Indoor plants don’t have the access to the Sun that they need. Special indoor lighting is easy to make use of, but gardeners aren’t all familiar with the type of lighting that comes via LED lights. Light emitting diodes, so they are called, are much more efficient than conventional lights.
An LED will fill the role of the Sun; this much is simple to learn. What you may not have known is that the LED can actually be used in a highly customized environment to promote different types of growth. When a plant is just a seed, for instance, you may want to use a different color of LED to promote growth. Mature plants would do better with other wavelengths of light.
It’s true that the energy consumption of an LED is quite small- and that little heat is given off through its high efficiency. You will save a lot of money on your energy bill, but if you go through a cold Winter you may have to spend a bit more on heating. LED lighting doesn’t emit much heat, and won’t do a great job on keeping plants warm. Some type of heating will have to be implemented.
You can easily over water your plants while using LED lighting. This is because the lack of heat previously mentioned. Without the excess heat, water does not evaporate as quickly. It will, thus, be collected in the soil a greater length of time and potentially damage the plant. Typically you should give the plant a bit less water than you normally would, but monitor the water intake so you can quickly customize your watering procedures.
Humans need oxygen to survive- and so too do plants! Oxygen is necessary for cell respiration and can’t be forgotten as a vital element in a plant’s growth. When you are using an LED lighting system, the LED will output a certain level of CO2 that can eventually strangle out all the oxygen in the atmosphere and instead damage your plant. Usually this is only a problem for very large operations in rooms with poor ventilation- but having a meter handy is never a bad idea to be safe.
If at first you notice that your LED light doesn’t seem to be emitting much like, don’t worry. LED lights emit a different wavelength of light, and you can be rest assured that the plants are still getting an abundance of light necessary for photosynthesis. You can also supplement lighting with a proper soft-white light bulb to encourage the development of fruit in plants such as tomatoes.
Final Thoughts
Growing plants indoors couldn’t be easier with the right LED setup. The only thing left to do is research how LED lights affect your plants, what LED lights you need specifically, and how to take care of your plants in the process. Such manuals can be found at gardening centers and bookstores.
Learn more about LED Grow Lights and LED lights.