Light fantastic
Developments in LED technology can help us grow more of what we want indoors without breaking the bank, says Bob
WOULD you like earlier crops and bedding plants, stronger seedlings, and to grow other plants you never thought possible? Well, the new LED lights could be just what you need.
Growing under cover with artificial light is hardly modern, but has always been fraught with difficulty and expense, as older sorts of lights were expensive to buy and even more expensive to run. The introduction of LED technology has changed all this.
At first, these were sold as single bulbs, which could illuminate a windowsill or small table, making a few plants or seed trays happier. Then came larger units, capable of providing bright light over an area as big as a small greenhouse. With these, you can not only augment weak winter sunlight but replace it entirely. Indeed, you can convert a room or shed into a growing room every bit as good as a greenhouse, for a fraction of the cost.
You see, the limit on starting and growing so many of our plants is not just the winter’s cold but the dim light. Without extra light plants grow feebly, thin and etiolated – worse, they are prone to disease and especially mould. Place a powerful bright light (although it needs be these proper sorts, with the correct mixture of wavelengths, and not just any bright bulb) over trays of seedlings and young plants, and they grow stockier and healthier than you would believe possible.
Artificial light can act like the best tonic and feed you could discover. Now, you’ll have seen court cases of people growing cannabis in their attic: it’s this sort of tech they’re using, but on a larger scale (and illegally!). However, they could be showing us the way – tomatoes and peppers need almost exactly the same conditions!
“Young plants grow healthier than you would believe possible”