbs since most household bulbs are this type. They are a decent source of red light, but a poor source for blue. When combined with the use of good grow light movers, they are capable of producing some heat in relation to the amount of light they give off. However, the plants can be burned if they are placed to close to the bulb even with a grow light mover. (more…)

Grow lights are used to accelerate plant growth. They emit an electromagnetic spectrum which is helpful for photosynthesis. Classified by light sources, you may find Incandescent, Fluorescent, Metal-Halide (MH) HID, High-pressure sodium lamps and LED grow lights in the market. Because LED technology progress quickly, LED grow lights are attractive to indoor and outdoor growers since they do not consume as much power, do not require ballasts, produce a fraction of the heat of HID lamps and long lifespan. If you are looking for grow lights, you may take LED grow lights into consideration because of the following features. 1. High Efficiency LED can produce the blue and red wavelengths which can be best used in photosynthesis. We can control the wavelengths from LED and make use of power efficiently. 2. Low Power Consumption Comparing to HID lighting, LED uses only 20% to 30% of the electricity. LED is famous for high power efficiency. Nowadays the power efficiency is more than 100lm/w and is improved rapidly. 3. Long Lifespan The lifespan of LED is more than 50,000 hours. HPS lamp is about 3,000 – 5,000 hours. 4. Minimal Heat LED grow lights are warm to touch. It does not scorch young or tender plants like HID lighting can. It also reduces your room/building air conditioning costs. 5. Versatile Blue LED can be easily added to enhance vegetative growth and red LED can be used to promote the fruiting and flowering stage. So if you are looking for grow lights, I believe LED grow lights are your good choice.

Lighting Orient Co., Limited provide high quality LED Grow Lights. You can find it here http://www.ledlightsorient.com/grow-lights-c-17.html

View more articles from Leo Wu

This article is provided by Amazines.com – The ULTIMATE Article Database

The use of grow lights to maximize plants growth stages, maximizing size and quality, is a science. To get it right requires following each plant’s delicate needs from proper lighting to nutrients and air quality.

If growing plants indoors is something that interests you, then you’ll most likely need grow lights to help accomplish the job. A grow light provides the special lighting and light spectrum that plants need to grow and thrive, and there are two types of lights that accomplish this: high intensity discharge lights, and fluorescent lights. High intensity discharge grow lights come in two varieties — the metal halide grow light (often referred to as MH), and the high pressure sodium grow light (often referred to as HPS). The metal halide light is designed to nurture plants during their growing cycle. The growing cycle applies to pants that are non-fruiting and/or non-blooming. (more…)

Indoor gardens can be tricky when figuring out the correct lighting cycle to ensure your plants lasting happiness and prosperity.

Grow lights are electric lamps that are designed to encourage healthy plant growth by emitting electromagnetic radiation that provides the right conditions for the plant to undergo photosynthesis. This emitted light spectrum is much like that which comes from the sun, except that because it comes from a light, the plant does not need natural sunlight or even to be outdoors in order to benefit from it. Did you know that the lighting that comes from natural daylight has a high color temperature that makes the light appear bluish? Grow lights can replicate this same 6000°K lighting, so the plant grows and matures much like it would if it were outdoors and soaking up the full benefit of natural sunlight.

However, grow lights do not only emit a bluish cast of light. There are different light spectrums that are needed for different stages of growth in a plant. The plant in its initial vegetative state requires blue, but the flowering stage that occurs later on needs red and orange spectrums. Grow lights are available in colors all throughout the plant growth spectrum, and some specialty bulbs will be able to cover the entire spectrum. (more…)

Light weight, cost efficiency for many years of use, and bright clean light is what the UFO LED grow light will bring to your indoor gardening setup. The UFO LED utilizes special light emitting diode technology to bring you the ultimate grow light on the market today.

The first benefit you will get when you make the switch to a UFO LED light is the quality of light this small unit can produce. A UFO LED uses the power of LED to produce more light than would be given by a four-hundred watt high high pressure sodium, or HPS, grow light. It does this while using only eighty watts of energy, making it very cost efficient in terms of the lumens of light produced compared to the watts of energy needed to produce the light.

(more…)

The following is a hydroponics and grow lights primer covering the basics of the systems and methods commonly used for growing plants using hydroponics based systems. Our hope is to give you enough information to get you started with evaluating the different systems and with choosing the right one for you.

