Basic Guide To Grow Lights For Plants. ONLY What You Need To Know About Grow Lights & Nothing Else.

[@lacey1010]

I used blurple lights last year for my tomatoes and marigolds as well as a full spectrum grow bulb. Both bought from Walmart. Last year my tomato seedlings were just unhappy. They maxed out at 4-5 inches at 3 months and the merigolds seemed to just stunt. It was interesting to see that they all seemed to grow away from the blurples and towards the one weak full spectrum bulb that they had. I was just starting off and still learning. I assumed blurple lights were what was necessary for plants to grow. Then I started seeing people in a few local garden groups I joined. They all were talking about using shop lights. There was a master gardener who was posting in depth explanations on using just regular led lights. Basically said min 3000lumens and min 4000k and led or florescent was okay. I was shocked lol I had no idea plants would grow under regular lights. I thought I needed specialized grow lights. I had a $500 fancy grow light in my cart on amazon. I immediately thought I'd probably want to try the cheaper option and see if it worked lol. Just glad I saw his post before I bought that light lol. So this year my tomatoes were started under 2 regular full spectrum grow lights I bought off amazon for $25. Then I bought two more regular led screw in bulbs at walmart which are 4060 lumens and have have a switch on the bulb to choose between 2700, 4000, and 5000k and put them in clamp lights. All together spend $100 vs the $500 lol My tomatoes are only 6 weeks old and they are already a foot tall and I just had to pinch off flower buds. They are bushy and beautiful. I still have 3 weeks left until I can put them in ground. I did a experiment recently and started some under my blurple lights just cause I was wondering if all this was a fluke and man the difference is insane. I will never buy another blurple light.

[@janw491]

Basics is good!

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHA agreed. I get bored so quickly when it comes to light video's

[@GardeningInCanada]

This is the TS100 with the dimmer that I have been using/is my favorite all-around light. geni.us/tcs8

[@drabdirahmanmuse552]

O.k. looking right now thanks

[@GardeningInCanada]

Bulbs for Greens & Houseplants geni.us/yFQI) Bulbs for Flowering (geni.us/rR9p35s). For something that works close range to plants and won't burn (geni.us/6HEk)

[@lindam9018]

@@GardeningInCanada just FYI I can't make these links work. Wow what a good price on that Mars Hydro, wish I could take advantage of it!

[@jgsawka]

Last winter was the first time I've ever tried seed starts. I used LED shop lights from Amazon. Some were 4500K and the others were 5000K. Everything grew amazing!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Very nice! I got one for 30 dollars from Amazon last year and was shocked by how well it did.

[@tunatuna711]

Yeah I've only ever used LED shop lights, because growing up I saw that my mom's set up of fluorescent shop lights was plenty adequate for seedling starting. They work just fine. Last year I started my tomatoes too early, and they started fruiting before I even got them outside.

[@ktthequeen]

woudl love if you could share which you purchased. I'm struggling to break down WHICH is the best for the price. Thanks!

[@jgsawka]

@@ktthequeen any LED shop lights with a minimum of 4500 lumens will work. Mine are 6500K. I can't recall how many lumens. Barina was the last brand I bought and they work well. I bought another brand before those but I can't recall the brand name. Gary Pilarchik has a YT channel that has excellent info regarding the use of shop lights to grow indoor seedlings.

[@AMKB01]

Last year, I picked up an LED shop light at Costco, because the room we were starting seeds in doesn't get good light. We liked it so much, we got a second one. They were inexpensive, are white light, can be linked together, and have remote controls that allow us to adjust the brightness, set them on timers, etc. Nothing fancy, but they do the job!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Do you know what brand they are my chance? I wonder if my costco has some

[@brianseybert2189]

My grow room right now has 12 Costco shop lights. I watch for when they are on sale, last batch were $20,00.

