how to build an indoor grow op: Grow Lights
vIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Hi and welcome to my course on “How to build an indoor garden,” brought to you by www.indicainstitute.com. I’m your Prof, a Canadian government certified teacher by trade. I’ve designed this course to teach beginner gardeners how to build their own indoor garden, so I hope you enjoy, learn and share. Visit www.indicainstitute.com, or subscribe to my YouTube channel to gain access to a growing list of marijuana related courses, tips, and more. In the meantime I hope you find this video useful, and please remember to like and share!
Hello and welcome to lesson 2, where I will explain the lighting needs of your plant and the options available to you.
The main objectives of this lesson are to learn: why your plant needs specific lighting, what lighting options are available to you, what is the best option and where you can find lighting for purchase.
There are a crazy amount of options in the market for the average grow light consumer. This is a double edged sword for those beginner growers as it can get confusing and overwhelming very quickly. If you are one of these beginner growers, worry not. I have developed this course for you.
When creating an indoor garden it is important to make sure your plants get enough light. This is the most crucial element of growing indoors for your plants health. Keeping a plant by the window only works for those small plants that do not bloom or produce at harvest. Unlike growing outdoors, your indoor plant by a window will not benefit from a full day's worth of light. That’s why its necessary to use a grow light to mimic the natural lighting of the seasons. This means 18 hours of light while the plant is in its vegetative stage, and 12 hours of light during its bloom stage.
Choosing the right lighting is also important because some lights emit spectrum that cater to the vegetative or blooming stage of your plants growth. Also your plants will require a minimum number of ‘photosynthetic photons’ in order to get enough energy to grow big and strong. Often these photons relate to the size and wattage of your light, but if your light is not on the right spectrum the energy being used could be a waste. Details on this can become complicated quickly, but do not worry. I have lighting recommendations that will have you gardening in no time.
As an indoor gardener you have the option of three general lighting types for your garden: LED, HID and CFL lighting. LED, or Light Emitting Diode lighting is the newest cutting edge technology in grow lights. Their benefits are that they save you on electricity bills monthly, can provide the exact light spectrum your plants need to grow, they do not emit much heat, they have their own built in cooling systems if they do overheat, and they typically last 4 times longer than HID lights with a comparable yield at harvest.
The drawbacks are that they can be expensive initially, and not all LED lighting setups emit the light spectrum your plants need. Worry not though, the lighting I recommend has been proven to be optimal for indoor gardening. Click the link here to see my recommended lighting setup.
Your second lighting option is HID lighting. HID, or High Intensity Discharge lighting is the tried and true grow lights that the ‘professionals’ use. Their benefits are that they give you the highest yields of all the lighting options, and have a cheaper initial setup cost compared to LED lights.
The disadvantages of this type of light are that they are inefficient, as they waste a lot of energy in the form of heat and light spectrum that the plant does not benefit from. It also has a short lifespan in relation to the other light options. The inefficiency of this light actually has several rather large negative connotations. One negative is that the high wattage requires a lot of additional equipment and setup for it to work with a regular household plug, and also expensive electricity bills. Another negative is that the immense heat this light gives off means there is a need to vent heat from your grow space to keep a temperate growing environment. This vented heat must go directly outside the household to avoid issues related to humidity levels. This means you will require ducting and some minor construction in your house in order to properly vent the humid air outside safely and avoid mold or mildew growth. A third issue with this lighting option is if you have children. The heat generated from the bulb could easily burn an inquisitive child.
A third lighting option is CFL lighting. CFL, or Compact Fluorescent Lighting is your typical energy saving bulbs that you would find in any household, or the long tubed bulbs that are often found in office buildings. The benefit of this type of lighting it’s both cheap to set up, and cheap on monthly electricity bills. The disadvantages are that it is not meant to be a grow light and therefore doesn’t emit the best light spectrum for your plants. Also, because they are not designed for plant growth, they provide a very small yield at harvest, which can be counterproductive to the goals of most indoor gardeners. Additionally, depending on the plants you will be growing and the size of your garden you could end up needed a large amount of bulbs. Too many of these lights in a small area and you may have to start venting heat out of your grow space. I have already covered the issues that could result from needing to do this.
So what is your best option? Generally speaking, LED lighting is your best bet for the small scale hobby gardener. While HID may be used by the professionals, they also do not need to live where they grow. Their indoor gardens are typically on a mass warehouse scale equipped with ducting and ventilation that can properly disburse the heat that HID lighting emits.
LED lights may be more expensive initially, but they last 4x longer, provide a comparable yield to HID lighting, are significantly more eco friendly, are compact and easy to store when not being used, and have a built in vent system if the circuit board overheats.
Now that you know the best lighting option to grow at home, you need to determine which wattage is best for you. Not enough light and your plants will not grow. Too much light and your plants will wilt and burn. The wattage you’ll need depends on what you are growing and the square footage of your plant canopy. This aspect of grow light options could take up a course in itself, so I will cut it short here. But click the link here and you can see my recommendations to help you determine what your lighting needs are.
In review, your indoor garden requires grow lights to survive and bear a decent yield at harvest. There are a few types of lighting gardeners can choose from, including LED, HID and CFL lighting, though the safest and best value is a high output LED grow light. You can find these lights all over the internet, but be careful because quality and light spectrum types vary. You can click the link here to see what I would recommend you use that has been tried, tested and true.
That concludes lesson 2 on indoor grow lights. In lesson 3 I’ll be discussing your grow space and the benefits and drawbacks of a grow tent, cabinet and room.
