Light and Your Indoor Garden.

For plants light equal life. No light source, no photosynthesis. If the light source is inadequate, or if the plant receives too much light the plants will gradually weaken, refuse to flower and most likely die. The red and blue parts of the light spectrum are what your plants need to thrive and it is essential that they get more red than blue. If there is no natural light available then you must provide an artificial source. For many of us this is the case for much of the year. We have access to an outdoor garden but the growing season limits that access. So if we want to grow plants during the off season we must do so indoors. Indoors plants still need light and all too often the light from the sun is limited or not available at all. Artificial lights make it possible for anyone, even with a small space, to grow something all year round.

You are familiar with the ordinary, household, incandescent light bulb. This is a poor choice for a light source; generating too much heat and while a good source of the red rays, incandescent lights lack sufficient blue.

Fluorescent tubes provide the best artificial light sources available. Fluorescent tubes are made in many sizes and shapes:

- circular, - U-shaped, - square - straight

2, 4 and 8 foot square tubes are the most common types. The cool white fluorescent is the most common and effective type. Warm white fluorescent tubes also seem fairly effective, but fluorescent tubes listed as white or daylight are a poor choice for indoor plant growth. Cool white tubes produce a small amount of red rays in addition to orange, yellow-green and blue rays.

However, the red light produced usually is not enough for many plants unless windows or other artificial lights are available to produce additional red rays. You may combine fluorescent and incandescent lights for a workable source.

Special fluorescent tubes [gro-lux, for example] are available. These lights are specifically designed for growing plants indoors and have a higher output in the red range to balance the blue output. Many home gardeners have found that these tubes can be used in combination with cool white tubes. Use one special plant-growing tube to each one or two cool white tubes. This way you can save some money while meeting your indoor garden's needs. You can buy plant stands in various or use an end table or bench. All you need is somewhere to set the plant tray or containers and a light fixture for the tubes. I use and old fashioned office lamp fixture that holds two tubes. I got three of them for free when a local business was upgrading their office.

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