[@AMKB01]

@@GardeningInCanada they are Koda, 46" shop lights. I haven't been to Costco recently, so I don't know if they still have them in stock. If they do, I think I'll pick up more!

[@katiej9967]

@@AMKB01 I just got some at Costco in December.

[@TheGreenMarksman]

Be aware that some wattage is actual some is HPS/MH equivalent. Lower end manufactures like to advertise equivalent wattage because it is way higher making product seem better then actually is.

[@GardeningCare]

So useful and knowledgeable gardening upload 😍👌🏼👌🏼🌹🌻🌻🌷🥀🌺 Happy gardening 🌻🌻🌻🌷🌷

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks a lot

[@thecakepopsistars]

Well timed as usual. Thinking about lights to trying indoor gardening with microgreens

[@GardeningInCanada]

Nice! that will work really nicely

[@GimmeADream]

Thanks! Your info on the lights helps to fill in the gaps that I didn't know existed, lol. Mostly I use full spectrum for winter growing tomatoes which I start off in an aerogarden.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is very cool. Are they determinate or indeterminate out of curiosity?

[@GimmeADream]

@@GardeningInCanada They are a determinate variety called sub-arctic plenty. I also have a cherry tomato that I pulled the seeds out of a store-bought box a couple of years ago. I know the original producer. And also a variety that is like a green pear that I'm assuming a dirty bird left in my garden and I transplanted into a pot of soil thinking I might have nice plump juicy red tomatoes at some point. I was totally curious about this odd tomato plant that shouldn't have existed. I have already had tomatoes every day from both of these last plants. They both have new flushes of flowers so maybe the two last oddities are indeterminate.

[@dandersonanza]

I offer the highest praise for Barrina LED grow lights. They sell a 6x48w bundle of four-foot-long LED lights for right about $100. 242 total watts for a light output of around 23000 lumens (spread over 30 sq ft in my case). The light shown in this video is good, but you give up light output for ease of installation and use.

[@RagnarokLoW]

another benefit of a LED light is that it's easily repairable if it does go out. It's usually one of the diodes that's broken in a series, if you jump over that diode with a wire, the other diodes will work again.

[@garthwunsch]

Very doable, but probably beyond the average person’s ability and tool box… but a great new skill to develop.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is pretty cool i didn't know that was possible.

[@runed0s86]

The reason that LED diodes fail is usually either because they're being overdriven, or because they're getting too hot. Get dimmable LEDs, and get a dimmer for them! Turn the power down slightly and they'll last forever!

[@runed0s86]

@@garthwunsch Don't discount people's ability to melt metal with a metal melter (soldering iron) Worst thing that'll happen if you try soldering is that the broken light will stay broken.

[@1polynation169]

thanks so much for this !! stay bright !! ( full spectrum!!)

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAha stay bright. I enjoyed that pun

[@MilestoneGarden306]

I've slowly been replacing my 4' sunblaster T5 with the LED bulbs. A bit of investment for 9 but worth it. Less heat given off, less power consumption, minimal light degrade over time. Which means less venting. less money on power(talking pennies here). Which means pennies spend on other things. I also have Viparspectra lights, xs1500s, and p1000s and really like them but I'm new to the bigger led ones.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh yes way less heat

[@420Trees]

Thanks

[@GardeningInCanada]

No problem

[@gregmartinsask]

in sask my south window is like 6 hours of light in december so I have a 2foot t5 light (wide spectrum or full spectrum) I manually turn on if cloudy for a couple hours only when its daylight. im not growing plants but over wintering peppers only want them to stay alive. not trying to get fruit or any thing only survival. the window is sorta not accessable so I use a automatic pump moistenland to water 4 min every 3 days works out to 8 pots getting 250ml each 3 days. I do water the bigger pots a little with a watering can but I often forget the pump keeps them alive.

[@manicmedic6409]

Lol why is it every time I make a purchase one of my trusted KZbinrs puts out a video the next week about the product I bought? Thankfully I think I lucked out and got the light I need! Great stuff keep it come!