I hope you found this lesson of the course “How to build an indoor garden” useful. For more marijuana related courses or recommendations on the best products out there for purchase, visit www.indicainstitute.com or subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please remember to like and share! Click here to skip to the next lesson.
Hello and welcome to lesson 2, where I will explain the lighting needs of your plant and the options available to you.
The main objectives of this lesson are to learn: why your plant needs specific lighting, what lighting options are available to you, what is the best option and where you can find lighting for purchase.
There are a crazy amount of options in the market for the average grow light consumer. This is a double edged sword for those beginner growers as it can get confusing and overwhelming very quickly. If you are one of these beginner growers, worry not. I have developed this course for you.
When creating an indoor garden it is important to make sure your plants get enough light. This is the most crucial element of growing indoors for your plants health. Keeping a plant by the window only works for those small plants that do not bloom or produce at harvest. Unlike growing outdoors, your indoor plant by a window will not benefit from a full day's worth of light. That’s why its necessary to use a grow light to mimic the natural lighting of the seasons. This means 18 hours of light while the plant is in its vegetative stage, and 12 hours of light during its bloom stage.
Choosing the right lighting is also important because some lights emit spectrum that cater to the vegetative or blooming stage of your plants growth. Also your plants will require a minimum number of ‘photosynthetic photons’ in order to get enough energy to grow big and strong. Often these photons relate to the size and wattage of your light, but if your light is not on the right spectrum the energy being used could be a waste. Details on this can become complicated quickly, but do not worry. I have lighting recommendations that will have you gardening in no time.
As an indoor gardener you have the option of three general lighting types for your garden: LED, HID and CFL lighting. LED, or Light Emitting Diode lighting is the newest cutting edge technology in grow lights. Their benefits are that they save you on electricity bills monthly, can provide the exact light spectrum your plants need to grow, they do not emit much heat, they have their own built in cooling systems if they do overheat, and they typically last 4 times longer than HID lights with a comparable yield at harvest.
The drawbacks are that they can be expensive initially, and not all LED lighting setups emit the light spectrum your plants need. Worry not though, the lighting I recommend has been proven to be optimal for indoor gardening. Click the link here to see my recommended lighting setup.
Your second lighting option is HID lighting. HID, or High Intensity Discharge lighting is the tried and true grow lights that the ‘professionals’ use. Their benefits are that they give you the highest yields of all the lighting options, and have a cheaper initial setup cost compared to LED lights.
The disadvantages of this type of light are that they are inefficient, as they waste a lot of energy in the form of heat and light spectrum that the plant does not benefit from. It also has a short lifespan in relation to the other light options. The inefficiency of this light actually has several rather large negative connotations. One negative is that the high wattage requires a lot of additional equipment and setup for it to work with a regular household plug, and also expensive electricity bills. Another negative is that the immense heat this light gives off means there is a need to vent heat from your grow space to keep a temperate growing environment. This vented heat must go directly outside the household to avoid issues related to humidity levels. This means you will require ducting and some minor construction in your house in order to properly vent the humid air outside safely and avoid mold or mildew growth. A third issue with this lighting option is if you have children. The heat generated from the bulb could easily burn an inquisitive child.
A third lighting option is CFL lighting. CFL, or Compact Fluorescent Lighting is your typical energy saving bulbs that you would find in any household, or the long tubed bulbs that are often found in office buildings. The benefit of this type of lighting it’s both cheap to set up, and cheap on monthly electricity bills. The disadvantages are that it is not meant to be a grow light and therefore doesn’t emit the best light spectrum for your plants. Also, because they are not designed for plant growth, they provide a very small yield at harvest, which can be counterproductive to the goals of most indoor gardeners. Additionally, depending on the plants you will be growing and the size of your garden you could end up needed a large amount of bulbs. Too many of these lights in a small area and you may have to start venting heat out of your grow space. I have already covered the issues that could result from needing to do this.
So what is your best option? Generally speaking, LED lighting is your best bet for the small scale hobby gardener. While HID may be used by the professionals, they also do not need to live where they grow. Their indoor gardens are typically on a mass warehouse scale equipped with ducting and ventilation that can properly disburse the heat that HID lighting emits.
LED lights may be more expensive initially, but they last 4x longer, provide a comparable yield to HID lighting, are significantly more eco friendly, are compact and easy to store when not being used, and have a built in vent system if the circuit board overheats.
Now that you know the best lighting option to grow at home, you need to determine which wattage is best for you. Not enough light and your plants will not grow. Too much light and your plants will wilt and burn. The wattage you’ll need depends on what you are growing and the square footage of your plant canopy. This aspect of grow light options could take up a course in itself, so I will cut it short here. But click the link here and you can see my recommendations to help you determine what your lighting needs are.
In review, your indoor garden requires grow lights to survive and bear a decent yield at harvest. There are a few types of lighting gardeners can choose from, including LED, HID and CFL lighting, though the safest and best value is a high output LED grow light. You can find these lights all over the internet, but be careful because quality and light spectrum types vary. You can click the link here to see what I would recommend you use that has been tried, tested and true.
That concludes lesson 2 on indoor grow lights. In lesson 3 I’ll be discussing your grow space and the benefits and drawbacks of a grow tent, cabinet and room.
I hope you found this lesson of the course “How to build an indoor garden” useful. For more marijuana related courses or recommendations on the best products out there for purchase, visit www.indicainstitute.com or subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please remember to like and share! Click here to skip to the next lesson.
