LED grow lights. DIY seedling lamp

The fundamental difference between the illumination of adult plants and young seedlings is that light is captured not only by chlorophyll, which supports photosynthesis, but also by other pigments, such as phytochrome and cryptochrome, which affect cell division and elongation, as well as their specialization. Therefore, for emerging seedlings, the quality and regularity of illumination is much more important than for adult plants.

And now more about the quality of light.

Light from most sources is characterized by the so-called spectral composition, that is, the proportion of light of each color of the rainbow. So the light of each type has its own effect on plants. For instance, red light stimulates seed germination, and far (or distant) red light suppresses them.

Red light also promotes the development of the seedling: in its absence, the seedling is in an etiolated state, in which it has a pale appearance and a hooked shape. As soon as (10 minutes is enough) red light begins to fall on it, the growth rate of the stem decreases, the hook straightens, chlorophyll synthesis begins, so the cotyledons begin to turn green.

Orange, yellow and green light do not affect these pigments.

But the blue color, due to inhibition of cell elongation, inhibits the growth of the stem, especially its subcotyledonous part, and therefore reduces the “stretching” of seedlings. At the same time, it stimulates cell division, allowing the stem to thicken. In addition, blue light causes reactions of phototropism, better known as seedling bending: cell growth is inhibited from the side of the blue light source, so the stem bends towards the blue light source.

Absorption spectrum of chlorophyll (horizontally, wavelength in nm).

The difference between luminous flux or ("luminous power") and illuminance.

Lumens and lux are often confused. These values are units of measurement of luminous flux and illumination, which must be distinguished.

The electrical power of a lamp is measured in watts, and the luminous flux (“luminous power”) is measured in lumens (Lm). The more lumens, the more light the lamp gives.

The luminous flux characterizes the light source, and the illumination characterizes the surface on which the light falls.

Illumination is measured in lux (Lx). A light source with a luminous flux of 1 Lm, uniformly illuminating a surface of 1 sq.m, creates an illumination of 1 Lx on it.

The dependence of illumination on the distance between the source and the illuminated surface.

Illumination on a surface is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the lamp to the surface. If you moved the lamp, which hung above the plants at a height of half a meter, to a height of one meter from the plants, thus increasing the distance between them twice, then the illumination of the plants will decrease four times. This is something to keep in mind when you are designing a plant lighting system.

If the illumination at a distance of 1 m from the light source is 1000 lux, then at a distance of 2 m it is already 250 lux, see table

Illumination on a surface depends on the magnitude of the angle at which this surface is illuminated. For example: the sun on a summer afternoon, being high in the sky, creates illumination on the surface of the earth several times greater than the sun hanging low above the horizon on a winter day. If you use a projector-type lamp to illuminate plants, then try to keep the light directed perpendicular to the plants.

Necessary illumination for seedlings and calculation of the light power of the lamps.

The required light for most plants that we grow in seedlings should be above 8000lux. And where to get these suites and how to calculate them on the packaging of the lamps in the store do not write. Moreover, most of the advisers who talk about the advantages of a particular lamp do not write about this either. So it turns out that the lamp seems to be “correct”, but the plants feel bad. They stretch out, outgrow...

This happens especially often when a novice gardener, having read about the merits of special “fitolamps”, decides to arrange a holiday for seedlings and installs 1 lamp over five rows of cups with seedlings! This can be compared with an attempt to feed all invited guests with one sandwich with caviar ... After all, for plants, light is life! A good light - a luxurious life!

Now we know that lux characterizes how "light" the plants are, and lumens characterize the lamps with which you illuminate these plants. And it is the number of lumens that is indicated on the marking of the lamps.

Calculate how many lumens you need for plants to get 8000lx or higher light on YOUR windowsill or seedling table.

1. first, we calculate the area that the seedlings will occupy: For example, this is a table 1.5m long and 1m wide S=1.5*1=1.5m2

2. Now let's define the luminous flux in lumens that we need to create. To do this, we multiply the illumination we need by the area of the illuminated surface:
8000lx * 1.5m2 = 12000lm at least we need to illuminate our table.

3. Let's take into account the losses, when suspended at a height of about 30cm, they are about 30%, which means that the luminous flux should be about 1.5 times more than 12000 * 1.5 = 18000lm.

So, we calculated the minimum luminous flux, which should be created by lamps designed to illuminate seedlings placed on a table 1.5 m long and 1 m wide.

What area will be able to illuminate this or that lamp?

For an approximate orientation, which lamp and for which area it is better to use, you can see the table below. The table is given for HPS lamps.

Illuminated area depending on power.

150 60 cm x 60 cm

250 90 cm x 90 cm

400 1.2 m x 1.2 m

600 2 m x 2 m

1000 2.5 m x 2.5 m

How and what lamps or lamps should be chosen to illuminate seedlings.

When choosing lamps, you should, first of all, pay attention to the power of the luminous flux, the color spectrum of radiation that they create, to the coefficient useful action(efficiency) of the optical system, as well as the stability of light characteristics during the entire period of operation. It is better, of course, to buy mirror lamps with an efficiency of 95% or more. Since the light reflector in them is located inside the lamp, it is not affected by steam, water, salts, and does not become cloudy over time. So, the optical effect of a luminaire with a mirror lamp remains practically unchanged during the entire period of its operation.

Let's try to take fluorescent lamps as an example and look at the markings:

Power, W: 36

Cartridge: G13

Service life: 20000

Purpose: The lamps are distinguished by excellent luminous flux characteristics and greater environmental safety.

Colour: Cool white

Color rendering index (Ra) : 89

Lamp luminous flux (Lm): 3350 These are the lumens we need!

Lamp length, mm: 1200

That. to illuminate a table with an area of 1.5m2 when hanging the lighting system at a height of 30cm from the plants, we need as many as 6 lamps(18000lm:3350=5.37 but round up to 6x).

Now take a mirror lamp high pressure DNaZ/Reflux 250

Power, W: 250

Lamp luminous flux (Lm) : 26000

As we can see from the characteristics, the luminous flux of one lamp will be enough for us, for desired illumination our table with seedlings.

Power, W: 70

Lamp luminous flux (Lm) : 5600

Requires 3 lamps.

The advantage of lamps DNA/Reflux is present, however, their high cost must be taken into account, for example, a ready-made lamp for seedlings 250 W with DNaZ and electronic ballast costs about 4600-5000 rubles.

Many fluorescent lamp manufacturers offer lamps with a spectrum optimized for plants. It makes sense to purchase such a lamp if you need to replace an old lamp: at the same power, a special lamp gives more light that is “useful” for plants. But if you're installing a new plant lighting system, then don't go after those specialized lights that are much more expensive than regular ones. Install a more powerful lamp with a high color rendering index (lamp marking - /9...). It will have all the necessary components in its spectrum, and it will give much more light than a special lamp.

Comparative light output of different types of lamps.

The light emission of such a lamp is extremely low - about 17 lumens/watt

A halogen lamp is radically different from the lamp described above, it has a different shape and inside its bulb is a halogen (usually iodine) in the form of a gas. As a result of the operation of the lamp and gaseous iodine in the flask, all those who have flown away from the spiral tungsten filament return back. Due to this, the lamp life is increased, as well as its light output ( about 25 lumens/watt) and color temperature.

The color temperature of this lamp is in the range of 4300 degrees Kelvin, while the halogen lamp has - 2800 degrees Kelvin. The sun has a light temperature of 6000 degrees Kelvin. Color temperature is a unit of brightness. Therefore, the higher this value, the closer the spectrum of the lamp will be to natural, sunlight. Now it becomes clear why the glow of xenon lamps has a blue tint, while for halogen lamps it is yellow.
Light output up to 100 lumens per watt (average 70)

The light output of such lamps depends on its type and is 70-100 lumens/watt.