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHA oh no! that is honestly the worst.

[@DrPrepper72]

Thank you. Love this basic info. Fantastic channel 😊

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome!

[@chris_and_music]

Hi! Do you mean 240w actual wattage or incandescent-equivalent?

[@michaelmarchione3408]

A huge thumbs up for the info! Happy New Year to you and your family!!! Take care!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Eagerphill]

The Photone App works well too!

[@clubfruticosa]

I expected you would say the opposite about cost of blurple vs full spectrum but then I realized this vid talks I assume about LEDs marketed and sold as grow lights. I figured you would mention the fact that almost ANY LED between say 2700k and 7000k works decent for growing depending on the optics and output. Although this runs into the issue of: is it really a good idea to tell people almost any LED is great when in reality many of them might pose a risk if not suitable for a growing area condition etc. Personally I use a few screw in type GE 32w 3000 lumen spotlights that do excellent, almost exactly the same growth power as their 32w grow lights which have awesome reviews and are arguably some of the best screw in style grow lights. I will say I do need one about every sq ft or atleast 1 per plant top to keep my Ti plants happy.

[@GardeningInCanada]

What types of plants are you typically growing?

[@clubfruticosa]

@@GardeningInCanada About a half dozen cordyline varieties but many of some, a bunch of dracaena and a few cacti + succulents. Small tree type tropicals are probably my favorite especially cordyline fruticosa/ Ti plants. Thanks for asking!

[@clubfruticosa]

@@GardeningInCanada Also, the majority of my plants are living indoors by sunlight and woodstove heat in a southerly window here in Indiana. I have a "plant hospital" where the vpd is much more controlled in another room to save the ones that need help.

[@bentgenetics8623]

Thanks for the information. $50 us gets you a good 100w led on Amazon

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is awesome! I think that is reasonable

[@TheSaskachewan1]

Ok looking forward to this

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHA so many requests on this one. Pressure is on.

[@kbm4409]

Love the video...what's your take on grow bulbs? I prefer them more because of the aesthetics of them ..I want them to be a part of my decor and not something that sticks out like a sore thumb

[@GardeningInCanada]

Nothing wrong with them they just can’t do as big of an area

[@lindam9018]

Thanks for this super great video!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you liked it!

[@tobruz]

Love your hair!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Awe! Thank you Bruce

[@Nico-de-gallo]

Great simple short video Ashley! Love the shoutout to the Canadian Prepper. Just bought some blurple LED lights to start and grow seedlings during the short winter days. But my question is about onion seedlings. I have short day varieties. The internet says to keep the light exposure to no more than 10 hours a day, or they will be triggered to start bulbing. But really? Is this true, even for seedlings that aren't even pencil thickness? Does anyone have any experience to speak for this?

[@GardeningInCanada]

So this is going to come down to the type of onion you have. Do you have short day or long day onions?

[@Nico-de-gallo]

@Gardening In Canada Hey thanks for the reply. I have short day onion seedlings here in southern California. But let me be more specific with my question. Will onions be triggered to bulb when the specific light requirement is met at ANY growth stage, even in seedlings?

[@Nico-de-gallo]

@Gardening In Canada The internet is full of conflicting information. I may have to experiment myself haha, but I don't want to ruin my batch of onions.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea if you have long days keep it under 12 forsure

[@keithforbes8482]

Super helpful

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad to hear!

[@ziggybender9125]

I have an off topic question for you since you have a back round of knowledge on these subjects. This last year I had cut back some over grown sugar cane and rough chopped it into 6 inch segments then added them to one of my compost piles. My compost piles normally consist of fallen fruit from the orchard (jack fruit, white sapote, mountain apple are the main ones) along with bio char, kitchen scraps, and browned leaves from the trees. I had 4 bins of compost with nearly the same ingredients but the one with 6 inch full chunks of sugar cane had by far the best results I've ever had, I picked up a partially decomposed sugar cane bit on the top of a bunch of black gold and there were a ton of red wigglers packed inside of it boring away. My question is: considering most ingredients I use contain a lot of sugar, why did the sugar cane produce shockingly better results even though it took longer to break down? Was it because of a higher sugar content, the fiber, or something else?