Hydroponic systems include: Nutrient Film Technique (NFT); Drip (or Top) Watering; Aeroponic; Cloning; and Ebb & Flow (flood & drain) methods. Basically, all systems feature a reservoir and some type of container for the plant(s) to grow in, such as pots, trays, etc. What differentiates them is how the nutrient solution is delivered to the roots.

Media-based systems use some form of growing media or plant nutrients, which provide support for the roots. There is a greater selection of media-based systems to choose from to accommodate diverse plants and plant sizes. Water culture systems can be used either with or without grow media. These systems, however, require regular attention since growth rates are high. Abundant and good-quality fresh water and electricity must be readily available. Also, rapidly growing plants need to be maintained. Vines require trellising and fruit and flowers must be harvested in a timely manner. Some popular water culture systems are raft nutrient film technique and aeroponics.

(more…)

People who enjoy indoor gardening are looking for good, bright light for their plants. In addition, they want light fixtures that are light in weight, yet offer excellent light coverage. All of these great features are available in the UFO LED. Although it looks small and round, rather like an unidentified flying object, nevertheless the UFO LED grow light provides amazing light at a cost-effective price.

Roughly the same size as a bread plate, the UFO LED light runs on only eighty watts of electricity yet puts out more bright light than a four-hundred watt high pressure sodium or metal halide lamp. HID, or high intensity discharge, lights, on the other hand, require seventy to eighty percent more electricity to run them at the same light capacity as the UFO LED.

Not only does it use a fraction of the energy that other grow lamps use, but it also runs very cool. This is because the LED grow lights comes with three fans built in, so you will not need to purchase air-cooled ducting or reflectors and will dramatically reduce your air conditioning costs as well. A cooler running UFO LED light also ensures that you will not burn your tender plant foliage, a common problem with other types of grow lights.

(more…)

Indoor gardeners are agog with the introduction of the latest LED grow light to hit the market–the Supernova LED. This family of LED grow lights offers improved light output for a fraction of the cost of using HID or other ordinary types of grow lights. Gardeners are impressed with its light coverage, increased light spectrum control, and cool running temperatures, among a wealth of improvements it brings to ordinary grow lamps.

The Supernova LED grow light offers an increased light coverage when compared with other LED grow lights. While other good LED grow lights offer a three foot by three foot area with good light coverage, the Supernova LED adds an additional two feet to that, for a total of five square feet of coverage area. All this light comes from a lighting unit that is space saving yet very powerful. The Supernova LED grow light achieves this large coverage through the clever use of seven individual circuit boards. This allows the light to flow out of the unit at different angles, and this unique design provides for its improved light coverage that your plants will appreciate. (more…)

All plants need three things to grow and thrive, and they are light, food and water. Light is extremely important, because without appropriate light, the plant will not be able to perform photosynthesis and will not be able to create chemical energy, otherwise known as food, which it uses for growth. With this in mind, bright light is crucial for indoor gardening at all levels, whether for an avid home gardener or a commercial greenhouse grower. Indoor gardeners are enthusiastic about the new grow light called the Supernova LED for many reasons.

The Supernova LED grow light will provide your plants with all of the light they need for excellent growth. Plants need more light from certain spectrums depending on their stage of growth. Plant grow lights come in different color temperatures, ranging from blues at one end of the spectrum and reds on the opposite end. Young plants need light in the blue spectrum for good growth, while mature plants that you want to produce fruit or flowers will thrive with light in the red and orange spectrum. (more…)

The benefits of gardening under grow light systems are hard to ignore. I can’t imagine a better way to grow a healthy crop of green seedlings. If indoor gardening is one of your favorite hobbies, discount grow lights will guarantee your orchids, African violets, and hibiscus will continue to bloom year-round. Maybe you prefer growing wintertime plants such as vine-ripened tomatoes, herbs or salad greens. 400 watt grow lights can accomplish the same results.

A general rule I like to follow for my garden’s required indoor plant lighting is that 1000W adequately provides enough lighting for my garden area. If you are looking to make your plant grow lights system more efficient, use a reflector combined with a light mover. Don’t forget that many types of hydroponic hps grow light systems use a ballast to ignite the bulb. (more…)

For anyone starting out with indoor or hydroponics gardening, using grow light kits can help you get started on the right foot. Making sure you provide a stable, managed environment can make all the difference in your garden’s success. While it is possible to purchase indoor grow lights and other components that you’ll need separately, starting out with a kit can be a much simpler solution.

