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Best Light For Seedlings of 2024

Lorin Nielsen
  Mar 29, 2024 5:59 AM

We spent several hours searching the internet for best light for seedlings, reading reviews, and drawing on our own personal experiences to compile our list of the top 14 best light for seedlings now available on the market.


Overview

When it comes to germinating seedlings, the right conditions are essential for their success. The majority of people place a few seeds on a windowsill and believe that nature will take care of the rest, only to discover that there isn't enough light for the seedlings to begin going.

Grow lights, on the other hand, are an option for the astute gardener who wants to speed up the process. A set of grow lights for seedlings will allow you to provide them with optimal artificial sunlight and have them sprouting and ready to be planted in a matter of minutes..

You may be wondering how to choose the ideal lighting for seedlings.

To get the best results from your indoor garden, you need a set of grow lights that are specifically designed for plants, have adequate light for the seedlings below, and can be arranged to suit your needs. If you're looking for a certain type of light, such as LEDs or a complete lighting kit, there are a variety of possibilities available.

For seedling growers who are stumped about where to find the best lights, help is at hand. We've compiled a list of the best lights for sprouting healthy seedlings, along with information on why each one is a smart pick.


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Buying Guide

You should plan out your entire seed starting system before you buy grow lights to get started with seed starting.

When I say "whole system," I'm referring to your seed-starting rack, lights, and other materials. They can't do it alone.

Rack/Shelving Unit

For seed starting, I use a stainless steel wire rack with five shelves. Four of the five shelves have lights attached to them (except for the bottom one which is close to the floor). The shelves are 4 ft wide, which is critical because the lengths of the lights vary. You must ensure that the length of the lights corresponds to the shelf's breadth.

To make things as simple as possible, a wire shelf system for your seed starting rack comes highly recommended. There is a wide variety of sizes and styles available, and they can be purchased at most big-box and hardware stores. In addition, when you aren't using it for seed starting, you may take it to a basement, spare room, or garage and store it there.

This metal shelving unit or this one (with one fewer shelf) are quite similar to the one I have. Racks with less shelves can be used if you don't need to start as many seeds as I do (hundreds!).

Whatever model you choose, make sure to pay attention to the depth and width of the shelves. You'll need a depth of roughly 18 inches for seedling trays, while a width of 48 inches is ideal. Plants are more important than the size and number of shelves in your planter.

Step-by-step instructions for building seed starting racks and DIY grow lights are provided in this article.

When it comes to seed starting, there are a variety of options available, and I'll go over a few of them later in this article.

Light Color

According to the Color Temperature Scale (CTS), the blue end of the spectrum is described as "cold" light, whereas warm light is described as "warm." The spectrum of light in sunlight includes every hue in the rainbow.

When it comes to photosynthesis, red and blue light appear to be the most important. The growth and blossoming of plants are aided by red light (but if a plant gets too much, it will become tall and spindly). To produce foliage plants and seedlings that are short and stocky, blue light is best (but too much will result in stunted plants).

The Kelvin rating of a grow lamp tells you what color it produces. Lamps with a Kelvin value of 5000 will appear blue, while those with a Kelvin rating of 2500 will appear reddish.

Light Intensity

The wattage of the bulb and the distance between the plant and the light source influence the intensity of light a plant gets. A brighter bulb located distant from the plant can produce the same amount of light intensity as a dimmer bulb located near to the plant, for instance.

To thrive, most seedlings grown in the garden require a higher level of light intensity than other plants. For a fluorescent bulb, the leaves should be between 2 and 4 inches away (assumed to be 2 inches away).

Duration of Light Exposure

When beginning seeds and developing plants inside, there is still some controversy about how many hours of supplemental light is optimum.

Without adequate light, most veggies and garden plants become pale and lanky. Most vegetables and garden plants need at least 16 to 18 hours of light each day. It was recommended to keep the lights on for 16 hours per day as a standard practice. In contrast to this, some gardeners believe that seedlings should be exposed to 24 hours of continuous light every day (ie, there is no need to give seedlings a nightly rest).

Leaving your grow lights on all the time makes life a lot simpler, and that's what I do. Put the lamp(s) on a timer so you don't forget to switch them on or off if you opt for the 16-hour on, 8-hour off option.

The Right Spectrum

Plants respond to light in different ways depending on the frequency (color) of the light.

When it comes to photosynthesis, plants can only use light that falls within a narrow band of wavelengths known as PAR (red to blue) (wavelengths ranging from 400 to 700 nm).

However, plants' light requirements fluctuate as they progress through different growth stages.

Seedlings need a lot of blue light, according to scientists. Why?

Blue light is critical to the development of leaves and stems in young plants.

As a result, a high proportion of blue light is required in your grow light's spectrum.

Red light, on the other hand, is critical for your plants.

Artichoke seedlings were shown to grow substantially taller and heavier when they were exposed to red light.

Seedlings, on the other hand, require less red light and more blue light.

While blue and red light are essential for your seedlings, other light frequencies can also help them thrive.

Seedlings can gain weight and height when exposed to a green light, for example.

Your seedlings' requirements for light don't end there. Small amounts of UV light are also needed by your infant plants.

When seedlings grow into flowering plants, UV light can help them become stronger and better able to handle higher levels of light.

Your plants' light requirements will shift during the blossoming stage. Once the seedling stage is complete, you'll need to move to a different light source for the flowering stage.

Moderate Intensity

Seedlings require plenty of light, yet they are unable to endure light that is too bright.

Baby plants have a delicate nature. Intense light and heat can easily harm or burn them. Of course, the type of grow lamp, the real brightness, and the distance from the plants are all factors to consider.

Increase the distance between the light and the growing area if you're using a powerful grow lamp to reduce the intensity across the growth region. You will, however, use some energy as a result.

Grow lights with moderate intensity can be used to speed up the growth of your seedlings. Many lights on the market are equipped with this capability and are therefore acceptable for use with seedlings.

Switch to a high intensity grow light when your plants start flowering.

Because of this, you may need to utilize two grow lights, one for each phase of the plant's development.


Faqs

What's the best option?

A fluorescent or LED bulb is usually the ideal choice for the ordinary home gardener growing seedlings indoors to guarantee that your plants receive the quality, intensity, and duration of light they need to remain in peak condition.. condition.

Are LED Lights Good For Growing Seedlings?

For seedlings, LED lights are the most popular since they produce less heat and are less expensive to run than standard fluorescent lights.

Because they produce so little heat, the gardener can better regulate the temperature and keep harmful heat away from fragile seedlings.

How Far Should A Grow Light Be From Seedlings?

The wattage of the lights can be used to calculate how far away a grow light should be from seedlings.

A conventional LED light arrangement should be placed between 24 and 36 inches above the seedlings in order to avoid burning and harming them.

How Will You Hang the Lights?

When using grow lights, they must be suspended from the ceiling so that they may beam down on the plants. As a result, mounting or hanging them is a need. This is why I enjoy using a wire rack so much: I can suspend my lights from the shelf above with a simple s-hook and metal chain and move them up and down as the plants grow.

Fixed-position lights, such as those attached to the bottom of a wooden shelf, do not allow you to raise and lower them. That's why I'm wary about such a setup. I'm a big fan of being able to change things up

If you're going to buy lights, you'll want to make sure they'll hang or mount on your system.


Conclusion

Your seedlings will thrive no matter what kind of grow light you use, so keep a close check on them.

Taking good care of your seedlings is a time-consuming task. Additionally, feeding and hydrating them properly is essential.

Make the most of your indoor gardening experience and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!


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