Special - Linear lamps

With a tube diameter of 16mm, 26mm and G5 and G13 sockets respectively, these lamps have specific parameters and characteristics and are most often used for aquariums, pets. They are also very often used to illuminate plants that are deprived or deprived of natural light. Such lamps have high level radiation in both the blue and red parts of the spectrum, which contributes to a good photosynthesis process. As a result, plant growth is accelerated. Light output 47-93 lumens per watt (average 60)

This type of lamp is very popular among people involved in growing plants, as the light emitted by them almost completely replenishes the needs of the plant, since these lamps emit a sufficient amount of the red part of the spectrum. I think that almost everyone knows that the plant has several pigments that perceive the blue and red parts of the spectrum. For the significance of these parts of the spectrum, it is worth remembering that, for example, the red part of the spectrum contributes to the growth of the root system, flowering and ripening of the crop. So, in turn, plant pigments susceptible to the blue part of the spectrum are responsible for the growth of leaves and the plant as a whole. Therefore, plants that have not received the required amount of the desired spectrum grow elongated and with a weak root system. Light output up to 200 lumens per watt(average 100)

DNaZ (High Pressure Sodium Arc Lamp) is the same DNaT, in which a mirror coating was added for convenience and greater performance.

A feature of this lamp is the reflective layer that is applied inside the bulb. The bulb and the mirror layer are made in such a way that during operation the reflected light does not fall on the gas discharge tube, thereby increasing the service life of the lamp. Thanks to such a reflective layer, a high reflection efficiency is also achieved, which is about 95%.

These lamps are very similar in design to mercury lamps. Inside the flask, in addition to mercury, there are added metal iodides. Therefore, these lamps are rightfully considered the most efficient, on this moment, light sources. these lamps have an increased light transmission coefficient, even mercury lamps are inferior to them. Be careful not to confuse these lamps with halogen lamps, which are not gas discharge. Light output up to 100 lumens per watt (average 75)

This method of lighting plants is now gaining its popularity, because. The efficiency ratio is large and the power consumption is small. These indicators of the LED lamp are many times higher than those of other lamps, such as HPS and fluorescent lamps.

LED light bulb at an inexpensive price and with good performance can

Conclusion

Based on the main indicators - this is the color spectrum, efficiency and price per unit of illuminated area, you can make a choice in favor of LED lamps.

Useful additions when organizing the illumination of seedlings by the window.

Regardless of the chosen backlight, try to place the seedlings near the south window, due to the sun you can save money and get the best result.

Make additional reflective screens on the back and sides of the seedlings.

Follow the schedule for additional lighting, changing the time both up and down can adversely affect seedlings.

Remember that nothing can replace sunshine, on sunny days.

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122 comments on the entry: “Illumination of seedlings. All about backlighting, the effect of light and the choice of fixtures and lamps”

