Deciding on the best Kind of Grow Light
September 16th, 2010
Most hydroponic gardens use a mixture of natural and artificial lighting while there are also some that either uses natural or artificial light. Crops use different parts of the light spectrum at different phases of growth. In hydroponics, a special light is utilized known as grow lights since these lights help hydroponic plants grow. Since synthetic lights do not contain the full spectrum of a natural light it is of high significance the you choose and make use of the appropriate type of grow light depending on the type of plant your using the the stage of growth and development. Here’s a little bit of information to help you make those decisions.
For the early growth of plants, and/or for leafy varieties of crops, the blue-white part of the color spectrum is best. Metal Halide (MH) bulbs are very good at providing this kind of light. The MH bulbs are categorized under the High Intensity Discharge category which is composed of grow lights that burn hot while supplying the required lighthing even without close distance. Plants that are exposed to MH bulbs are usually thick and leafy. MH bulbs are utilized as the main lighting source in numerous gardens.
For the early growth of crops, and/or for leafy varieties of plants, the blue-white side of the color spectrum is perfect. The MH buls or Metal Halide bulbs are superb resources for blue-white light. They’re a High Intensity Discharge bulb (HID), which means they burn hot but can provide the necessary lighting without being placed too near to the crops. Plants grown solely under MH bulbs are usually thick, leafy and compact. MH bulbs are usually the primary light source in different types of gardens such as hydroponic gardens.
Orange-red lights are perfect for plants that are on the blooming stage. High Pressure Sodium bulbs (HPS), yet another kind of HID grow light, are very good at this stage of plant growth. Due to their restricted spectrum, HPS bulbs are not a good choice as a primary source of light, but are best utilized as supplemental to other types of lights (like MH), or to supplement natural sunlight. Otherwise, your plantswill grow unusually tall and thin.
For seedlings, it is best to use a standard fluorescent bulb placed near the seedlings. Standard fluorescents cover a good part of the light spectrum while emitting a low intensity-a near perfect condition for seedlings. They also emit low heat, so they can be placed close to the young plants without burning them. However, when used otherwise the low intensity light manufactured by standard fluorsecent bulbs don’t promote plant development.
Most hydroponic gardens combine two or more types of grow lights, but if you are a bit tight on the budget then you may use high-output fluosrecents. In contrast to regular fluorescent grow lights, the high-output bulbs provide a more powerful light with low heat, and can be arrayed to cover almost the entire spectrum of natural light. Although less intense than HID bulbs, they’re also more affordable; and because they are cooler, they may be placed much nearer to the plants to compensate for the low intensity, with excellent results.
Choosing the Right type of grow light for your hydroponic garden could be intimidating, but knowing how different types of light help your plants develop will help you choose the right grow lights for your garden.
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