Using Grow Lamps Correctly

Beginning indoor gardeners often get frustrated when grow lamps do not give the results they expected. Two main reasons for this can be: 1. The lamp is placed too far away from the plant. Grow lamps should be placed 12 to 18 inches from the plant to work properly for plants. If you are raising seedlings, they will need to be closer to keep the seedlings from getting leggy, typically between three to six inches from the top of the seedling. 2. The lamp is not Full Spectrum. Sunlight contains many frequencies of light from visible, to UV, to Gamma, Alpha, and Beta Radiation. Grow lamps often only provide one end or the other of the spectrum. They come in "hot" varieties and "cold" varieties. To mimic the sun as best as we can, we need both a "hot" bulb and a "cold" bulb. Be sure to ask your local nurseryman for a grow lamp that has both or simply use two grow lamps. If you are using flourscent lights look for one bulb that is on the hot end of the spectrum and one that is on the cold end of the spectrum. Most of the time this information can be found on the bulb package.