Thinking about growing some herbs or veggies? Starting them from seed is a great choice but it’s super hard without an LED grow light or at least some form of grow light.

The natural light from a window is not going to cut it! Seedlings don’t do well when in a window. Even the hardiest seedlings have to struggle. That’s not what you want for starting out a garden.

Thankfully, adding a grow light is super easy. Read on to learn how to start your seeds out right under grow lights!

Maximum Yield Explains Light Emitting Diode (LED)

In relation to horticulture, LEDs are very popular because they offer many benefits over traditional grow lights. One major benefit over traditional lighting is that LED lights have a much longer lifespan. This is very important for greenhouses or other indoor growing spaces where constant light is needed.

LEDs use approximately 60 to 90 per cent less energy than other grow light options like high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, which include high-pressure sodium and metal halides. Some growers who have switched to LEDs report that their plants typically produce a greater yield than plants grown using high-intensity discharge (HID) grow lights.

LED grow lights can last up to 100,000 hours, which far surpasses the lifespan of other types of grow lights, therefore reducing maintenance time and cost. Another crucial benefit is that LEDs put out far less heat than traditional lighting methods, which is important because too much heat can damage plants. Since LED grow lights remain cool, they can also be placed close to the plants, which provide the grower with a greater ability to control the light’s spread.

LEDs are also beneficial when growers need a particular wavelength of light to be emitted. Most plants flourish under both red and blue light, however, different plants require different amounts of the red and blue wavelengths, which different colour LEDs can provide.

ECO Farm 240W LM301B Classic Quantum Board

Features:

This ECO Farm LED grow light has high energy efficiency with 2.7 umol/J, only consuming 240w. The veg footprint is 3 x 4 ft, Flower is 2 x 4 ft. This grow light is equipped with Samsung LM301B Diodes to create better canopy light penetration, get 40% higher yields with less energy compared with other red-blue lights. The sunlight spectrum(Samsung LM301B 3000K+660nm+UV+IR) of this grow light provides everything plants desired in the natural sunlight, turn your seeds into your own supply, produce beautiful high yielding plants. It has the feature of no fan ZERO noise. The large areas of the solid aluminium heat sink, high safety performance with MEAN WELL Driver. You don’t worry about burning out your plants. 50% longer lifespan compared with other brand lights.

NextLight Core Pro LED Grow Light 210W

Features:

The NextLight Mega Pro is a high-efficiency — bright white LED grow light designed to efficiently outperform your traditional 1000W DE HPS. The superior diode array also outperforms typical LED bar fixtures, especially in shared lighting scenarios high above the canopy. The NextLight Mega Pro has the power and versatility for all stages and styles of indoor growing. Used primarily for high-intensity flowering needs, the all-new, Onboard Dimming feature allows for more control over desired light intensity. Output can be adjusted between 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The NextLight Control Pro can control up to 500 NextLight Pro-Series fixtures per controller (250 fixtures per channel).

Geeklight 240w monster board pro led grow light

Features:

This LED grow light include red, blue, UV, IR and so on etc. which is similar to the sunshine, ideal for all kinds of indoor plants veg and flower at all growth stages. LED grow lights are lightweight and very easy to use with the upgraded hanging brackets, you can hang these indoor plants grow lights anywhere you want, the system can be built in perfect sturdy condition within one minute. Good structure and high-quality material selection make this indoor plant lamp is the best choice for gardeners. Plants grow fuller with much stronger and straight stems with these led grow light bulbs. Contribute most to photosynthesis, provide the peak spectrum for maximum chlorophyll & carotenoid, promote leaf growth. Perfect light combination for plants growth.

How To Start Seeds Indoors With LED Lights

Vegetable and flower seedlings do not require a special light spectrum to grow into mature transplants. So although expensive grow lights will indeed work to grow seedlings, they simply are overkill. And when we say expensive, we mean expensive! Many specialty grow lights and indoor growing systems can run for $100 or more. And to boot, they can consume a considerable amount of energy in the process.

And although you may have heard of using a sunny window sill, it is unfortunately not a great choice. Window sills, no matter how much sun they may receive, are simply not a good location for starting seeds.

The filtered light from the sun is too distant. And because of that, young seedlings grow spindly while trying to reach for the light. In the process, transplants grow thin and weak and make poor plants when it comes time to transplant outdoors.

But as it turns out, LED and even fluorescent shop lights provide the perfect amount of light needed to grow annual seedlings. And with LED, the advantages for growing are even better.

Benefits Of Putting Seedlings Under Lights

There are tons of benefits to using the proper lighting for seedlings. Below I’ve listed the main ones, so you can see why it’s so important.

Stronger and healthier seedlings — The main benefit of using artificial lights is that your seedlings will be much stronger, healthier, and stay more compact than they would just sit near a sunny window.
Better survival rate — Once you provide enough light, you’ll find that the survival rate of your seedlings is much higher. So you won’t have to plant extras to make up for all the weak ones you would have ended up losing.

Less waste — Since you won’t have to plant extras to make up for those losses, there will be much less waste. You won’t waste any seeds or dirt… or your time. Because of this, you’ll find the lights will pay for themselves pretty quickly.

Much easier — Providing proper lighting for seedlings will make your life so much easier too. By using a timer, you can just set it and forget it, rather than having to constantly monitor and rotate your trays.

Prevents legginess — The only way to prevent seedlings from getting tall and leggy is to provide adequate lighting.

Grow seeds anywhere in your house — Another benefit is that you can put your seedlings anywhere in the house. You don’t need to worry about keeping them in a room that gets tons of natural light.

Conclusion

LEDs are considered the best grow lights for the proper growth of your indoor plants and flowers. If you are new to home gardening and have heard the benefits of these lights, take the time to read and learn more about them before you make the purchase decisions.

You could try the usual grow lights and experiment with time to check if it helps with the right kind of growth. Choose the white LEDs with blue and red diodes for they aid growth at most stages.