" How to use grow lights for indoor plants | Herbal House NZ

FREE New Zealand Delivery

How to use grow lights for indoor plants?

When growing inside, you can manage the temperature of your grow space much better, as well as the humidity. We don’t all live in the right climate to be growing succulents or cacti. But by growing indoors, we can create the perfect environment for these types of plants. 

Using LED grow lights allows you to provide your plants with all the light they need. And in this post, we’re going to talk about how to use grow lights for indoor plants. 

Contents

  1. How long should I leave my grow lights on for?
  2. Setting up your grow lights
  3. How many grow lights do I need?
  4. Can you have too much light in a grow room?

How long should I leave my grow lights on for? 

Most plants will need long hours of sunlight in their natural habitat. You’ll often find fruits and vegetables thrive in the summer, where there’s plenty of light for them to utilize. 

In an indoor grow space, all of the light will be artificial. So you’ll need to use grow lights for around 12 hours a day. It’s important to remember that, like day and night, your plants will need to be in the dark at least some of the time to rest. Our LED grow lights come with timer switchers, so you can choose how long to leave grow lights on for, and let the timer do the rest. 

Setting up your grow lights 

LED grow lights give off very little heat, meaning there’s less risk of burning your plants if you place them too near to the lights. We recommend setting up your grow space so that there is around 14-30" between the plants and your grow lights. 

How to use grow lights for propagation 

When working with seedlings, you’ll need to provide both a high blue and far-red light

Propagation recommendations: 

  • PF 75:25, 75% Deep blue 450nm, 25% Hyper red 660nm
  • 35:25:25:15, 35% Deep blue 450nm, 25% Hyper red 660nm, 35% White, 15% Far red 730nm

    How to use grow lights for flowering 

    The best colour temperature to use for the flowering phase of your plant’s grow cycle is a far red, 730nm light. This light will allow you to create a different perception of time – whether that’s a short night or a short day. 

    Flowering recommendations: 

    • PF 20:60:20, 20% Deep blue 450nm, 60% Hyper red 660nm, 20% Far red 730nm
    • PF 60:20:20, 60% White, 20% Hyper red 660nm, 20% Far red 730nm 

    How to use grow lights for better fruit yield? 

    Plants that produce fruit need high amounts of energy to activate the photosynthesis process. 

    Fruit recommendations: 

    • PF 20:70:10, 20% White, 70% Hyper red 660nm, 10% Far red 730nm 
    • PJ 60:30:10, 60% White, 30% Hyper red 660nm, 10% Far red 730nm 

    How many grow lights do I need? 

    The number of grow lights you need will depend on the size of your space. There are a number of coverage calculators online that you can use to understand how much coverage your plants need, and how many lights you might need for the space. 

    Can you have too much light in a grow room? 

    As mentioned above, your plants still need a little respite. Even for plants that need a large amount of light, for long periods, there still needs to be a level of darkness for the plants to rest. 

    Hopefully, this post has shed a little light on some of the common set up questions. If you’re still stuck, give us a shout!