Alexander:
November 13th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Thanks for the article: concise, scientific, intelligible. Upset only information about the price. A bit pricey for an amateur retiree.
Sasha:
March 3rd, 2013 at 8:40 pm
The price is not correct for the Dnaz indicated, I took the DNA from the EPR a year ago, it turned out 2500r.
Valery Medvedev:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:38 am
Tell me where they got the Dnaz lamp at that price, I found the cheapest one for 3.5t.r. not including shipping.
Svetisad:
March 17th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Great article! Everything is very clear and detailed. Here are phytolamps and phyto-lamps for seedling illumination, about which in question in the article: svetisad.ru/svetisad.ru/folder/2976806
SVictor:
January 20th, 2014 at 9:33 pm
It is extremely DANGEROUS to use a DNaZ / Reflux high-pressure mirror lamp - it heats up to 300-400 degrees, it explodes from any drop of water.
Budget lamp forumhouse.ru/entries/4843/
Continued forumhouse.ru/entries/4924/
Price: white ribbon 5630 reel 5m (20W/m) - 1200 rubles;
driver (power supply) 12V 100W - 1100 rubles
allisa:
February 23rd, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Valery, thanks. The information is very useful, but due to the female mindset, I can’t count my coverage. I have a rack on the window, 3 shelves: size 1.2m x 35cm height of the shelves (from bottom to top) 40cm, 45cm, 55cm, each with 2 fluorescent lamps of 28W. Not enough? And another question: the light is on from 10 am to 20 pm, and in any weather (cloudy or sunny), I don’t have the opportunity to change the interval, guided by the weather outside the window, because I leave for work at 7 am. Tell me if this lighting mode benefits my plants.
Valery Medvedev:
February 23rd, 2014 at 10:52 pm
Alice, the daylight hours can be increased, if you leave at 7 am, then turn it on at 7 o'clock, and you can turn it off at 20: 00. And there should be enough lamps, but still luminescent ones are also better, but only phyto with a reddish spectrum .
allisa:
February 24th, 2014 at 12:50 am
Thanks, I'll look for those...
Julia:
February 27th, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Is it possible to use an energy-saving cold glow lamp (more powerful), but shine through the red-blue glass? Or is it a perversion?
Valery Medvedev:
February 27th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
You are right, there is no need for perversions, the Chinese have excellent LED lamps for $ 23, which is 830 rubles, I have already checked that the result on tomato seedlings is better than any praise, in 35 days from the moment of sowing, it began to form buds, which means it is ready for planting. I plant in a greenhouse on May 5-15, which means I will sow in early April, saving time for exactly a month and the seedlings are super, I will post photos soon, etc.
SVictor:
February 28th, 2014 at 11:02 am
Julia. As a techie, I can explain. Stained glass lets a certain color through and blocks the rest. Plants from all over the world will take whatever color they need and as much as they need, and plants are indifferent to the rest of the color and extra lighting. The main thing is not to overheat with infrared and not burn with ultraviolet. Red color promotes the growth of tops, and from blue plant more stocky will be. The ratio for seedlings of tomato, pepper, eggplant is blue: red = 4: 1. So fluorescent lamps or led strip need COOL WHITE
SVictor:
February 28th, 2014 at 11:14 am
Do not spend money on fluorescent phytolamps from China - the price is high, but there is little sense. European prices are exorbitant. And the Chinese lie and save a lot: the power is 2-3 times lower than that written on the lamp, the service life is no more than 6 months, and then they dim another 2-3. Especially with the ECO icon. For the Chinese, this means super savings - there is very little luminescent, the filament is not tungsten, mercury is not added to the flask, etc.
Yuri:
March 11th, 2014 at 5:27 am
I hung a DRL on seedlings, large with a human head, Soviet-era production in Poland, power 400 watts. Previously used in lampposts, in street lighting. Although hung at a distance of 1 meter, the seedlings received an ultraviolet burn.
Valery Medvedev:
March 11th, 2014 at 11:06 am
Such lamps must be hung at a height of at least 3 meters and a heat sink must be made, otherwise you create a fire hazard at home.
Stepan:
March 17th, 2014 at 10:20 pm
Valery, at what distance should DNAT-250 be hung in a mirrored ceiling? Lamp at a distance of 30 cm - tomato seedlings fall, some wither, others die from a black leg.
Valery Medvedev:
March 18th, 2014 at 8:51 am
DNAT-250 is suspended at a height of at least 2 meters from plants; they are dangerous for seedlings at home. It is better to use LED lamps or fixtures
Stepan:
March 19th, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Valery, could you tell me at what height it is necessary to hang the DNAT-250 lamp? When suspended by 60 cm, a pronounced yellow spot with a diameter of about 20 cm. Is there enough illumination if you raise it higher?
Stepan:
March 19th, 2014 at 11:10 pm
What is the danger for seedlings? How best to use this lamp for backlighting, because. have to be content with what is available.
Valery Medvedev:
March 20th, 2014 at 5:07 am
Stepan, DNAT-250 must be hung even higher, otherwise you will get burns at the seedlings, and there will be enough light, you should look at its characteristics Luminous flux of the lamp (Lm): 26000, this is more than enough for 1 sq.m.
Kristina:
March 21st, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Valery, hello! can you give a link where you ordered the lamps ... I find some expensive ones, for 3.5 tr. I don't get it (((
Valery Medvedev:
March 22nd, 2014 at 6:55 am
Kristina:
April 2nd, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Thanks, Valery! You are my savior, my tomatoes will not have time to bud without illumination by May))) I urgently need to buy a lamp.
Julia:
April 3rd, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Valery, hello. And how many lamps do you need to buy for a window sill 1m 20cm long?
Valery Medvedev:
April 3rd, 2014 at 2:40 pm
3 lamps is enough
Julia:
April 3rd, 2014 at 6:52 pm
Vyacheslav:
April 23rd, 2014 at 4:30 pm
I bought a LED lamp 70 eur 50W China (it is written that it is designed for 12 m2). Made a table out of OSB sheet 2500 * 1250 (3.125 m2) placed by the window. When the lamp is on during the day and it is cloudy or sunny outside - tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, in short, all the greens lean towards the window. They react to the lamp when the sun sets. I mean that any lamp is worse than the sun.
Tomatoes, regardless of whether with or without a lamp, are dull green and elongated (I can assume that due to a temperature of 20 degrees) they darken when I put them in a greenhouse.
Peppers, especially if you lower the lamp 60 cm above the peppers - the purple-green ones grow stronger and the spine pierces the entire glass (I haven’t observed this without a lamp for such a period), but because the lamp alone hangs about 1.2 m from the table surface for the entire area of 3m2 to capture all the seedlings.
All kinds of orchids feel very well under this radiation. Even during the winter, the withered come to life, straighten the leaves.
I can’t stay in this world for a long time - my head starts to hurt and I feel sick. I had to build curtains from foil film.
My conclusions are - for the peppers perfect solution, for the rest of the seedlings, I did not find a big difference.
Maybe the intensity is small or other factors, but I got such results.
Valery Medvedev:
April 25th, 2014 at 7:46 am
A Chinese lamp of 50 W cannot illuminate such an area with high quality and it must be hung no higher than 50 cm from the plants, then the tomatoes will stop leaning towards the window and become dark green.
Ma Sha:
December 24th, 2014 at 1:18 pm
Valery, in many of your videos there are homemade lamps in the background. Everything is clear with the lamps, but how and what is the case made of? Wouldn't it be difficult for you to create a separate video tutorial on making a lamp with LED lamps with your own hands? My husband and I conceived this one, but we don’t have a machine that bends sheets of metal, and we planned to fix the lamps on a long board, but we have little idea how to mount socket holders in drilled holes, whether to put on heat-insulating glue or in another way, how to combine the wires into one single one, etc. Do I understand correctly that the starter is already hidden in the lamp housing and there is enough wire with a simple plug that is inserted into the socket?
Valery Medvedev:
December 24th, 2014 at 2:36 pm
Masha, look at this video of mine in it, it is clear how easy it is to make a lamp using lamps.
Ma Sha:
December 24th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Valery, thanks, I already watched this video and realized that wall-mounted cartridges were used (initially I didn’t think of it before). Do I understand correctly that in your lamp for 10 lamps, the cartridges are connected by wires in series and all the lamps turn on at the same time due to this? I do not want to pile up a bundle of 10 wires.
Valery Medvedev:
December 25th, 2014 at 10:13 am
Masha, the lamps are connected in parallel, but there is no need to block any beam, the two-wire wire goes in segments from lamp to lamp. You just confuse serial and parallel connections a little, the lamps will turn on at the same time in any case, if you don’t put a switch in the middle of the circuit, for example, and then you can turn off some of the lamps, as I did on the first lamp for energy-saving lamps, now I replaced them with LEDs
And Christmas garlands are connected in series.
Victor:
December 30th, 2014 at 11:39 am
Hello Valery Sergeevich. I would like to briefly comment on your lamps, on energy savings - what are they (how many degrees in Kelvin are there) and LED: what and how many colors (red-blue), and what happened in terms of harvest, I also spend here what kind of experiments, in terms of quantity, and in terms of agricultural crops, do you want to optimize all this and somehow automate it, so that it would turn on and switch itself, closer to the conditions of nature, in the morning it would be necessary to be red, but at noon - blue, and in the evening add a little red again. Can I make two parallel branches of LEDs, and put two timers? One turned off, having worked out its mode, and the other turned on, already in a different mode.
Valery Medvedev:
December 30th, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Victor, I use ready-made lamps, for today only LED ones, I turn on the socket through the timer. For seedlings of any crops, I really like the effect, but for a full cycle, of course, you need to get closer to the sun, I’m not strong in electrical engineering, so I haven’t tried home-made solutions.
Victor:
January 3rd, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Valery. I didn’t just ask, I also use ready-made ones for now, but these ready-made ones have different LEDs, it’s only in diamond: 9-red one is blue, and if you look at the energy saving, 6400 kelvin, it is close to daylight, and blue light ,450 nanometers, about the same thing, look here (copy the link and paste it into a search engine), and the point is that, having such an assortment of light bulbs, you can turn them on in turn, a little red in the morning, add blue ones by noon, and by evening red ones again, they are already in these bulbs, though in different quantities, which is very important. that's where my question comes from, how many of which LEDs are in your fixtures.
Victor:
January 3rd, 2015 at 5:10 pm
This year I want to highlight only blue until the first real leaves, and then, if the weather is cloudy, then red-blue 3: 2, but when it's sunny, I can add blue, and pick up red or only blue, since red passes through the window, naturally with a screen from the side of the room, and if they stretch out, then of course blue, in general, experiments again.
Victor:
