How important is it for tender new seedlings to germinate under a grow light? Plants typically grow faster, taller and denser with consistent illumination — but not all light bulbs nurture your plants equally.
LED Grow Lights: The Best Start for Seedlings
Article from | TCP, Inc.
Ah, the joy of watching seedlings sprout! Whether it happens indoors while the wider world is still in a deep freeze or outdoors during the regular growing season, the first glimmer of vegetable life sparks a wellspring of eternal hope.
How important is it for tender new seedlings to germinate under a grow light? Plants typically grow faster, taller and denser with consistent illumination — but not all light bulbs nurture your plants equally.
The lighting experts at TCP are also plant-loving gardeners who understand which grow lights seedlings respond to with the most vigor.
Read on for our insider tips on the best grow lights for starting seedlings and how to use them to encourage bigger, more vibrant flower blossoms or hardier fruits and veggies.
Benefits of LED Grow Light Gardening
Will LED lights grow plants? Of course, they will! Traditional horticulture focused on incandescent and fluorescent lighting for greenhouse growing, but that’s only because it was the best technology around for a long time.
Today, the reasons for choosing LED grow lights have blossomed into a full-blown movement. The benefits of starting and growing plants with LED lights include:
Consistent Year-Round Light
Your sunny south-facing windowsill probably seems flooded with natural light, at least for part of the year. But what about the months when it only gets a few hours of daylight? And what about those inevitable cloudy or rainy days?
The fact of the matter is that grow light gardening is the only method that delivers even, consistent light through every season and any kind of weather, all year long. Why does that matter? Sunlight is plant food, and inconsistent light leads to weak, leggy plants that get that way by expending a lot of energy reaching out to search for the sun.
All of the Spectrum, None of the Heat
Speaking of the sun — that glorious ball of fire in the sky showers the full spectrum of light onto us. Also known as white light, it includes all the light colors visible to the human eye, each of which has a distinct wavelength that affects plant growth. LED grow lights from TCP deliver well-balanced, full-spectrum light without heating up the air like incandescents and fluorescents do. You’ll even get far-red light benefits for seedlings in our horticulture lights, as this wavelength has been shown to encourage budding and flowering.
Plus, when you grow plants with LED lights that provide full-spectrum light while staying cool, you see higher growth results and lower utility bills.
Bigger, Healthier Plants
The main reason for starting seeds with grow lights is to get a head start on the outdoor growing season. But much like humans, those plant babies need the proper nutrition in their first stages if they’re going to grow into big, healthy adult plants. Remember how inconsistent light can turn seedlings into leggy, needy weaklings? That early light deficit is incredibly difficult to overcome later. If your goal is to enjoy bigger, healthier plants in your garden, you need to start and grow your plants with LED lights from the very beginning.
An Easier Start for Seedlings
It’s nearly impossible to overstate how much grow lights do for seedlings. They’re literally the incubators that cradle and care for your baby plants through their initial developments. Give them a cozy, comfortable childhood that will lead to a more beautiful and productive maturity by investing in LED grow light gardening.
Less Money, More Room to Grow
Speaking of investing in grow lights — for starting seeds in your home, you don’t need to spend a fortune. One or two TCP grow lights should be ample for most noncommercial gardeners. We offer 2- and 4-foot LED Grow Light Strips that are affordable, quick and easy to install, and incredibly effective. Plus, for a select-number of our lights, it’s a snap to scale up with the quick-connect daisy chain system of our LED horticulture lights when you’re ready to expand your greenhouse efforts. That means you can spend less money on grow lights for starting seeds while reaping all the benefits of growing your green thumb skills.
How to Use Grow Lights For Starting Seedlings
The benefits of far-red grow light gardening apply to all types of seedlings. Whether you need grow lights for starting seeds that will end up in your vegetable garden or your flowerbeds, TCP has state-of-the-art technology to help your babies flourish.
Here’s how to get the most from growing any plants with LED lights:
For Fruits and Vegetables
From a year-round grow light herb garden to a seasonal nursery for vegetable starters, LEDs from TCP help you save money while bringing fresh food to your family’s table. Start by determining how high to hang your grow lights. Seedlings emerge from the soil and reach up toward their light source, so give them a solid 6 inches of room and adjust as they get taller. Yellow, brown or dry spots or tips on leaves indicate light that is too intense and should be moved further from the plants.
For Plants & Flowers
Most houseplants thrive in the relatively low light of typical homes, so they don’t need grow lights unless you have zero windows. For starting seeds, grow lights that include the full spectrum of light are essential to sparking the initial growth process. Hang them 6 inches or less above the soil surface, adjusting their height as sprouts appear. To encourage blooms, keep the grow lights on for 16 to 18 hours a day.
Grow Light Gardening With TCP
Ready to level up your gardening game with the eco-friendly power of LED grow lights? TCP’s collection of LED horticulture lighting includes all the cutting-edge technology and thoughtful design that encourage seedlings to grow into big, bushy, brilliant, bountiful plants. Check out our grow lights and start greening your thumb today!
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AgriTechTomorrow
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