Growing Plants With Artificial Light: The Best Techniques

Giving plants artificial light has many benefits. They allow you to have a year-round, indoor growing season. They also allow you to grow plants in places that you normally could not, because you can then control the amount of light needed. Keepers of greenhouses and other horticulture specialists have been doing this for decades, but you can do this in your own home.

Fluorescent Tubes

This type of lighting is very common, as fluorescent tubes are also used to provide UV light in tanning beds. They provide a good balance of lights, and often last much longer than normal incandescent lights.

Colored Lights

Colored lights often work the best, because plants react well to different colors in the visible light spectrum. Yellow and green rays are often reflected by leaves, so plants don't generate much energy from these colors. Red and blue parts of light, which are found at both ends of the light spectrum, provide much of the energy that plants need.

Ultimately, experimentation is best when working with different sources of artificial light. Just remember that plants need more light in the red range of the spectrum than the blue.