Quality, efficient grow light that generate more light and less heat are your best bet.
Understanding basic light levels and how different plants respond to light is your first step to indoor gardening success. People and plants “see” and use light differently. What looks like a bright lamp to you might not be very efficient for plant growth. Light provided to your plants from grow lamps needs to be within the right spectrum for good photosynthesis. Lamps must also provide enough volume of light for the type of plant you’re growing. Skip the shop lights. Quality, efficient grow lamps that generate more light and less heat are your best bet. New innovations in LED grow lamp technology have made them good choices for growing seedlings, leafy greens and herbs, and small fruits indoors.
Edibles will require more light than your average houseplant. If your indoor light levels are low to moderate, and your light source is farther away from your plants, stick to leafy greens and shade-tolerant herbs. Sun-loving foliage herbs, such as basil and thyme, will need medium to high light levels indoors with a closer light source. Fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and citrus, will need the highest levels of light. Germinating seedlings also fall into the high-light category.
Grow Lighting Tip: You can increase your light levels, to simulate full sun conditions, by moving your plants closer to the grow lamp. You can decrease your light levels, to simulate part-sun to shade conditions, by moving your plants farther away from your grow lamps.
Growing Leafy Greens and Herbs If you’re just getting started, try growing low- to moderate-light tropicals and edibles. Leafy greens, such as many varieties of lettuce, mache (corn salad), watercress, sorrel, spinach, and kale grow in moderate light levels. If you think about how these plants grow in the outdoor garden, they can be maintained successfully in conditions that are partly shady. This also applies to cool-season herbs in the carrot family, such as parsley, cilantro, and fennel — as well as mints.
Some edibles, such as leafy greens, can grow in bright windowsills indoors, but in areas with less natural light, you’ll need grow lamps for a good harvest. These lettuce plants are growing under the high-output LED light in the WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden.
Most leafy greens and cool-season herbs have a compact to medium-sized growth habit that is perfect for small spaces such as your kitchen or living room corner. Your light source can be a little farther away from these leafy crops, as they don’t require intense light levels to thrive. Use a light timer to keep your grow lamps on for approximately 12 hours a day. If your light garden is situated next to a bright window, you may be able to leave the lights on for fewer hours per day.
Fertilizer Tip: Leafy greens and herbs aren’t heavy feeders, but since you’ll be harvesting from them regularly, be sure to feed them monthly with a natural liquid fertilizer that contains humus or seaweed, such as Plant Health Care for Seedlings & Houseplants.
Germinating Seeds & Growing Microgreens When you’re ready to get new seedlings started, or grow fresh microgreens, you’ll need to step up your light levels. Seedlings are light-hungry: they require long durations of bright light to sprout successfully and vigorously. Too often, beginners attempt germinating seedlings without enough light, resulting in weak, stretched seedlings that eventually topple over and die.
Use a light timer to leave your grow lamps on for an average of 16 hours per day for young seedlings. If your light garden is next to a bright window, you can run your lamps for 14 hours. If your space doesn’t have much natural light, you can run your lamps for up to 18 hours. Watch your seedlings to see how they perform.
One major benefit of using LED grow lamps to start seedlings is that these lamps do not generate much heat. That means you can keep your young plants closer to the lamps to give them high light levels, without burning them.
Once your seedlings have new true leaves and are ready to be transplanted into larger containers, the transplants can be moved a little farther away from your light source — or moved from the 12″ WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden unit to the 30″ WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden.
Fertilizer Tip: Seedlings can burn from over-fertilization. Use a natural liquid fertilizer, such as PHC Plant Health Care for Seedlings & Houseplants, at 1/4 the recommended strength to feed your seedlings weekly.
How Much Light Do Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits Need?
Quality, efficient grow light that generate more light and less heat are your best bet.
Understanding basic light levels and how different plants respond to light is your first step to indoor gardening success. People and plants “see” and use light differently. What looks like a bright lamp to you might not be very efficient for plant growth. Light provided to your plants from grow lamps needs to be within the right spectrum for good photosynthesis. Lamps must also provide enough volume of light for the type of plant you’re growing. Skip the shop lights. Quality, efficient grow lamps that generate more light and less heat are your best bet. New innovations in LED grow lamp technology have made them good choices for growing seedlings, leafy greens and herbs, and small fruits indoors.
Edibles will require more light than your average houseplant. If your indoor light levels are low to moderate, and your light source is farther away from your plants, stick to leafy greens and shade-tolerant herbs. Sun-loving foliage herbs, such as basil and thyme, will need medium to high light levels indoors with a closer light source. Fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and citrus, will need the highest levels of light. Germinating seedlings also fall into the high-light category.
Grow Lighting Tip: You can increase your light levels, to simulate full sun conditions, by moving your plants closer to the grow lamp. You can decrease your light levels, to simulate part-sun to shade conditions, by moving your plants farther away from your grow lamps.
Growing Leafy Greens and Herbs
If you’re just getting started, try growing low- to moderate-light tropicals and edibles. Leafy greens, such as many varieties of lettuce, mache (corn salad), watercress, sorrel, spinach, and kale grow in moderate light levels. If you think about how these plants grow in the outdoor garden, they can be maintained successfully in conditions that are partly shady. This also applies to cool-season herbs in the carrot family, such as parsley, cilantro, and fennel — as well as mints.
Some edibles, such as leafy greens, can grow in bright windowsills indoors, but in areas with less natural light, you’ll need grow lamps for a good harvest. These lettuce plants are growing under the high-output LED light in the WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden.
Most leafy greens and cool-season herbs have a compact to medium-sized growth habit that is perfect for small spaces such as your kitchen or living room corner. Your light source can be a little farther away from these leafy crops, as they don’t require intense light levels to thrive. Use a light timer to keep your grow lamps on for approximately 12 hours a day. If your light garden is situated next to a bright window, you may be able to leave the lights on for fewer hours per day.
Fertilizer Tip: Leafy greens and herbs aren’t heavy feeders, but since you’ll be harvesting from them regularly, be sure to feed them monthly with a natural liquid fertilizer that contains humus or seaweed, such as Plant Health Care for Seedlings & Houseplants.
Germinating Seeds & Growing Microgreens
When you’re ready to get new seedlings started, or grow fresh microgreens, you’ll need to step up your light levels. Seedlings are light-hungry: they require long durations of bright light to sprout successfully and vigorously. Too often, beginners attempt germinating seedlings without enough light, resulting in weak, stretched seedlings that eventually topple over and die.
Use a light timer to leave your grow lamps on for an average of 16 hours per day for young seedlings. If your light garden is next to a bright window, you can run your lamps for 14 hours. If your space doesn’t have much natural light, you can run your lamps for up to 18 hours. Watch your seedlings to see how they perform.
One major benefit of using LED grow lamps to start seedlings is that these lamps do not generate much heat. That means you can keep your young plants closer to the lamps to give them high light levels, without burning them.
Once your seedlings have new true leaves and are ready to be transplanted into larger containers, the transplants can be moved a little farther away from your light source — or moved from the 12″ WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden unit to the 30″ WINLIGHT LED Grow Light Garden.
Fertilizer Tip: Seedlings can burn from over-fertilization. Use a natural liquid fertilizer, such as PHC Plant Health Care for Seedlings & Houseplants, at 1/4 the recommended strength to feed your seedlings weekly.