Short daylight hours are the main reason why seedlings need to be provided with artificial lighting. Especially in winter, plants will lack sunlight. But first, you need to learn how to choose the lamp with the right power and the corresponding spectrum of radiation. In the proposed article, the reader will be told how to make lighting for seedlings at home.
The basic rules of completion
For the rapid growth of seedlings, artificial light is needed. Thanks to modern materials, manufacturers produce lamps that mimic the sun's rays. In nature, plants develop due to the energy they receive from natural light sources. This process is called photosynthesis. Its essence is that the leaves absorb solar energy and, as a result, photochemical reactions occur.
In winter, it becomes problematic to grow seedlings in the apartment, because sprouts do not receive the necessary energy because of the short daylight hours. In this case, plant irradiation is a prerequisite for the proper and healthy growth of seedlings. Before you make artificial lighting for home seedlings, you need to consider several requirements:
- Artificial light should evenly fall on the seedlings.
- Lighting fixtures should not heat and dry the air.
- It is necessary to install lamps emitting soft light.
If you arrange the right lighting for seedlings, it will begin to develop rapidly, and its leaves will become saturated green.
Why do I need additional lighting?
It is best to place pots with seedlings on the windowsill, as they will absorb the maximum amount of solar energy. To increase the lighting time, the illumination should be used several hours before dawn and one to two hours after sunset. However, this is relevant only when the weather is cloudless outside. In addition, sunlight can poorly penetrate the apartment due to trees or tall buildings. In this case, artificial lighting for seedlings is the main source of energy that seedlings will absorb.
But round-the-clock highlighting of plants is not recommended. Seedlings need night rest, because during the day it is stored in energy, and at night it is consumed. If you ignore this advice, the leaves of seedlings may become covered with dark spots. Around-the-clock lighting should be provided only with seed prepared for germination. In other cases, lighting seedlings for more than 14 hours is a bad idea.
To surely understand whether it is necessary to illuminate plants in clear weather, for this it is necessary to simply direct the beam of an electrical appliance to seedlings. Is there a difference between artificial and natural lighting? So, for proper growth, young seedlings will absorb a sufficient amount of solar energy.
How much light is needed for seedlings?
To understand this issue, we must first say that the sun's rays have a different spectrum of light and a certain length. The growth of plants is most affected by waves that have blue and red colors. The former, with a length of 500 nanometers (nm), regulate the rate of development and help the formation of strong stems. In turn, red waves with a length of about 600 nm contribute to the rapid growth of leaves and productive photosynthesis. The illumination lamp should emit about 300-800 nm. However, one must take into account that for each period of development, rays of a different spectrum are necessary:
- Blue and violet radiation help cell division, so they are important at the initial stage of growth.
- Root formation and budding depend on the red spectrum of light.
To organize the lighting of seedlings with your own hands, you must first provide seedlings with enough light. When choosing lamps, you need to pay attention to their power (measured in watts), and then determine the number of required lighting fixtures. For example, for 1 m2 of a room you need about 100-150 watts (if you use fluorescent lamps), and for a windowsill - up to 50 watts.
In addition, one more important parameter must be taken into account - the level of illumination. It should be at least 6,000 lux (lux), however, to illuminate the seedlings, it is better to achieve an indicator of 8,000 lux. The radiation intensity can be easily changed, as some fixtures are equipped with a power regulator.
Lamp Selection: Best Options
Plant growth guarantee - proper illumination. Special lamps that emit infrared and ultraviolet rays will help to cope with this task. In addition, their temperature corresponds to daylight, so they will be able to quickly develop seedlings. Lamps used by the emitter are classified into the following types:
- LED;
- sodium;
- luminescent;
- phytolamps.
Conventional incandescent lamps are undesirable for these purposes, since they can burn the plant. As a rule, they are used for growing cacti. Before deciding which lighting is best for seedlings, you need to study the features of each option.
