What up Cannabis Cultivators!Today, I want to talk to you about growing using LED grow lights. LEDs are a powerful tool that can help your plants thrie. But, there's a bit more to it than just switching on a light.
LED grow lights need to be powerful enough to support your cannabis plants' growth. Too little light, and your plants won't grow to their full potential. Too much light, and you risk damaging them.
To understand how much light is "just right," we need to understand "PAR," or Photo synthetically Active Radiation. This is the range of light that plants can use to perform photosynthesis, the process they use to turn light into food.
PAR is measured in micromoles per square meter per second (μmol/m²/s). This is a measurement of how much light is hitting a particular area every second.
Different stages of a cannabis plant's life need different amounts of light.
1. Seedling stage: Little baby plants need gentle light, around 200-400 μmol/m²/s.
2. Early vegetative stage: As your plant grows bigger and stronger, you can increase the light to around 400-600 μmol/m²/s.
3. Late vegetative and flowering stages: Now your plant is ready to handle more light, up to 600-900 μmol/m²/s.
Why is PAR so important?. Because it's the light Spectrum (colors) that plants can actually use. Other measurements, like lumens or watts, might tell you how bright a light seems to our eyes, but they don't tell you much about what plants can use for growth.
Plants mostly absorb light between the 400-700 nm range. They like Blue and red spectrum's a lot. Blue light helps with leaf and stem growth, while red light is used for flowering and fruiting. Full spectrum is usually best and most LED grow lights try to use most of the colors within that PAR spectrum.
LED grow lights need to be powerful enough to support your cannabis plants' growth. Too little light, and your plants won't grow to their full potential. Too much light, and you risk damaging them.
To understand how much light is "just right," we need to understand "PAR," or Photo synthetically Active Radiation. This is the range of light that plants can use to perform photosynthesis, the process they use to turn light into food.
PAR is measured in micromoles per square meter per second (μmol/m²/s). This is a measurement of how much light is hitting a particular area every second.
Different stages of a cannabis plant's life need different amounts of light.
1. Seedling stage: Little baby plants need gentle light, around 200-400 μmol/m²/s.
2. Early vegetative stage: As your plant grows bigger and stronger, you can increase the light to around 400-600 μmol/m²/s.
3. Late vegetative and flowering stages: Now your plant is ready to handle more light, up to 600-900 μmol/m²/s.
Why is PAR so important?. Because it's the light Spectrum (colors) that plants can actually use. Other measurements, like lumens or watts, might tell you how bright a light seems to our eyes, but they don't tell you much about what plants can use for growth.
Plants mostly absorb light between the 400-700 nm range. They like Blue and red spectrum's a lot. Blue light helps with leaf and stem growth, while red light is used for flowering and fruiting. Full spectrum is usually best and most LED grow lights try to use most of the colors within that PAR spectrum.
If you're looking to optimize your grow, You can use a Quantum PAR meter to help you fine tune your light intensity.
The Apogee Quantum par meter is the most reliable on the market at this time. They're a little expensive though, $500. This meter does not show spectrum , only total PAR. A spectrometer is even more expensive, $2000-$4000
The Apogee Quantum par meter is the most reliable on the market at this time. They're a little expensive though, $500. This meter does not show spectrum , only total PAR. A spectrometer is even more expensive, $2000-$4000
Pulse Grow makes a room monitor called the PUlse Pro. Not only does it monitor your room environment, it also reads VPD , Carbon dioxide, PAR and Spectrum. You can see how valuable this little piece of equipment is to a Weed nerd like myself.
In conclusion, growing cannabis with LED lights is a bit of a balancing act. You need to provide the right amount of light, in the right spectrum, at the right distance. But once you understand how it all works, you'll be well on your way to growing some of the best smoke you've ever had, trust me! .
Hope this helps a bit. Happy growing!
Hope this helps a bit. Happy growing!