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s interesting. I’m wondering if it’s due to the increase biodiversity that would have moved into the area to help decomp. The sugar would have been a microbe magnet.

[@anne-9374]

Question, i have a multi-purpose LED light with movable panels that is 6500k daylight white and 3600 Lumen. It is so bright - blinding- that I can’t use it in the room i bought it for. Can that light be used as a grow light?

[@frasercook5823]

Plants basic needs light, water, air, nutrients, and a proper temperature. Lights are great for plants but they need the right temperature too thrive and warmth raises humidity. I always recommend that put a heat mat in your cabinets too with their grow lights.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are a mind reader! I just posted a video on this last week haah

[@seasurfer10]

I have the AC infinity 100 watt full spectrum, adjustable dimmer light, but I never know if I am setting my lights too high or too low.

[@nahidjuthi6491]

I have some key lime plants now they are flowering and all my plants are in door. My question is what kind of light needs to grow fruits. Which one should I use or buy one plant gets sunlight hour and other plants get 5 to 6 hours. Please help me

[@GardeningInCanada]

What fruit trees are you growing?

[@deborahbadger5205]

Ready to start my seeds under a T5 and was just wondering if the two lights should be side by side or end on end. Sounds like you are saying two would burn the lettuce. Thanks for the timely tip!

[@GardeningInCanada]

It depends on how many plants you have side by side. with a T5 you could get away with having two side by side. It is less intense than the regular LEDs

[@gregmartinsask]

I have never burnt a plant with floresant even if they were 1 inch away. most of the time I want them to be 3 inches away because they are not super intense, then they grow and touch I just move them up or the plant down. Its possible some of these types of light may make heat and damage leaf when so close. I have never found that

[@gapeachnow26]

Ok, my question! Do I need something that specifically states grow light, or will a regular led bulb work?

[@johnnorris80]

Great video. How often do you need to replace the florescent bulbs?

[@GardeningInCanada]

It is supposed to be based on running hours specific to the light. and that range is anywhere from 8K-10K hours. That is where a timer comes into play and knowing what the date looks like.

[@tracytracyWM]

Thank you for this! I'm starting seeds for the first time. I have a 2'd x 8'w x 3't shelf in my garage. I have 8 4' cheap led white lights, (2200lm/6500k), 2 20"square and 1 10"x 20" heat mats. Started stock, eucalyptus, Dusty Miller, stock, marjoram, yarrow, lisianthus seeds last Thursday and everything except the lisianthus has popped up. Soil temp is about 65-75°F. The stock is likely ready to be fertilized. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Very nicely done! The biggest thing to watch is any leggyness in the initially germination. If there is some butt the lights up nice and close to those plants and note where everything is set at for the next time.

[@tracytracyWM]

Ooo thanks! I have some blurple flexible lights that came in a kit can I subsidize by swinging those low?

[@DS-er6wf]

Where can a person get the light sensor?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Sold out at the moment but you can drop your email to be notified earthone.io/products/doot

[@ekamarie6632]