January 4th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Good day! I’ll try to insert my 5 kopecks. I live in St. Petersburg, where the sun is almost invisible, the cloudy sky is almost all year round, and based on this, I came to the conclusion (for myself) two timer sockets, and two chains of lamps, in one - red-blue 3: 2, in the other two lamps of 4 blue and one white (LEDs) or two energy-saving lamps (daylight with a color temperature of 6400 Kelvin, lamps with a light temperature of 2700 K are ineffective), first the red chain is switched on from seven in the morning until 11 pm, and the second chain with blue light turns on at 10 am and until 6 pm, and from 6 pm to 9 pm the red-blue one turns on, everything turns off at night. In this spectrum, the seedlings feel good, but other colors, green, yellow are needed for microorganisms living in the ground, but we grow seedlings that will move to a more lit place. All this I count on a box measuring 50 × 30 cm.
Valery Medvedev:
January 9th, 2015 at 11:05 am
Mine has two blues and three reds.
Victor:
January 12th, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Thanks, Valery Sergeevich, this is important to me. According to my observations, it works better when at the beginning there are more blue, 4 blue, 1 white, or a saver to help red blue (6400 Kelvin), but this is in my region, it may come in handy.
Lydia:
January 13th, 2015 at 9:55 am
Good afternoon. Valery, please tell me if there are any more detailed characteristics LED lamps, which you write about above, because the link indicated by these lamps is not available. I tried to search on the Internet, there are a lot of 15W LED lamps and the characteristics are different for everyone - white light, cold light, maybe there is a specific manufacturer. I mainly see 5W lamps - will this power be small or will I need several? I've never seen one like the one in your picture. Will the lamp in the picture fit?
Valery Medvedev:
January 13th, 2015 at 11:20 am
Look for LED grow lights, they are all mostly red and blue diodes.
Victor:
January 13th, 2015 at 1:37 pm
For Lydia. To illuminate plants, lamps with a certain emission spectrum are required, 660 nanometers - red and blue 450 nm, plants simply do not recognize another spectrum, and the power is based on 50 watts per square meter, this means if the lamps are 10 watts, then 5-6 pieces are enough, I have 2 lamps of 10 watts for a box measuring 60cm x 20cm.
Boris:
January 22nd, 2015 at 9:03 pm
Good evening, Valery! I bought 2 Fluor lamps to illuminate seedlings on the windowsill, their spectrum is normal, but the luminous flux is not enough. I want to add 2 fluorescent lamps (4000K, 3300Lm each). I think that there is no excess light. What do you think?
Valery Medvedev:
January 24th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
You definitely won’t have too much of it, it can be overdone with dnats.
Sergei:
January 28th, 2015 at 4:25 am
Hello Valery!
What area with seedlings do you illuminate with your lamp
from 10 lamps of 15 watts? At what height above the seedlings? With lenses or without?
Bought 4 pcs. such lamps for testing - what area, in your opinion, can be illuminated?
Valery Medvedev:
January 28th, 2015 at 9:02 am
My lamp illuminates 0.75 square meters, I illuminate without lenses at a height of 30 cm from the plants, so you can roughly estimate that you will illuminate 0.3 square meters.
Victor:
February 8th, 2015 at 12:49 am
Hello Valery! I watched your video, super determinant tomatoes on the windowsill, under the LED lights that you wanted to put on New Year's table, already salivating, but the question is, what variety do you have ??
Valery Medvedev:
February 8th, 2015 at 9:04 am
Victor, look at this article, I wrote a variety there.
Victor:
February 8th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
thanks Valery.
Maksim:
March 12th, 2015 at 6:24 pm
Hello! Please tell me which one optimal power LED lamp for a drawer 60 × 15 cm (as I understand it 0.09 m2). 15w will be enough? Thanks for your reply!
Valery Medvedev:
March 13th, 2015 at 9:54 am
Maxim, two of these will have to be hung, since the box is extended.
Vladimir:
March 24th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Good day!!! Please tell me about the LED lamps that I ordered from China for 15 watts. Reference: 4 pieces purchased for 35 green. The lamp has 5 LEDs, 4 red and one blue. I took 4 pieces for one window sill measuring 1.5 × 0.3. The specification says red 660 nm, blue 460 nm, the question is whether one blue LED is enough and at what distance to place the light from the plants? Many thanks and good luck with your work!
P.S. Off-topic question: tell us how you prepare the land for the greenhouse from the moment you buy it to the moment you add mulch to it, etc. How do you determine its parameters to obtain good harvest what kind of water do you water, for example, in our suburbs the soil is very acidic and the water for irrigation is high in iron
Valery Medvedev:
March 24th, 2015 at 5:35 pm
I place the lamps 20 cm from the plants, one blue should be enough for seedlings. I prepare the land for the greenhouse in the same way as for warm beds, the parameters are friability, the presence of humus, I water warm water
Victor:
March 25th, 2015 at 1:06 am
I will intervene on the LEDs: a 15-watt Chinese lamp has half the power, 8 watts, they write 5 pieces of 3-watt ones, for example, then 3.5v X 0.7a \u003d 2.45w is a blue LED, and red , 2.4 x 0.7 \u003d 1.68 (we multiply the volt by the current and get the power) and for an area of 1 sq. M you need 50 - 60 watts of LED power, and if more it does not hurt, but the spectrum: as soon as the first loops appear , immediately remove the backlight with LEDs and two - three days without a break, then we connect the red light (660 nm) at the rate of 1: 1, 3 red and 2 blue, from 12 to 14 hours (if the seedlings are grown in urban conditions and on the windowsill, then it should be at night, fenced off from the light street lamps, otherwise the plants will reach for the light of the lantern) on a box of 30X50 cm, 3 lamps are enough, (blue light slows down the aerial part, and the root system continues to grow and strengthen, seedlings do not stretch, and red promotes foliage growth.
Anya:
March 30th, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Thank you for your efforts to educate beginners!
Alexei:
March 31st, 2015 at 1:21 am
Valery, hello. Yesterday we picked tomatoes and peppers. Then we thought about lighting: I bought one ribbon of blue-red lights (72 diodes), in a ratio of 3:1 (red:blue); and one ribbon of a white glow of 5700 Kelvin, in which, judging by the graphs on the Internet, the blue spectrum at 440 nm is two times higher than the red 650 nm, that is, roughly speaking, red prevails in one ribbon, and blue in the other (although the ribbon and white glow). What do you think, now, for the first time after picking, which light is better to use, with more red or blue? Or include both, do not bother? It’s just that the area of the table is about a meter, and I can’t find out what power of the tapes in watts, maybe even two tapes are not enough. And the second question is off topic, if I may: is it necessary to spray or water the seedlings with Baikal? Or is it later? Thank you.
Valery Medvedev:
March 31st, 2015 at 3:47 pm
It is necessary to use all the light, it definitely will not be superfluous, I would not spray the seedlings.
biktor57:
April 2nd, 2015 at 6:40 pm
Valera, will energy-saving lamps be used to illuminate seedlings or not.
Nicholas:
April 2nd, 2015 at 9:56 pm
Valery please tell me. what luminous flux (lm) does a 15 watt diode lamp give as you have in the backlight?
Valery Medvedev:
April 3rd, 2015 at 11:04 am
In LED lamps for plants, the luminous flux is not indicated, it is important to hit wavelengths of 660 and 445, and the total power, the more powerful the lamps, the easier it is to hang higher, and therefore illuminate a larger area.
Valery Medvedev:
April 3rd, 2015 at 11:09 am
They will do, only for a good effect you need to gain more power, make reflectors, because for plants most of the spectrum emitted by them is useless. Therefore, now there is a choice between dnats and LEDs, as you like.
Victor:
April 3rd, 2015 at 2:42 pm
Victor:
April 3rd, 2015 at 3:12 pm
in a diode (white) with a light temperature of 6500K blue photons - 30%, green - 50%, red - 20%. Just a pure seed spectrum. but they need to be taken three times more
Nicholas:
April 6th, 2015 at 10:44 pm
And how much time per day should the seedlings be illuminated? I have from 6.00 to 21.00.
Enough? Or still need to?
Valery Medvedev:
April 7th, 2015 at 9:04 am
So okay.
Alyona:
May 7th, 2015 at 8:05 am
good afternoon. really need your advice.
I want to pick up LED lamps for illuminating seedlings of cucumber and tomato. which one is best for this?
Victor:
October 23rd, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Hello!
I bought a LED phytolamp with a power of 54 watts.
On the site where I bought it, it is indicated that the lamp is designed to illuminate an area of 1.25 sq.m.
Luminous flux 3500 lm,
LED (4 blue, 14 red), ultra bright.
Could you tell me, please, at what height should such a lamp be placed?
And yet, I have doubts whether the lamp will pull such an area?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Valery Medvedev:
October 24th, 2015 at 10:10 am
Such a lamp will definitely not pull 1.25 kV, a maximum of 0.5. Such lamps usually have a focusing lens, so you can hang from 30 cm to 1 meter, the younger the seedlings, the lower the suspension.
Ivan:
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Hello! Can you please tell me if a housekeeper lamp 85W 6375 Lm 6400K, suspended at a height of 1m from tomato seedlings, can burn them or not?
Valery Medvedev:
December 24th, 2015 at 9:45 am
Such a lamp at such a height will not burn.
Sergei:
January 9th, 2016 at 2:42 pm
Tell me please. In my box 0.6 sq.m. A 50w led lamp hangs from above, and an ESL 125W hangs from the bottom side, the growths lean towards the ESL, what should I do?
Valery Medvedev:
January 10th, 2016 at 11:53 am
Hang these lamps on top of the sides of the ice.
Juliana:
January 15th, 2016 at 9:59 pm
Good day!
Someone already wrote here that it is impossible to stay near the LED lamp for a long time - the head hurts and feels nauseous. We have the same.
We ordered one phyto lamp for an experiment in China. Received and hung over the windowsill. It is impossible to sit next to me for more than 20 minutes, even with your back turned away. Why is that? And how does it affect a person? Is it possible to be around at all when she works?
And after that, another question. Is it possible to illuminate plants in an aquarium with an LED lamp and how will the fish react to it? Maybe someone came across.
Olga:
January 20th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Valery, I really need your qualified recommendation on the timing of growing seedlings under phytolamps 36 W (bicolour, diodes 660:450nm ratio 9:3) A site in the Moscow region, I plant under lucrasil No. 60, with heat accumulators on May 9-15. I plan to use ACH (by the way , is it possible to use purchased vermicompost for it?) I plan to grow seedlings: 1) large-fruited strawberries from their seeds; 2) early ripe peppers, eggplants, tomatoes - medium-sized and standard. I would like to use your experience in organizing a place for seedlings - penofol light reflectors, watering with melt water (if you prepare snow water in advance, do you need to somehow disinfect it, warm it up to a boil or add Phytosporin?) Sorry for the large number of questions, but if not you, then who. Sincerely, your grateful follower
Valery Medvedev:
January 22nd, 2016 at 7:46 pm
Under the lamps, it is necessary to move the crops for 15-20 days. You don't need to boil the water, but the snow must be clean, of course.
Jeanne:
January 24th, 2016 at 1:06 am
Hello, please tell me what area the phytolamp will illuminate. Voltage: 85-265V 10W E27 (blue-red spectrum) and at what height should it be hung? Thank you in advance.
Valery Medvedev:
January 24th, 2016 at 10:20 am
