Indoor gardening has nearly become a latest trend, with more people wanting to grow their own herbs, veggies, and ornamental plants year-round right at home, no matter the season outside..
But for these greenhouse vertical farming comes the need for the right kind of lighting and where this common questions pops up: “Can You use Regular Fluorescent Light to Grow Plants”
The short answer is a resounding Yes. These light sources work wonders for some plants anyway—the ones who’ve low-light requirements or are starting seeds. Since they carry a basic spectrum with standard proportions of energy, they ought to be affordable and yet easy to find, becoming a go-to-choice for beginners.
However, with that said, these light chambers aren’t away from limitations. If the focus is to grow a wider variety of plants or to maximize growth and flowering potential, full spectrum LED grow lights tend to be a more comprehensive solution.
LED grow lights are meant to offer you the same wavelength your plant needs at each stage, almost like having that little piece of the sun right inside of your house.
Understanding Fluorescent Lights for Plant Growth.
Fluorescent light is a cornerstone for many indoor gardeners and that for all the right reasons. They tend to be energy-efficient, pretty run cooler and don’t discharge too much of a heat, making it the most favorable to small growing spaces.
Since they’ve lower thermal stresses, positioning it close to your plants isn’t a problem. In fact, these light sources work pretty great for delicate or young plants who just need a shadow of light to grow and stretch without risking plants to get burned.
The light spectrum it contains generally falls into a blue range of spectrum that contributes effectively to the vegetative phase of the plant’s growth. Basically, blue-light fluorescence helps plants to develop strong root and healthy foliage, making it a big win for leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce and herbs.
However, this blue dominant spectrum fluorescent falls short for areas where it’s all about supporting flowering or fruiting plants. The phase of blooming tends to be more dependent on a balanced spectrum, dominating more towards the red wavelengths. Thus , using fluorescent for this time of plant growth is quite ineffective.
In short, it’s those microgreens, herbs or salad mixes that make the most of fluorescent bulbs. Since it offers a good combination of energy efficiency and cool operation, it makes them a great fit for small setups, like a windowsill or a little countertop garden. It’s no wonder they’re such a popular pick for new gardeners testing the waters with indoor growing!
Growing Plants with Fluorescent Lights
Now that you’re well equipped with fluorescent light systems, some key factors make it even more clear in order to make plants under them effectively grow.
Factors To Consider
Plant Species: It’s well understood that plants are different and so are their light requirements. Herbs and green leafy plants are the most forgiving and do pretty well under fluorescent lights.
While if you take tomatoes, eggplant or zucchini, they need high light intensity to give out bountiful results. Thus, matching your light source with the plant species in hand is the most crucial step to ensure the best output.
Growth Phase: There are various types of spectrums scientifically formulated for the growth stage. Plants prefer the blue light of fluorescent tubes during veg, leading to more leafy growth. Fluorescents can be short on the red spectrum that a plant in flowering phase requires. Get to know the light needs of your plants in each stage of their life.
Available Space: Consider how big is your grow area and how you’ve to set up the lights. Fluorescent lights work great because you can put them quite close to the plants without worrying about overheating, but try and keep the whole growing area evenly lit. Take a ruler or measuring tape to your space and plan out the coverage of lights in respect to their measured distances in between each light.
Maintenance and TroubleShooting Tips
This is important to ensure the efficiency of your Fluorescent light system. Some useful advice include:
Clean Regularly: Over time dust, and grime can accumulate on your light fixtures as well as the bulbs affecting their efficiency. Check your lights and clean them on a scheduled basis, making sure that they’re providing the most illumination possible.
Check Bulb Lifespan: Fluorescent bulbs only last anywhere from 7,000 hours to up to 15,000 hours depending on the type. So, check timely when installing the bulbs and in case any bulb flickers or dimmed, replace them because it can affect your plants growth.
Troubleshooting Light Issues: If you notice that your plant growth is beginning to slow down or is looking stressed out, immediately check your light conditions as soon as possible. Search for indications like: too little light (e.g. spindly growth) or excessive light in the form of leaf burn. Vary the height or duration of light exposure, as needed.
Monitor Temperature and Humidity: Fluorescent lights also produce some heat, so make sure you’re keeping an eye on the temperature in your growing area. Make sure it stays between the range which is optimal for your plants. A little trick is to maintain the right humidity level in order for plants to absorb more light effectively.
Limitations of Fluorescent Lights
While regular fluorescents carry their own perks for indoor gardening, they do have a few downsides that make them less than ideal for some types of plants. One of the main issues is that they don’t just get as bright as some other types of grow lights such as LED grow lights or High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lamps.
That means if you’ve got plants that need a ton of light to thrive–take tomatoes or big leafy house plants for example– fluorescent light might not be able to give them the boost they need. Instead, you can make use of these fluorescent lamps when your plants are less demanding in terms of light intensity.
Another big flaw with fluorescent bulbs is that they lack the complete spectrum of wavelength that most commercial full spectrum LED lights emit. Being able to radiate only the blue wavelength makes fluorescence more suitable for leafy ones and less desirable for most blooming plants, making strawberries and peppers to end up struggling, producing fewer flowers or fruits—or sometimes, none at all.
For plants like these, you may want to consider upgrading to a full spectrum LED grow light that can enable you to get the most out of your indoor garden.
Benefits of Using Specialized Grow Lights
So, when you plan to extend your support for plant life cycle throughout, specialized LED grow lights, such as the ones offered by Nanolux, become a wise preference. This is due to the fact that LED grow lights are engineered to discharge the full spectrum wavelengths similar to what the sun produces outside, so you’re more likely to create a natural lighting environment that plants thrive in.
That full spectrum ability means that unlike fluorescents, your plant is exposed to the blue and red light necessary for other growth stages. That means the Nanolux commercial LED lights not only let your plants make the most during vegetative journey but also when it’s swifty transitioning into flowering.
Plus, With their energy efficient design, you can help your plants to flourish by simply being more aware of the costs and energy consumption along the way. Nanolux provides you the happy medium of best light temperature levels as well as keeping your costs in check that makes it a high consideration for many.
Conclusion:
To wrap things up, regular fluorescent lights might certainly work for growing some plants, especially those who don’t need a ton of light or are just starting out. But if you want to support your plant for their entire life cycle, they aren’t really the best option to consider. That’s where Nanolux specialized grow light comes into play, offering a good mix of optimal light spectrum your plants actually need.
The Nanolux full spectrum LED grow lights are designed to help plants get the suitable lighting as they travel through each of the phases–seedling, leafy and blooming. On top of that, they cater to all levels from beginners with a small indoor garden setup or even growers wanting to run on massive watts LED grow lights.
So, Ready for some new indoor gardening? Follow this link to the Nanolux site and have a look at their great selection of lights for growth. Trust us, you will get exactly what suits your demands of today!
Happy Growing!