LED lamp
Such devices are considered the best replacement for natural light. LED seedling lighting is an ideal solution for growing plants of various varieties. The advantages of this lamp include the following properties:
- compact size;
- little weight;
- durability;
- harmlessness;
- does not deteriorate under the influence of mechanical damage, high temperature and high humidity;
- profitability (one diode consumes about 1 Wh);
- high light output;
- simple installation thanks to a sticky basis;
- lack of infrared radiation;
- slightly heated, so it can be placed at a minimum distance from plants.
It is better to use a tape consisting of blue and red LED lamps, as in this way you can achieve comfortable lighting for seedlings. In addition, to make such a lamp on your own is a simple task. To do this, you need to calculate the area of crops to be re-illuminated, and the height of the suspension.
Using LEDs to illuminate seedlings is a great idea, because this way you can protect plants from various diseases that happen due to high humidity.
Sodium lamps
There are two types of such devices: high pressure and low. As lighting for seedlings, the first option is used. Sodium lamps have the following specifications:
- Duration of work - up to 24 thousand hours;
- luminous efficiency - about 150 lm / W;
- one lamp consumes 70 W ∙ h;
- plants absorb radiation by 26–30%.
High pressure sodium lamps are cheaper than LED lamps, but they have a lot of disadvantages:
- They emit little blue light (approximately 8%), which is necessary for the healthy and proper development of seedlings.
- Consume a lot of electricity.
- For their operation, it is necessary to install a power regulator.
Such devices are recommended for growing vegetables (for example, cucumbers and tomatoes) and berry crops, as these lamps emit a large amount of orange light.
Fluorescent lamps
Lighting devices of this variety are best used to illuminate a small amount of seedlings. Fluorescent (or energy-saving) lamps emit little red light. They have such technical characteristics:
- Duration of work - no more than 15 thousand hours;
- plants absorb about 20–22% of the emitted radiation;
- light output parameter - not higher than 80 lm / W;
- for the operation of one lamp, about 20-60 W ∙ h are required.
The advantages of luminescent models include the fact that such lamps do not heat up, so they can be installed near plants. To use such lighting for growing seedlings at the initial stage is a good solution.
Phytolamps
These are specially made devices for planting seedlings. Such lamps look similar to LED ones. The spectrum of the glow of phytolamps is pink-purple. In addition, they emit a little ultraviolet and infrared light. The first is necessary to increase the frost resistance of plants, and the second is to stimulate metabolic processes.
The phytolamp is an ideal lamp for growing seedlings. Thanks to special clamps, it can be fixed on the ceiling. In addition, the phytolamp is equipped with a dimmer.
Optimum luminaire distance
If you place the lighting devices too close to the seedlings, the plants can suffer because of this. But an excessively large distance is also bad, since the illumination of the lamps, and therefore their efficiency, will decrease. The optimum height at which the fixtures should be fixed is 10–40 cm from the seedlings. At the initial stage, plants will develop better if the lamps are placed as close to them as possible, so the devices should be supplemented with a mechanism by which it will be possible to adjust the height.
The fixtures must be mounted on brackets - supporting parts - either by means of bolts, anchor bolts, screws or special glue.
Backlight setting
Before making lighting seedlings, it is necessary to prepare a place on which plants and lighting devices will be located. When installing the backlight on the windowsill, you need to consider the following recommendations:
- Avoid tipping over and the possibility of accidental ingress of water.
- It is advisable to install the lamps on top, since this way the plants will be provided with maximum lighting.
- It is necessary to use reflectors in the form of a foil isolon: this will turn out to direct the light to the right place.
- The closer the lamps are located to the seedlings, the better.
You can also make a shelving made of glued beams or edged boards for lighting seedlings with your own hands, which will take up little space. It can be placed close to the wall, and hang lamps above the shelves. The result should be a compact and robust design.
Conclusion
If you need to grow a lot of seedlings, you must first prepare a separate room for it. This need is associated with humidity levels, as in ordinary rooms, increased moisture can damage plants. In addition, it is desirable to install a photorelay and a timer on the lamps. The first device responds to natural light, and the second turns off the light when the set time limit is completed.
The article described the main varieties of lamps that are used to organize artificial light. Everyone can decide which lighting is best for seedlings. But gardeners often use LED lamps and phytolamps for this purpose.