Such a lamp will illuminate the radius of no more than 30 cm, the height of the suspension is from 20 to 40 cm above the plants, depending on the growth phase and the plants themselves.
Alexander:
January 28th, 2016 at 10:38 pm
I have a homemade lamp. Radiator - a piece of aluminum cornice, led - 1 watt, driver - 6-10 watts, ordered through Ali-express. Raised wonderful seedlings last season.
Alexander:
January 28th, 2016 at 10:41 pm
Such a driver. 6 to 10 single watt LEDs.
Taisa:
February 9th, 2016 at 6:06 pm
Valera, hello. I have an insulated veranda. 5 windows on all sides. Seedlings of vegetables and flowers are supposed to be on the windowsill 3mx0.3m. I stopped at the Sidor phytolamp. Options:
1. -2 linear lamps 1m long (1.5m can be) 40w each.
2. -2 linear lamps 1m long, 30w each.
3. -3 lin. lamps 1m long, 30w.
Help me decide. I have been suffering with the choice for half a year. The character is so bad. Finally decided on a lamp. Now the power and quantity can not choose. Doubts I have: 40w is not much? And one more thing: the distance to the plants, please. Thank you.
Valery Medvedev:
February 10th, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Distance to plants 30-40 cm, the amount depends on the area.
Victor:
February 24th, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Hello!!! Lamp DNAT 400 ON what area?
Valery Medvedev:
February 26th, 2016 at 11:38 am
I haven't experienced them.
igor_m:
February 26th, 2016 at 9:23 pm
April 3rd, 2015 at 2:42 pm
You need to know that the main quantity in photometry is the luminous intensity of the radiation source, measured in candelas (cd). Lux (lx), ........ Therefore, an illumination of one lux corresponds to a luminous flux of one lumen falling on one square meter of area. And approximately equal to one watt (LED)
Victor, did you mix anything up? Illumination of one lux corresponds to ... and is approximately equal to one watt (LED)? Based on the fact that plants need 4000-8000 lux, then in terms of diodes you need 4000-8000 W?
Victor:
February 29th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
to what height should DNAT-400 be raised from seedlings?
Valery Medvedev:
March 1st, 2016 at 10:11 am
Not less than a metre.
lipstickkacool:
March 1st, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Valery Medvedev:
March 2nd, 2016 at 8:32 am
I see this 9 Cotton lamps with a lot of small LEDs, I don’t think that they are able to illuminate the table well, they don’t have focusing lenses, so it seems to you that they illuminate a large area, the third one is definitely not superfluous, hang 20 cm from the plants.
lipstickkacool:
March 2nd, 2016 at 12:08 pm
Thank you, Valery, in our store we conducted an experiment with these lamps, the results are excellent!
And another question, how many hours a day do seedlings need to shine? we constantly lack light for plants, last year all the seedlings stretched out!
Valery Medvedev:
March 3rd, 2016 at 4:12 pm
I light up for 12 hours.
lipstickkacool:
March 5th, 2016 at 8:14 am
Tatyana:
March 10th, 2016 at 11:09 pm
Last year I ordered lamps for plants in China. This year I made 2 lamps for myself and my mother. Each lamp has 3 lamps. Pasted on the inside mirror film, to reflect light. I hung it over the windowsill at a distance of 25 cm from the seedlings. I follow the results.
Tatyana:
March 10th, 2016 at 11:18 pm
Last year I ordered lamps for plants in China. In January, I made 2 lamps myself, for my mother and for myself. Each lamp has 3 lamps. I hung it over the windowsill at a distance of 25 cm above the seedlings. I follow the results.
Ruslan:
March 19th, 2016 at 6:17 pm
Dnat 150 W living corner 60*60*120cm
in the spring we transplant into long pots on the balcony
Small peppers and tomatoes for a month,
those that are bigger - one and a half.
Homemade electronic ballast, according to a scheme similar to this one
Natalia:
May 1st, 2016 at 6:31 am
I bought a Reflux DNAZ 70 watt lamp. I have few seedlings. According to the characteristics, it should be enough just for an area of \u200b\u200b1 * 1.5, even a little more. I thought that this year my seedlings would be just a feast for the eyes, but alas. Tomato seedlings stretched out in just 3 days. I had to put her on a cold balcony. Now stands there blue from the cold. I thought the reason was the high air temperature (in the apartment + 21, plus the lamp heats up to +60). After the tomato planted cucumbers, watermelons and melons. Lowered the temperature by opening the window. The result is the same. Cucumbers are sitting where it didn’t go, more or less, and watermelons with melons - you won’t look without tears. In general, one disorder. Only peppers liked this lamp, they are bright green and are going to bloom, although they planted it, as always, at the same time. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? According to the advertising of this lamp on all sites, the seedlings should simply be fragrant, but alas, I have ah. For the eyes, the light of this lamp is quite normal. At first it was not familiar, the objects had some kind of unnaturally pale color, but then I got used to it.
Ainur:
August 17th, 2016 at 7:30 am
Good day!
Do you make red-blue glow phytolamps? Area 3 hectares, Beds: 9.5 m x 1.20 m, distance between beds 1.5 meters.
specifications
object: greenhouse
area: 3 ha
Lighting: Led / HPS
degree of protection: ip 65/ip 67
quantity unknown
Valery Medvedev:
August 22nd, 2016 at 9:04 am
I do not do.
Gulnaz:
August 29th, 2016 at 11:08 am
I bought a phytolamp E27 36 watts, 660 nm - 9 pcs red, 450 nm - 3 pcs blue, for plant illumination, the north side of the window, there is no sun at all. How many lumies will the lamp emit, is it enough?
Valery Medvedev:
August 30th, 2016 at 11:59 am
It will be enough for a circle with a radius of 40 cm.
Semenoa:
October 2nd, 2016 at 8:22 pm
Valery, how much W / m2 is needed. for LED lighting?
Valery Medvedev:
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:34 am
It all depends on the quality of the LEDs, but about 100 or more watts.
Andrey:
October 6th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Valery, help me choose lamps. There were doubts about 28 W llamas, diodes less than 500 lux. But the price is acceptable. A 30 W diode is larger but the number of lux. unknown.
Valery Medvedev:
October 10th, 2016 at 5:14 pm
Andrey, these lamps use outdated LEDs low power, the efficiency may not be great.
Natalia:
January 29th, 2017 at 11:09 am
March 1st, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Hello everyone, everyone! Valery, I purchased factory-made LED lamps for plants, tell me how high you need to hang them above the plants while the seedlings are small and when they are already large? How much more time to illuminate the peppers and tomatoes.
P.S. The lamps are chic, the ECO mark, which is very important, they shine on a large area, I bought 3 pieces for an old table-book, but I realized that two would be enough.
How did these bulbs perform?
Natalia:
January 31st, 2017 at 8:10 am
Hello! Maybe I'm addressing the wrong address, but suddenly I get an answer. I would like to know at what height above the seedlings it is necessary to hang 2 PHITO-90 cm-15W64SMO-P40LNE phytolines for a backlight area of 1.2 x 0.75 sq.m?
Valery Medvedev:
January 31st, 2017 at 9:39 am
20 cm above the seedlings and 30-40 above the pick.
Valery Medvedev:
January 31st, 2017 at 9:43 am
20 cm above the seedlings and 30-40 above the pick. 12-14 hours.
Shavkat Latipov:
February 27th, 2017 at 12:43 am
Hello. I want to assemble my own phytolamp. I read that vegetable crops love white light. I ordered red and blue LEDs of the desired spectrum + full spectrum. Decided to combine everything. And is it still necessary to include White?
Valery Medvedev:
March 4th, 2017 at 7:23 pm
I won't say exactly. I use additional light only for seedlings, two spectra are enough.
Alexander:
February 26th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Good afternoon.
Last year (in the 17th) I bought 6pcs. 10 W LED lamps and hung them over the table at a height of half a meter. Table 120×70 (cm)
In addition, another 36 watt fluorescent lamp hung above it. The LED dumps were on the sides of the fluorescent one. Seedlings - tomatoes and peppers. At first it all grew under a fluorescent lamp, but my wife, as usual, was unhappy with the amount of light, and I hung phytolamps. After that, the tomatoes got sick. They became thin and curvy. Only after transplanting into the greenhouse did they recover. And the peppers are okay, they survived normally. So the conclusion is this. The amount of lighting can be overdone.
Or did I do something wrong?
Valery Medvedev:
February 28th, 2018 at 8:11 am
With such lighting, you definitely didn’t have an excess of light, 50 cm is too high for such lamps, 20-30 maximum and shine for 12 hours.
Larisa:
March 3rd, 2018 at 9:21 pm
Hello. I bought two OSRAM FLUORA L 36W / 77 lamps (luminous flux 1400 Lm, lamp length 1200). grow rooted petunia cuttings. Please tell me if I can get by with this backlight, do I need to make additional reflectors, at what height should the lamp be? And I still doubt whether or not it is necessary to partially close the window from daylight, it seems to me that a lot of light from the lamp is scattered into the street.
Anton:
March 6th, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Good afternoon, Valery
We are going to try to grow a salad for ourselves.
We ran into the issue of additional lighting when growing seedlings.
The area that will be occupied by cassettes with lettuce seedlings is approximately 20 m2
Room without windows (no daylight at all)
Among other sources - only incandescent lamps (ordinary), but they can only shine in order to enter the room and leave it.
We want to ask for advice: how much light do our seedlings need? Explain please. What lamps, what kind of glow are needed and at what distance should they be broadcast?
Thank in advance!
Valery Medvedev:
March 7th, 2018 at 12:37 pm
If the height allows, then it is better to illuminate Reflux at the rate of 100-150 W per square meter
Valery Medvedev:
March 7th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
Should be enough, suspension height 20-30 cm to plants.
Alexander:
April 1st, 2018 at 10:34 pm
Hello Valery! Tell me, I hung a dnat-400 and two dnat-250 over 2 sq.m. of seedlings at a height of 40 cm from the seedlings. Is what I do scary? I have constant fears of lack of lighting and light.
Valery Medvedev:
April 2nd, 2018 at 9:14 am
Alexander hanging Dnatov over seedlings needs at least 1 meter, preferably 1.5-2 m can be easily burned, especially since the temperature for seedlings is too big 20-25 what you need, this power is more than enough, and in terms of lighting time they usually shine 12 hours and 12 night
Fedor:
April 2nd, 2018 at 8:08 pm
Hello Valery, judge my calculation, how correctly I chose the illumination for tobacco seedlings. Thank you
Valery Medvedev:
April 4th, 2018 at 8:17 am
The calculation is of course correct, but in reality a lot will depend on the lamp itself, or rather on its spectral characteristics, namely in what ranges it has maximum radiation and whether it coincides with the needs of plants.
Fedor:
April 4th, 2018 at 12:24 pm
Hello! Therefore, I indicated in what places how many Lx at such a height, according to data from the same Internet, nightshade lighting consumption should be enough, if they consume from 2500 to Lx 4000Lx, then I have an average of 2960Lx. But I still reduced the distance to the lamps and made 24 cm. Lx increased, but I'm afraid to burn the plants with the light flux, is this possible? And something cannot be brought out into cotton wool.
Valery Medvedev:
April 8th, 2018 at 8:43 am
LEDs and such a stream will not burn, LEDs can be suspended from 10 cm.
Maksim:
May 28th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
Hello, I have a box 70 × 100, an Apollo 6 180 W full spectrum lamp, the germinated sprouts were planted immediately in large pots, they grow 5-7 cm and the leaves begin to turn yellow, what's wrong?
Valery Medvedev:
May 31st, 2018 at 10:42 am
There can be many reasons and they are not necessarily in the lamp, but try to raise it higher, perhaps the radiation is excessive.

