Plant Indoors under Grow Lights

In tough times of the past, people have looked to ways to provide for their families. One of those ways was through growing their own vegetables, fruits and herbs. The "Victory Garden" came into being during World War II and times of food rationing. Today, many people are looking for easy ways to grow delicious, wholesome food and this can be done through indoor gardening.

A very successful gardening method is hydroponics, requiring no soil at all in order to grow wonderful foods. With this type of indoor gardening systems, you will need appropriate grow lights in order for the plants to thrive.

Plants need light in order to perform photosynthesis, whereby the plant converts light to energy. This energy is what makes the plant to grow, mature and reproduce. The key to good photosynthesis in indoor gardening situations is having ample light available to all plants. Without enough lighting, the growing plants will struggle to reach the available light and will become spindly and weak.

Automated Hydroponics Systems

Quite a few gardeners are now adapting automated hydroponics systems to their indoor gardens. These automated hydroponics systems are capable of monitoring and adjusting your water levels automatically. This means your plants will never run out of water.

At the same time the pH levels are also monitored. When the pH levels are skewed, a pump is activated to automatically adjust levels up and down. This results in your plants always having the optimum amount of water and nutrients at the proper pH level. This will keep the plants growing at their peak performance. Automated hydroponics gardening is changing the way indoor growers produce their organic vegetables and fruits.

Grow your own Vegetables and Fruit

Have you ever been disgusted by the quality and the prices of the vegetables offered at the local supermarket? Has the thought of growing your own vegetables has entered your mind? Even if you have a good range of vegetables at reasonable prices at your local store,the ever increasing concern over the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers gives can give one pause to consider opting for growing their own vegetables.

Growing your own vegetables indoors does not involve a tremendous amount of effort and in addition to enjoying a supply of fresh produce, you also discover a relaxing hobby. Even if you happen to live on an upper floor of an apartment building you can still grow a range of vegetables and fruits in hydroponics on your balcony or patio. This is a hobby everyone can enjoy.

Simple Hydroponics

What if hydroponic gardening was as simple as a bucket of sand with a single plant in it? This can be what it is, right up to a hydroponic system using measuring instruments to control water cycles, nutrient strengths and lighting times.

A system usually consists of these basic parts: a growing tray, a tank or reservoir, a timed submersible pump to irrigate the plants and an air stone and pump to oxygenate the nutrient solution. Light will of course be required and that can be natural or artificial. There are many different types lights to choose from, from fluorescent to LED to complete lighting kits.

Light up your clones

Unlike seedlings, clones need light from day one, after rooting. Start with lower and diffused light intensities from sources such as T-5 or T-8 fluorescent lighting. During the first few days, the cuttings will do best with just one to two 24 watt strips over the top of a standard 10" x 20" propagation tray.

You can gradually increase the light intensity after a few days by lowering the light fixtures closer to the propagation dome. However, make certain the temperature doesn't rise above 850 F inside the dome after making this adjustment.

Once the roots develop, you can switch to HID lights that provide mostly red and blue growth stimulating spectrums. Condition your plants to this more intense light by gradually decreasing the distance between the plants and light fixtures. After a couple of weeks, your plants should be able to handle very bright levels of light which will encourage healthy, robust and fast-growing plants.

Which type of Rock Wool to choose

There are several types of Rock Wool designed for the propagation of seeds and cuttings. The best for hydroponic hobbyists is considered to be the Single Block System known as SBS. This system consists of small individual cubes or mini blocks of Rock Wool on a small plastic tray. This makes the plants easy to handle and are ideal for selling or giving away.

Be certain to pre-treat the rock wool for 24 hours before use. Use a product that will
reduce the alkaline nature of the media until it balances out at between 5.8 and 6.3. One advantage of Rock Wool is its ability to hold enough water to last through the average period of time required for the cuttings to root. However, you will need to use a humidity dome.