🤣🤣🤣 I thought I was right. Had an old man at the hardware store talk to me like I was a child, mansplaining growing lights as if I’m just a confused lil girl in a man’s store. Bc I was asking where they keep their grow lights and he kept showing me blurple LEDs and I was like “ohh I don’t like the pinky-purple ones, I prefer the white full spectrums, do you have any of those?” And he told me that it doesn’t exist and there’s no white light that will help plants grow full spectrum is only pink/blurple. And I was like “no I have many full spectrum white lights” and he kept telling me that it doesn’t exist and proceeded to rant about the color wheel. I’m thinking “bro I have 100+ plants been having plants for 5+yrs and I’m an artist, I think ik what lights my plants like, and you don’t need to explain what colors are to me. If all the grow lights you have are blurple just say that and let me go somewhere that has what I’m looking for” literally dude followed me around for 45mins trying to drill into my head that my plants are going to die if I don’t get the purple lights no matter how many times I was like “ok well thank you I’ll just have a look then” I just found the whole situation hilarious and slightly infuriating bc his voice was as if he was talking to a toddler. Bc I must be an idiot for thinking full spectrum lights don’t have to be purple.

[@alligator_pie]

Already bought mine and they are similar to the one you posted so I hope they’re good! 😂 Do you cold stratify any of your seeds? Have you done a video on the topic? I see some vids using damp paper towel and some in soil in the fridge but it’s a bit confusing. I’m wanting to grow angelica and alpine strawberries and a few others and thinking I should get started soon!

[@GardeningInCanada]

I have a video coming out on January seed starting sunday HAHA, You are a literal mind reader. Thats a good question though, ill put that on the video ideas list. Generally speaking if the plant tag does not say "soak, freeze, rough up, clip etc." it has already been done before you get that seeds at the company providing the seeds.

[@alligator_pie]

@@GardeningInCanada yay! I look forward to it . I had some misc lavender seed and none germinated last year. I might try cold stratification on them too? Might just be old seed. So excited to get started again! You recommended the jiffy starter media last year and I got that stocked up 😊

[@foreverdjango5869]

What about yellow lights? Do they work as white or burple ones?

[@AgeofPlants]

I think that those lumens are very very high to common house plants. Just thinking in aroids, some need more light than others and that 3000lumens looks very generic. maybe for growing lettuce

[@GardeningInCanada]

I’m am aiming for a single light higher up with a bigger footprint. Rather then having individual lights per plant if that makes sense. My one SP500 for houseplant is doing basically a 10 ft x 3 ft space.

[@helloable8153]

What about Kelvins? Is it important? Some channels I have watched recommend white LED shop lights with 5000 lumens and 6500k. I am trying to keep it simple but effective for my indoor seed starts. Your recommendations?

[@alclowe1481]

That's a somewhat difficult to give anyone a concrete answer regarding degrees kelvin. I've seen a full spectrum lights with a low 3,500°K ratings, and a few with 6,400°K as well, so its all over the place to pin point it. For my own experience, aim for 5,000°K to 5,400°K, to simulate approximately a direct noon sun. There's two things that weren't covered about grow light spectrum the first is UV, and the other is IR aka. (Far Red). When we combine reds with far reds we get the Emerson Effect. Both ends of the spectrum are very important to plant growth, however if they're not applied in the correct ratio, they can bleached or damaged the plant's leaves. If you're wondering about those spectrum, go for 380nm-780nm wavelengths, and don't go any lower or higher than that. Most plant don't photosynthesis very well as we go deeper into the UV spectrum; if we go any higher than 780nm wavelengths, that's where we loose the plant abilities to use those photons, and it is a wasted heat energy. Through a spectrometer, our sun measured during summer solstice, 28%FR_39%Red_36%Grn_25%Blu_1.7%UV. If we converted those measurements into growlights world, we get something in the realm of 9%FR_42%Red_33%Grn_14%Blu_.05%UV. I know its a lot of information to digest a one sitting, but don't be discouraged in your search the right growlights.

[@jackrigsby6017]

What about LED daylight bulbs?

[@GardeningInCanada]

If you can get one that packs a good punch absolutely

[@thecowman6807]

Lux/lumen is not a good unit to use for grow lights because it's very much spectrum dependant.

[@garthwunsch]

Sorry… I need some clarification… at 1:15 you talk about using blurple light for seed starting, but then at 2:30 you say we only need blurple light for propagation/healing etc..