All life on earth is drawn to the light. Most plants are photophilous. With a lack of sunlight in cells, photosynthesis is disrupted, immunity to diseases decreases, and growth slows down. This is especially true for seedlings of vegetable crops. Without sufficient lighting, seedlings tend to stretch out, grow weak, unviable. Of these, full-fledged crop plants cannot form in the future. Therefore, seedlings must be illuminated.

For seedlings and young seedlings, the problem of lack of light is relevant for several reasons.

Seedlings need light to grow vigorously. It draws energy from it.
With a lack of light, the stem of the plant begins to stretch. Nutrients and moisture from the soil have to travel a longer distance to reach the leaves. As a result, the leaves develop poorly, lose their color and turgor.
A plant weakened by a lack of light is vulnerable to microbes, pests, and fungal diseases.
Stretched plants are deformed and broken. They are harder to plant.
Seedlings grown at insufficient lighting, adapts worse to climatic features and open ground.

Few people in our climate can boast of full-wall windows, into which the bright sun shines on February days. These could be the ideal conditions for growing seedlings, but, alas. Neither in February nor even in March there are many sunny days, and the windows of the apartments let in a negligible amount of light.

Illuminating seedlings is a must. But it is not necessary to spend money on expensive equipment. You can build a backlight with your own hands. There are many various options how you can organize additional lighting in the apartment for the period of growing seedlings.

Important!
Ordinary incandescent lamps are not suitable for additional illumination of plants. Firstly, even the most powerful of them will not give enough light, since its radiation spectrum is insufficient. Secondly, these lamps get very hot, and even for long distance under such illumination, the sprout will burn and die.

The plant can feel the entire light spectrum, but not all parts of the spectrum affect it in the same way.

Metal halide lighting

In the horticultural industry, metal halide lamps are now used for the production of seedlings in the traditional soil method and in hydroponics. This is the best and last word in agricultural lighting, which can simply be taken into account, since the price of these lamps is too high for an ordinary summer resident. In addition, their installation requires special reflectors and regulators.

Video - comparison of the best ways to illuminate seedlings at home

Illumination with fluorescent lamps

This category of lamps for a long time was a "hit" among gardeners. In fluorescent lamps, the radiation is low, which allows you to arrange additional lighting directly above the plants. The spectrum of fluorescent lamps completely replaces the seating arrangement with sunlight. These lamps are inexpensive. Lighting is easy to arrange, just hang the lamps at the right distance and adjust the distance as the seedlings grow. Fluorescent lamps have a long service life - one set is enough for the entire season during which the seedlings are indoors. These light sources do not consume much energy, are economical, so they can, if necessary, illuminate the seedlings around the clock.

LED lights

This is a new word of technology, which is gradually gaining popularity, displacing luminescent "colleagues". Seedling lighting should be both efficient and budget-friendly. For many years, fluorescent lamps held the palm. But life does not stand still, and today LED lamps are recognized as the best, which are also used in the industrial cultivation of vegetables and fruits in hydroponics. Yes, LEDs are initially more expensive than fluorescent lamps, but their durability and low power consumption take them to the top.

Today, not only LED lamps, but also tapes and screens are increasingly used for illumination. This helps to "kill two birds with one stone" - to create comfortable light conditions for plants and beautifully decorate the interior.

Important!
For plants, LEDs are convenient in that they completely cover the entire area that needs lighting. They stimulate the growth of healthy cells, normal development, give vitality plants.

The heating temperature of LED devices is low, the service life is long, compactness is high, and the light coverage area is optimal. They are energy efficient and look modern and stylish.

Illumination with phytolamps

Phytolamps are also a new lighting trend, created specifically to be a source of useful light. This applies to all living things, from the human body to the plant. In appearance, phytolamps resemble LED ones, but differ in spectrum indicators. Phytolamps have a pink-violet spectrum, which is an additional “bonus” for plants.

The heat dissipation of phytolamps is even less than LEDs, therefore, if you choose between these two types of illumination, the second is preferable for seedlings. You can use them together, combining them - this gives a very good effect, helps to save money (since phytolamps are more expensive than LED ones, and if they are “diluted” with each other, it will not be so expensive). This type of lamp is also energy-saving, so when using them, not only the family budget is saved, but also the energy resources of the planet.

Illumination with mercury lamps

Mercury lamps are famous for the spectrum closest to sunlight. They shine with white light, but it is much more useful to a person than a plant. If phytolamps with their pink-violet radiation can irritate the human eye and even cause headaches, white light is pleasant for a person, but does not have a great effect on plants.
Many choose mercury lighting because they are still better than incandescent bulbs.

Illumination with sodium lamps

High pressure sodium lamps are today considered the most economical light sources. They are distinguished from all known gas-discharge lamps by the highest luminous efficiency, they have a minimum decrease in light flux with a maximum period of use. But these devices have the best color rendering and a bright yellow spectrum. It does not bring much benefit to plants and is irritating to people. Therefore, sodium lamps are mainly used in industry and street lighting. In any case, if there is an irresistible desire to organize the illumination of seedlings using sodium lamps, do not do this in living quarters.

Lighting device for seedlings

Whatever lamps you choose, there are general rules, according to which the backlight is made out.

Today, few people grow seedlings "the old fashioned way." Technology has moved ahead and provided gardeners with the opportunity to achieve greater efficiency in growing seedlings. Healthy, strong seedlings are a guarantee good development plants in the future. Illumination for seedlings is what works for the result. If you have not yet arranged additional lighting for your plants, please them, give them light. They will thank you with a generous harvest.

