led lights

[brent]

What color and persentage of each color is good for growing plants?

[wh33t]

It varies from plant to plant but one simple concept I follow is trying to replicate what the plants might get in nature.

If you have a plant that flowers and fruits in the fall chances are it wants a more yellow/orange/reddish. If you have a plant that flowers earlier, perhaps in the spring time they might want more blueish/whitish light instead.

If you are doing some kind of indoor thing that requires supplemental lighting and aren't sure I'd just get a general spectrum lighting.

I hope that helps.

[brent]

I have being looking at different sites. I see alot of red blue mixes and very few white or soft white. The majority of the plants I will have inside will be non flowering.

[MurCurY]

plants that don't flower require less red and more blue. plants that flower require more red and less blue during flowering....however....if you provided a light that is high in blue during flowering...it will still flower...

[badflash]

LED's are still too expensive lumen for lumen. Standard shop lights with daylight bulbs are your best value, both up front and over time.

[aquaarche]

well if there is no clouds plants would get a full spectrum of light. It is the plants that takes light at different times to grow and produce fruit or leaves. Plants have a natural ability to take in whatever spectrum is needed at certain times to do what it is needed for its survival, growth and fruiting.

The natural spectrum of light changes throughout the day with the angle of the Sun the atmosphere acts like a prism, from what I understand when the sun is coming up, because of the prism effect, it has more blue spectrum light, by midday it is full spectrum and in the later after noon as it goes down it is more red spectrum.

also at high noon on summer and spring equinox you will get concentrated full spectrum, at the summer solstice you will get more red at the winter Solstice you will get more blue that is in the northern Hemisphere. where we are at near the equator we get a good balance year round.

I am actually using 10,000K full spectrum grow lamps but only to supplement the light they are lacking. They were all that was available at the time, now I can order 7,000K partial spectrum. but my old ones are working fine. LED's are more cost efficient. but mine are 2ft 20W Florescent tubes.

I have them hanging on pulleys so I can raise them as the plants grow. Mine cost $7 each