Grow lights for vegetable seedlings full#

With the 5000 lumen LED lights, a good range would be around 4 inches. They give off a violet light, and if you are starting seeds in your home you will get a disco feel from these dual lights! How Far Away Should Grow Lights be From Seedling Plants?Īs mentioned above, the amount of lumens is directly proportional to how far away the lights should be from the plants. You can also purchase ”dual lights“, which have one red bulb and one blue bulb. The light they give off is very bright and looks white. They will have a bit of both blue and red, but they tend to have more of the cool light. The LED lights that I bought are considered ”daylight”. The red part of the spectrum relates to “flowering” growth and is important if you are growing plants indoors that you want to encouraging flowering. In fluorescent bulbs, these would be the bulbs that say “cool” The blue part of the spectrum impacts “vegetative” growth and is the most important color if you are just growing seedlings that will later be put outside for flowering.

Grow lights for vegetable seedlings full#

Color spectrum: The main “colors” that impact plant growth in grow lights are blue (cool), red (warm), and full spectrum.

Watts: this only relates to the amount of electrical energy the lights use and is not relevant to plant growth.

It is directly proportional to how far away the lights should be from the plants

Lumens: the amount of lumens corresponds to the amount of growable energy plants can uptake.

Here is an overall summary of the three components impact on seedlings: Watts only impact the cost of the electrical energy. There are really only two main components of LED grow lights that impact the growth of your seedlings, lumens and the color spectrum. I would read the reviews before ordering from Amazon.

Anecdotally, I have heard that the LED lights available from Amazon are not the highest quality.

Gardener’s Supply company has great information on costs of LED lights for growing seeds, whether you want to grow one flat on a tabletop or many flats under an array of shop lights. Your space needs along with the volume of plants you want to start will determine the cost.

Higher intensity LED grow lights can quickly get into hundreds of dollars.You may be able to still find some but I think they are being phased out. They did not stock them any more at our local Walmart or Menards. It is getting harder to find fluorescent bulbs and they may not be available for much longer.The fluorescent bulbs break easily if you are clumsy like me or working in awkward spaces, and when they break the shatter and emit a nasty gas.The 5000 lumen LED grow lights seem to be better for growing tomatoes indoors.Ī couple of other things to be aware of regarding the long term cost of fluorescent and LED lights used for seed starting is: However, after doing more research on speed of growth I will be exchanging the 3200 lights for 5000. I bought 5000 lumen shop lights at Walmart for $18.97 each and 3200 lumen shop lights for $14.97 each. The cost of LED shoplights is primarily dependent on the “lumens” it puts out and the size of the fixture you need.

Led shoplights, with the lights embedded in the fixture, will cost more than just replacing fluorescent bulbs in your existing fixtures.