Video - illumination of seedlings at home

Seedlings of flowers, vegetables, other horticultural and ornamental crops need not only enhanced nutrition, watering, but also a sufficient amount of light. Since in our climate it is necessary to start growing already in February-March - when the daylight hours are still not long enough, additional lighting for seedlings is definitely needed.

Consider the issue of arranging artificial lighting for seedlings, find out which lamps are best to use, how to make the backlight yourself.

Experienced growers are well aware of the importance of additional lighting for young plants. And they see the results of favorable light exposure every year, harvesting. Since natural daylight is still short at the end of winter and early spring, additional lighting must be used. However, it is important to know what effect certain light spectra have on plants.

So, the red and blue shades of the spectrum help to activate metabolic processes in plant tissues, accelerate the production of useful chlorophyll, and stimulate photosynthesis.

For seedlings, green and yellow shades of the spectrum are also important - they accelerate the growth of plants. The ultraviolet shade is also important - it acts as a natural bactericidal protection of seedlings from harmful microorganisms.

Orange shades of light rays bring the beginning of the fruiting period closer. Most often, lamps of the orange spectrum are therefore not used for seedlings, but for the speedy ripening of vegetables in greenhouses in winter.

For the first time, supplementary lighting for seedlings was used by our compatriot Andrei Famintsin in 1868. Now, few gardeners and gardeners present their work without this important aspect.

After all, if you do not provide seedlings with a sufficient amount of light, the following negative consequences are likely:

slow plant growth;
violation of the processes of photosynthesis, metabolism;
weak immunity, diseases.

Well, as a result of all this - a weak harvest

If the processes of photosynthesis are inhibited, this will negatively affect both appearance plants, and on the development of its root system. With a lack of light, weak, twisted, "rachitic" plants are obtained, twisted and lethargic. What kind of harvest can there be, think for yourself.

The most optimal level of illumination for seedlings is considered to be 8 thousand lux. Lamps of artificial origin can provide illumination of 6,000 lux, which is quite enough, given that there will also be natural light.

What kind of light is needed?

In order for seedlings to grow actively and fully develop at home, not to get sick, it is necessary to take into account the requirements for artificial lighting. We will discuss these requirements in more detail below.

The first step is to understand that additional lighting is just a way to add light, and not heat or a device for drying air.

It is important to choose lamps with soft beams - plants will not like the lighting at point-blank range, too intense and directional.

It is also necessary to take into account the distance at which the lamp will be located - the lamps should not be close to the plants, but should not be located at a considerable distance from them. To check if the lamps are at a sufficient distance, place your palm between the lamp and the seedlings, as close as possible to the plants - the hand should feel a pleasant, slight warmth.

Provide the ability to change the distance, as well as the very location of the lamps, their orientation. For this, preference should be given to light sources with the possibility of regulation.

Before picking seedlings, try to provide the latter with blue shades of the spectrum, as well as ultraviolet, so that the plants grow well, grow stronger and do not get sick. Well, after picking, it is important to pay attention to metabolic processes, so adjust the lamps to the red shades of the spectrum.

Illumination methods and types of lamps

At home, you can highlight seedlings in two ways:

naturally on the windowsill;
artificial lamps.

But since, even if the containers are located on the south side of the apartment, they still will not have enough natural light, they have to use artificial lighting. Next, we will consider in detail the types of lamps that can be used to create additional lighting.

Incandescent lamps

Many inexperienced farmers believe that you can place a few ordinary "Ilyich's bulbs" above the seedlings, and everything will be fine. However, above we considered all the spectral shades necessary for the normal development of young plants - and so, incandescent lamps cannot provide the required spectrum in full. They just don't have the spectrum.

But conventional lamps they “eat” electricity in a huge amount, besides, much more than light, they emit heat that is not so necessary for seedlings. Thus, as a result of using incandescent lamps, seedlings often get burns on tender leaves and dehydration instead of growth and active development. And sometimes it just dries up.

Now almost all professional gardeners have come to the consensus that it is impossible to achieve successful harvests by using incandescent lamps to illuminate seedlings.

Fluorescent

An excellent option, a wonderful source of ultraviolet rays, so important for the formation of normal plant immunity.

Thanks to fluorescent lighting, seedlings grow very quickly, and their foliage acquires a beautiful intense green hue. Pathogenic microbes under the intense influence of ultraviolet quickly die, so that the plants do not get sick. In addition, this lamp illuminates without heating the air around, so the seedlings do not dry out and do not get burned.

Note that in the luminescent spectrum there are many violet, blue and blue rays - so useful for the development of the root system of plants.

In addition, on sale you can find lamps with a different spectrum:

warm for the flowering period;
cold for intensive growth;
daytime universal.

The disadvantages of fluorescent lamps include the minimum number of red waves in the spectrum. And as we have already found out, red light is very important for the full development of plants. In addition, fluorescent lamps are not powerful enough, so they do not provide active influence and acceleration of seedling growth. For high-quality lighting of seedlings, they will need several, which is uneconomical.

When choosing, look at the abbreviation on the package: LB and LBT lamps are suitable for seedlings, but such as LDC and LD are not. The last two categories of lamps can inhibit the vital activity of seedlings, so they are not used.

Lighting with fluorescent bulbs is undesirable when growing citrus seedlings, as well as cucumbers and tomatoes.

sodium

These are the brightest lamps of all used to create artificial lighting. Note that the spectral parameters of sodium lamps optimally meet all the needs of plants.

Lamps make it possible to independently form exactly the spectrum that plants need most of all in a given period. In addition, the light emitted by sodium lamps is pleasant to the human eye and does not irritate it at all.

Important: be careful when buying such lamps: they are divided into two categories - low pressure and high pressure. It is the last category that you need to choose to create highlights.

Sometimes sodium lamps are equipped with a mirror reflector, which helps to spread the rays over a large area, which is good for plants and saves you money.

Cons - sodium lamps heat up quite a lot, besides, they are not the safest in everyday life. After all, heavy substances such as mercury and sodium salts are used for their production. In addition, plants should be more carefully illuminated with them: you can not turn on the sodium lamp if there are voltage drops in the network.

If the external air temperature drops, sodium lamps will work less efficiently - this fact must also be borne in mind. To illuminate seedlings, the power of the lamp must exceed 100 watts.

LED

These types of lamps Lately are gaining more and more popularity. Thanks to LED lamps you can significantly save on electricity, get all the most necessary spectral colors for the full growth and development of seedlings - including red and blue colors at the same time.

In addition, LED lamps can be located at the closest distance from plants, even close to the leaves: they do not radiate heat at all. As a result of using such a backlight, the air does not dry out, and the plants do not receive excess heat.

With LED lamps, it is possible to achieve acceleration of photosynthesis processes, which leads to more active and rapid development plants. Cons LED backlight not found.

Halogen

Not the most the best way A: Halogen lamps are fairly bright and produce little heat, but their light output decreases significantly over time. However, as a source of red spectrum rays, halogen lamps are very well suited - most often they are used in this capacity.

induction

These lamps are economical a high degree light output. Bispectral luminaires with red and blue light are best suited for plants. Induction lamps do not flicker, thanks to which the light is distributed very evenly. Minus - heat up.

Phytolamps

These devices are intended exclusively for agricultural work, therefore they are sold in specialized gardening stores. The devices are quite complex, besides they have a considerable cost. When buying them, it is important to consider many factors: specifications phytolamps, service life, degree of heating, dimensions, lighting area, etc.

Since phytolamps are designed specifically for this specific purpose, it is very convenient to highlight seedlings with them. They consume little electricity, they do not need additional cooling. Several properly selected phytolamps completely replace the lighting of the greenhouse.

Phytolamps are created on the basis of fluorescent lamps, however, their spectrum is changed in a specific way - it is pink-violet, provides a large number of the most important red and blue rays. Due to the specific, unnatural spectrum for human eyes, it is undesirable to use phytolamps in a residential area.

However, if there is no way to grow seedlings other than at home on the windowsill, use reflectors. In this case, the light emitted by the phytolamp will not spread around the room. As a reflector, you can use a piece of white cardboard, as well as foil.

Cons - sometimes phytolamps provoke a headache in highly sensitive people. And, of course, their cost does not always justify the purchase.

How to do?

In order for artificial lighting to fully meet the needs of the plant owner, it is best to make it yourself. Learn how to make your own LED lighting.

