Lighting for Your Indoor Garden

    When you make the decision to pursue indoor gardening, you are faced with many decisions as far as what supplies to purchase and which styles of equipment to use. The choices may seem overwhelming and endless, but they do not have to be confusing. When it comes to choosing a light for your indoor gardening needs, the decision is simple with just a little guidance. There are two major types of indoor grow lights. One is mainly decorative and serves no real plant health purpose, and the other will be highly beneficial to your indoor gardening needs. Here are the different types of lights and what they work well for:

 

Incandescent Grow Lights: made more for decoration than for actual use, incandescent lights mainly are used to show off your beautiful indoor garden. Incandescent lamps do not do anything beneficial for your plants, so you cannot depend on them to help grow your garden. Instead use these to highlight your hard work just as you might do with a painting.

 

     Fluorescent Grow Lights: these lamps are the ones to choose when growing your indoor gardening. Fluorescent lights are highly beneficial to your plants’ well being, and you have three basic types to choose from, each with their own benefits. High Output lamps are sort of a catch all, perfect for growing all types of indoor plants, these lamps produce little or no heat, so they do not disrupt the plant’s growing cycle. Standard Fluorescent lamps are perfect for growing seedlings since they do not put out the strong rays of the high output variety. They also work well for growing leafy greens like cabbages and herbs. The third type of fluorescent lamp is the compact fluorescent. This type uses a concentrated ray that is reflected off of a system of mirrors and works very well for large house plants.

 

     Depending on the type of indoor gardening you will be doing, you will need to choose the correct lamp for your needs. A small herb garden will need different light than a larger tropical garden. So, with that in mind, you will be able to choose the perfect lamp for your indoor garden. Once you have the right grow light for your gardening, you will be ready to get started on your new hobby!