Spring is a time of great work. And not just for people. In the most favorable period allotted by nature for the growing season, plants also work. They germinate through the "shell" of the seed, break through the ground, throw out the first pair of leaves. And grow, grow tirelessly.
The main condition for the active development of all vegetation without exception is a sufficient amount of sunlight, which directly affects the level of photosynthesis.
And since all gardeners and flower growers are in a hurry to plant crops and start growing seedlings in the winter months, the lack of natural sunlight is compensated by a seedling lamp.
Let there be light, or Physics is omnipresent
Familiar to the visual perception of a person and necessary for the life of all things, ordinary daylight, which is commonly called white, has a wide color spectrum.
If you turn to physics and decompose the beam into components, you can admire waves of different colors and different lengths and still not see anythingunfamiliar. Everything, as in the famous counting rhyme: "Every hunter wants to know …"
All the colors that make up the rainbow are always proportionally present in sunlight, and most of them are very necessary for plants to develop and grow well.
In the gloomy winter months, when the daylight hours are too short and cannot provide the plants on the windowsill with the amount of sun they need, caring owners buy or build their own lamps to illuminate seedlings. Turned it on and the day continues in the mini-garden.
Offset towards red and blue. Biological necessity
Although vegetation needs light, not all spectral regions are perceived equally by it. After a lot of research, biologists have come to the conclusion that most representatives of garden flora need the blue and red colors of the spectrum.
Red light has a positive effect on seed germination. When the young stem just rises from the ground, it is in a bent position (almost like a baby in the womb). And in order for a young plant to “understand” that it is already above, and not underground, and straighten up, red lighting is needed, which can start the process of photosynthesis and growth.
The blue region of the spectrum is responsible for cell division, the emergence of new strong shoots.
Plants practically do not react to yellow and green colors - they reflect useless elements of the spectrum from the surface of the leaves.
Spectral preferences must be considered when installing a seedling lightvegetation and choose those in which the spectrum shift is observed in favor of red and blue.
Indoor greenhouse needs light bulb
Despite the small size of most modern apartments, an enthusiastic gardener will always find a place to grow seedlings of his favorite crops. As a rule, this honorary role is assigned to the window sill.
But even when the window sill is full of light on short winter days (it's time for germination), even being at the window, the plants do not receive the amount of sun that would ensure their active growth and development.
Lack of light has a very negative effect on the condition of the shoots: they are weak, lethargic, exhausted, unnaturally long and always strive to bend down.
To avoid such a dull sight, it is necessary to provide the plants with a source of artificial light immediately after planting them in the ground.
The seedling lamp in the singular copes with its function only if the illuminated area is small. And if the greenhouse does not occupy the windowsill, but the whole room? Then there should be a lot of lighting. Although gardeners and flower growers complain that LED lamps for seedlings are a very expensive necessity, they have not yet come up with another optimal option for providing themselves with high-quality “tops and roots”.
Seedling lamps: cheap and useless
The natural desire of everyone who grows seedlings for themselves is to save money. Therefore, kulibins for their own greenhouses come up witha variety of ways to ensure a minimum cost (energy first) during the growing period.
A do-it-yourself lamp for seedlings is the first of all known options. It is done in an elementary way: you need to screw any light bulb into the cartridge, even an ordinary one with a tungsten filament, highlight the seedlings and wait for the results.
But such haste in decisions and actions, alas, will not give positive results.
To correctly illuminate seedlings, you need to understand the laws of biology, which were discussed a little higher, and figure out which of the colors of the spectrum the plant needs for vegetation.
A seedling lamp can't just be bought in the chandelier and light department. It is entrusted with a function more important than just shining, it must influence the growth processes.
Phytolamps: varieties, characteristics
With all the richness of choice, only three types of phytolamps are recognized as the most optimal in providing strong seedlings, which means a high yield.
The most popular and sought-after seedling grow lights:
- Fluorescent. Attractive in terms of price, but consume too much electricity.
- Sodium. Lamps of the middle price segment, the percentage of energy consumption they have is lower than in fluorescent ones, but inconvenient bulkiness and the risk of explosion from moisture ingress are deterrents when choosing.
- LED bulbs for seedlings. Pricethe light bulbs themselves are quite high, but subsequently they bring huge savings, since they are durable (their power is enough for 6-12 years of continuous operation) and not energy-intensive (they absorb electricity three times less than fluorescent ones), they concentrate the radiation colors "favorite" by plants – blue and red.
When plants need extra light
Not only the spectral color is important for the active development of plants, but also the intensity and duration of illumination. On gloomy days, it is not recommended to turn off the lamps for lighting seedlings at all.
But you should not be too zealous, amplifying daylight with lamps. On a fairly bright day, the seedling lamp is used as a kind of tester: it must be turned on to determine the need for illumination. If, when turned on, the illumination has improved significantly, additional lighting should be continued. And if the light in the greenhouse did not increase and the difference before and after turning on the lamp remained unnoticed, there is no need to highlight it, it will only result in energy costs.
Distance between sprout and light source
Everything is simple here: the greater the power of the lamp for additional illumination of seedlings, the farther it should be from the plants.
Measure the distance with a ruler, of course. But not necessary. There is another way that allows the gardener, figuratively speaking, to visit the place of the plant.
You just need to put your hand under the light at the place where you plan to place the pot with the sprout. If athere is a feeling of warmth - the lamp needs to be moved away or raised. If the light source is close, the plant will feel uncomfortable.
If the phytolamp seems too expensive
Or it doesn't even seem like it, but it is: special lamps designed to illuminate sprouts are really expensive, and not every average gardener can afford this luxury - to take care of young seedlings in accordance with all the rules.
Sometimes, obeying the instability of the financial condition, the rules have to be broken and in search of an answer to the question: “Which seedling lamps can be used instead of special ones?” - find a range of alternatives.
One of them is the use of the most common, non-phyto, wide spectrum LEDs. For plants, they are optimal, because they have the red and blue areas necessary for vegetation, and for humans, too, because they are affordable.
Production of a budget lamp for flowers and seedlings
There is no such gardener who would not like to bother with various devices to improve the vegetative functions of his beloved vegetation.
Arrangement of an artificial sun is one of the most important conditions for growth. Therefore, true garden lovers devote maximum time and attention to this issue.
The most primitive do-it-yourself seedling lamp is created within five minutes. You just need to screw the LED light bulb into a regular socket. But this method is for lazy people. And the one who was "born a gardener" should not be lazymaybe that's why he's been working on the lighting system a little longer and more seriously - for two whole hours.
For work you will need:
- 4 corners 20x20;
- flexible led strip with 120pcs luminaires with a power of 20 W/m.
The assembly scheme will require only sticking a tape with lamps on the corners. Budget - about 700 rubles.
Plants will be grateful
In principle, under ordinary LEDs, all vegetation feels great: it develops quickly and actively, it throws out the notorious first two leaves on time.
White LED bulbs are great for growing flower and pepper seedlings because they have a good percentage of blue spectral color. And for tomatoes, it is better to choose lamps with red lighting. At a certain stage of development, blue alone becomes insufficient for them.
LEDs are becoming a great option for those who run greenhouses. In the autumn-winter low-sun period, thanks to a baby bulb, you can collect a fairly decent crop of vegetables and please yourself with a riot of spring flowers.
Plants from the winter garden also need additional lighting. Despite the fact that they are usually placed on verandas and in the most bright rooms.