The first step is to prepare the necessary tools, as well as consumables:

the lamp itself with a cartridge;
power cord;
beacon made of galvanized steel with stiffeners and perforation;
nuts, bolts;
pliers or pliers.

Bend the lighthouse with pliers into a rectangular frame according to the size of your windowsill.
In the middle of the frame, install a support stand of two parts - the lower vertical bars and the upper U-shaped.
Fix the structure with bolts and nuts.
To make the fastening more rigid, and the frame does not fall apart during operation, fix the structure on both sides.
Attach the lamp socket (or several sockets) to the top of the resulting frame with bolts.

Lighting must be safe, so first of all, exclude any possibility of a lamp igniting, getting water on the backlight, and the possibility of a short circuit.

Use reflectors to diffuse the light and expand its area. This will result in a more economical use of electricity and will create non-directional light that is useful for seedlings.

Choose the optimal distance for the location of the fixtures. If LED lamps are used, the optimal distance will be 10-40 cm from the seedlings.

Do not forget about the advantages of using LED lamps as lighting:

small size, compactness;
saving electricity;
full assimilation of the emitted spectrum by plants (99%);
intense, bright light;
long service life;
safety and environmental friendliness;
non-susceptibility to external factors - resistance to breaking, temperature changes, decrease-increase in air humidity.

seedling rack

If the seedlings are not located on the windowsill, but in a place devoid of natural light, it is best to make a special convenient rack for it in this case. This design is assembled and disassembled, takes up little space and is quite simple to do.

In this case, lamps can be placed above the shelves of the rack so that the plants receive sufficient lighting from all sides. It is best to build such a rack from wooden slats and shelves.

The stronger the light bulb is able to heat up, the higher above the seedlings it must be placed. Otherwise, burns and overdrying of the air cannot be avoided.

Keep in mind that you need to highlight seedlings in different periods with different intensities. For example, immediately after planting the seeds, you need to illuminate the containers for whole days with blue light, and after the emergence of seedlings, add red.

Different cultures require an individual approach. Not all plants are equally thermophilic, some simply cannot stand excessive heat. Consider this fact when choosing lamps.

In addition, the need for daylight for seedlings different cultures also different:

tomatoes need 14-16 hours;
pepper - 9-10 hours;
cabbage - 16 hours;
cucumbers - 13-15 hours.

Observe the reaction of plants to the backlight and zoom in, move away, turn the lamps in time, if necessary. Avoid burns from too close illumination or excessive elongation, thinness of stems from too distant. If you notice that the stems grow crooked, sideways, then the lamps must be placed on top so that the seedlings level out.

Immediately after planting the seeds, the distance from the lamp to the container can be 12-14 cm, but after germination and as they grow, move the lamps 20-25 cm away from the container.

So, the creation of additional lighting is a measure necessary for the full development of seedlings. As we found out, it is best to use LED or special phytolamps - these devices are practically devoid of drawbacks. And you can build a comfortable backlight with your own hands - there would be a desire.

Often natural lighting is not enough for plants, especially in winter time, late autumn and early spring.

As a result, the development of plants stops, their growth stops, and problems begin, not to mention the fact that the plants stop flowering. To remedy this situation, many flower growers use artificial lighting.

Lighting for home plants plays leading role. On sale, of course, there are ready-made lamps for lighting seedlings, but this requires material costs. Therefore, you can make the backlight yourself.

Illumination for seedlings is necessary mainly for photophilous plants. The growth and development of seedlings depends on the length of daylight hours. It is recommended to make a 12-hour daylight hours, you can turn on the backlight for plants in the morning and evening, prolonging the natural daylight hours.

How to make a backlight for seedlings in the house

Method 1.

There is a way creating light for seedlings on the windowsill without the help of lamps:

1. Take a cardboard box with a side wall slightly larger than the bottom of the plant container and cut the top and side. Leave the sides around the edges (width is about a centimeter)

2. Cover the bottom and sides with foil and fasten with a stapler.

3. We place the container with plants in cardboard box so that the plants are turned towards the window. As a result, the sun's rays will reflect off the foil to give the seedlings an all-round light.

Method 2

1. We take an elongated lamp, consisting of two fluorescent fluorescent lamps with light reflectors. The design of this lamp is very simple.

To assemble the lamp you will need the following materials and equipment:

- a bar of wood 40x40mm - 1 pc;

- electronic ballast 2x18 W - 1 pc;

- fluorescent lamp 15-20W, length 42-43 cm - 2 pcs;

- fastening contacts for lamps - 4 pcs;

- covers for reflection - 2 pieces;

- clip for fastening 5 mm - 2 pcs;

- chain - 1.5 - 2 m;

- soft two-core cable - 2x1.5 - 5-10 m;

- electric plug;

- usual electric switch;

- nylon ties, fasteners, electrical tape (white).

2. Starts assembling the lamp from the skeleton: bar, electronic ballast (the most important part of the lamp), to which the lamps are connected. We also need 4 clips, 2 threaded loops and 1 pad.

3. Let's start installing the frame luminaire: we attach an electronic ballast to the wooden bar in the center, which will be installed in the upper part (this is important in order to protect the contacts and ballast from moisture).

Clips are attached to the bar to the side parts, which should have a protrusion in the upper part.

We twist threaded rings at the clip attachment points, and a contact pad is installed.

4. Wire hanging . The lamp connection diagram is on the electronic ballast, it is necessary to make connections strictly according to the instructions of this diagram.

The wires to the bar are connected with nylon ties, the excess ends must be cut off. Contact pads for connecting ballast to lamps can be purchased on the market or in hardware stores.

A simple switch is installed below to turn the lamp on / off. The task of compact sites is to connect the wires to the lamps.

4. We install the lamps and put contact pads on them. This process is not complicated, however, such lamps are quite tight in the clips, so they must be inserted carefully so that the clip and the lamp itself do not burst from a click.

5. On the back of the lamp at the bottom install the switch.

6. Installing reflectors. Reflectors are necessary to protect the room from the bright light of lamps. Without reflectors, the use of the lamp will not be comfortable.

Reflectors can be bought and made independently from a thin sheet of aluminum and construction clips, which are used to fasten lamps to a lamp.

7. Check for exposed contacts!

8. Lamp pendant. Suspension is carried out with the help of two threaded hooks and two chains. To secure the hooks, you need to carefully make two holes approximately in the gap between the corresponding loops that were installed on the lamp.

We install the dowel in the hole and wrap the rings. It remains to choose the desired length of the chain and fix it on the lamp.

The use of a chain is necessary to gradually adjust the lamp as the plants grow, so that the amount of light is always maximum.

9. Timer. Such a lamp can be turned on using a timer. You can set a specific cycle for turning it on and off. To set the timer, you need to insert it into the plug from the lamp. If there are several lamps in the house, you can use an extension cord.

Such a mechanical timer is reliable and durable.

The lamp is ready!

How to make light for seedlings

As already noted, the lighting of seedlings is the main condition for the favorable cultivation of seedlings, especially young ones. However, you need to install the right lamps to illuminate the seedlings.

Used to illuminate seedlings various sources:

- sodium lamps;

— metal halide lamps;

- mercury lamps;

- halogen lamps;

- neodymium lamps;

- fluorescent lamps;

- other phytolamps.

By types of lamps for lighting are: incandescent and gas-discharge lamps.

As practice shows, mirror sodium lamps are among the most reliable and efficient, especially since they do not irritate the eyesight.

A few tips for installing the optimal seedling light bulb:

To install fast and inexpensive lighting, it is advisable to use an incandescent lamp.
Plants that are close together and of equal height are recommended to be lit with compact fluorescent lamps.
For either on racks, it is advisable to use extended fluorescent lamps or powerful compact lamps. It is recommended to use reflectors with fluorescent lamps to increase light.
In the winter garden it is better to use ceiling lights with powerful discharge lamps (about 250 W and above).

The backlight must be at a certain distance.

To choose the optimal distance, just place your hand on the incident light, if you feel warm, then the lamp should be placed higher.

Turn on the lamp to see if additional light is needed. If there is relatively more light, then backlighting is needed, if the difference is imperceptible, then there is no need for additional light.

Do not forget about the temperature regime and uniform lighting of seedlings!

Thus, it is necessary to adhere to the basic requirements for seedling illumination. The growth of seedlings is affected by the duration and intensity of lighting.

If plants do not have enough light, their photosynthesis is sluggish, slowing down growth, as a result, the plant can get sick and die.