Benefits of using grow light kits

The most significant benefit of any kit is that it is ready to use immediately. While this his hugely convenient, new and seasoned gardeners alike will appreciate that kits are failsafe. The components included in any grow light assembly must integrate correctly in order for a lighting system to work correctly. There are different types of ballasts, bulbs and reflectors. An HPS grow light, for example, must be paired with a suitable ballast in order to work properly. The risk of pairing incompatible components is completely eliminated by the use of grow light kits. (more…)

Hydroponic gardening is one of the most popular methods for plant production. This form allows people with no land, or land unsuitable for plant growth, to produce food and flowers with ease. As you go about building your hydroponics system you will will want to invest in excellent grow lights. Many gardeners choose HID, or high intensity discharge, grow lamps because they most closely resemble natural sunlight, and this is conducive to excellent plant growth in an indoor growing situation. However, not all grow lights are created equal.

There are five types of HID lights, and they include mercury vapor, low-pressure sodium, xenon short-arc lamps, metal halide and high-pressure sodium. Metal halide and high-pressure sodium make great hydroponic lights and should be used with a specialty hydroponic digital ballast. (more…)

Smart individuals who practice hydroponic gardening understand the value of using HID lamps and HPS lights. Each of these types of lights that are used in the greenhouse or home require a ballast for their proper function. Correct maintenance of your hydroponics equipment will help ensure its long life, thereby saving you money.

High Intensity Discharge lights are favored by horticulturists and gardeners because they produce more light and a greater intensity of light than other types of lamps. These lights consist of a quartz or alumina inner tube within a glass lamp. Inside this tube you will find tungsten electrodes, gas, and metals. When you turn the electricity on, an electrical arc flows over the electrodes. The gas inside the tube helps illuminate the lamp initially, and the metal produces a continuous light as long as the electricity stays on. A ballast is used to control the flow of the electrical current to the HID bulb. With no ballast, uncontrolled current would flow into the bulb unchecked, blowing up the bulb, so the ballast is vital to its proper operation. (more…)

Growing plants indoors can be a huge benefit to you and your family in terms of producing even some of your own food, such as salad greens and tomatoes. But inefficient growing systems can be expensive to run. Here’s how to use more efficient grow light systems in order to save money.

The heart of the system is based on the type of grow lamp you choose. There are several hydroponic grow lights available. Incandescent lamps are not a good choice for growing plants indoors because they burn hot and can burn the plants if placed too close and they also have a short life span. Fluorescent grow lights work well if you want to start seeds indoors, and will work nicely for growing the little plant seedlings on inside. They also are appropriate for growing salad greens indoors. The bulbs need to be placed close to the plants in order for the plants to receive the best benefit from the light, typically no more than four inches from the plants. You can save money by using appropriate light, because if you do not, you have wasted the seed, growing medium and nutrients, because the plants will not thrive without adequate light. (more…)

If you live in an area with a short growing season, then you will likely want to get a jump start on the gardening year by starting seeds indoors, then growing the seedlings on under lights. All plants need three items to thrive: water, nutrition, and light. Of these three, inadequate indoor light is often the one that lays waste the best laid gardener’s plans for strong and sturdy seedlings. Grow lights impact plant growth depending on the amount of light they give and the quality of the light they emit. Using one of the many digital ballasts available, you can set the exact light conditions your garden needs.

Indoors, under artificial conditions, you are trying to emulate the useful parts of natural sunlight as much as possible for optimal plant growth, all other necessary ingredients being present. Since sunlight is much brighter than light from a grow lamp, you will need to leave the lights on for 12-18 hours per day to compensate for the lesser brilliance of the light from artificial sources. (more…)

Hydroponic gardening is a great way to grow plants in areas that could not otherwise sustain plant growth. One of the most important and costly pieces of equipment you will buy is a lighting system for your hydroponics garden. After you have made the investment, you will want to do everything possible to ensure that you care for your system properly so it offers the longest useful life.

In a greenhouse or home setting, a hydroponic lighting system will be running for many hours each and every day. Most plants require artificial lighting, which comes from grow lights, to be turned on for sixteen to eighteen hours daily. This means that the grow lamps will be running hot because of the duration of time that they are operating. You can increase the life of your equipment by taking care of the electronic circuitry by reducing the heat. Running auxiliary fans can help bring the temperatures down, and this can help your grow light last for as much as twice as long as it would if running in hot operating conditions. (more…)