[@GardeningInCanada]

Sorry its all three. I was speaking to bluple for houseplant people and gardener seperate which is where the confusion comes from. So Blurple = Seed Germination, Propagation, & Healing.

[@garthwunsch]

@@GardeningInCanada Dr. Bruce Bugbee demonstrates that red light, while stimulating flowering, also elongates internodal distances… not usually helpful.

[@tombryant4518]

Your minimum requirements as stated, where did you get that information from? Lumens is a measurement used to measure how bright a light appears to human eyes, plants don’t care about Lumens. For example, green light doesn’t appear bright to our eyes so has a low Lumen rating, but you could have a really powerful photon output that plants can actually use. If growing in a 5x5 tent and using 250 watts per square foot would FRY whatever is in there. You can grow huge amounts of whatever under an HLG 550 light in a 5x5 tent. That’s 550 watts in a 25 square foot space. Actual power consumption is usually way off compared to the high marketing hype from cheap light companies.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I may have made a mistake or didn’t communicate it it well. But I am referring to lumens in regards to intensity of light. Less lumens (looks more yellow) and is less effective. High lumens (more white) more intense and more effective. I tried to avoid used watts because depending on the light type it can vary and isn’t a good way to say what it needed. If I say 3000 lumens quick google will tell you 200 Watt for incandescent and 50 Watt for LEDS. You could argue it’s not a great way to look at it but for a beginner one number is easier they two numbers and two light combos in my opinion

[@clubfruticosa]

@ Tom Bryant You have the info about green backwards 👍

[@tombryant4518]

@@clubfruticosa Yes, I should have used a better example.

[@kendravoracek3636]

💚💚

[@GardeningInCanada]

♥♥♥

[@gregmartinsask]

Canada looks to ban florecent CFL sales anyway next year.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I actually i had no idea. Is that for tubes as well or no?

[@gordonsmit3396]

👌🏻👌🏻

[@garthwunsch]

Red diodes are much more expensive than white ones… and blue diodes require assigning your first born! Some of my lights have about 10% red diodes, and they are PRICEY. The rest are 5,000 and 6,500K

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is interesting. I was talking to someone who mentioned that to me.

[@Shanngella]

So what are lux then?

[@DavidMFChapman]

Lumens is the total radiated output power of the light in all directions. Lux is the power per unit area at the measurement point, which decreases with distance from the light. One lux is a lumen per square metre. Does that help.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thank you! I missed this one

[@littlepils4187]

Is there any benefit to running grow lights 24 hours on vegetating plants? Rather then 18 on and 6 off... .please settle this work disagreement.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Zero. Your plants need to respire and rest to allow for some very key processes to take in the plant. Plants work on photoperiod, ill do a video on this.

[@littlepils4187]

@Gardening In Canada thank you. It was clearly evident within 2 days the plants did not like 24 hour light. Some people require advice from ligit professionals like yourself. 👍 Keep up the great videos. Yes I'm excited to start my veggie seeds too.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thank you !

[@dreamlovermimi9458]

This Video goes hard Just to let the followers here no that Sansi grow lights are strong enough to grow herbs and Pepper plants! ( cubanelle and Serrano)

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yes! Those are wicked lights I have seen those and they are light bulb setups too

[@psychopyro94]

I grow everything houseplants, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, marijuana inside all year with white lights. Only thing that hasn't grown for me is peanuts which makes me sad but anyway BLURPLE lights are honestly pretty poo in my opinion. They are almost always worse quality, fans do nothing to cool the lights and if you sneeze in the same room as them when they are on youll break the fans. They also hurt your eyes a lot more than straight white light. If you buy a white light with a dimmer make sure to look that it actually has a dimmer knob on the outside some lights that are cheaper you will have to actually open them up and dim it with a screw driver.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Great comment! I dont own any blurple other then that one in a "kit", I love the attempt at growing peanuts.