Equipment

Marijuana Grow Lights

Due to some reasons such as limited space, stealth or even preferences, many marijuana growers love to have their plants indoors. It is also argued that indoor growth gives one more control over the herbs and hence leads to higher yields at the end of the day. However, we see that higher yields are directly proportional to the amount of light the plants get. Light simply acts as food to our plants. Having this in mind, indoor growers need to come up with grow lights that are strong enough in every aspect so as to be able to substitute the sun’s light.

Marijuana Light Cycle

It is important for any grower to have the tips of the light cycle of marijuana plants. This will help him/her give the best light to their plants hence end up having high yields. For instance, during the vegetative growth, the plants need high amounts of light. Normally, it is 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. This is to enable them synthesize food. During the flowering phase, the light requirements are limited and a certain schedule is followed. During the flowering periods, the light and dark hours requirements tend to be equal (12-12).

Classes of Marijuana Lights

There are generally 3 types of marijuana grow lights. These are fluorescent grow lights; High Intensity Discharge grow lights and LED grow lights.

Fluorescent Grow Lights-These come in different shapes and sizes. They are efficient in that they do not use lots of energy hence work perfectly for the growers. In this category, we have the CFL grow lights that are normally twisty looking. The good thing is that they can fit literally everywhere and they give a great spectrum for weed growth. They are perfect in grow cabinets.

We also have T5 grow lights. These are easily available and most farmers use these on their gardens. They are larger than the CFL’s in terms of size and hence they can be kept farther away from the plants and still be effective.

Fluorescent Grow Lights are advantageous in the sense that they are locally available and are cheap. However, we find that they are only perfect for young plants in most cases. This is because, in tall plants, penetration is hard.

High Intensity Discharge(HID) Grow Lights-These are powered by largely odd shaped bulbs. Most of the time, these lights are tied to reflectors to help them relay light properly to the plants. In this category, we have Metal Halide grow lights which are ideal for marijuana plants especially in the vegetative stage. They produce a bluish light which is preferred by the plants over others.

We have High-Pressure Sodium grow lights in this category still and they come in handy during the flowering phase. They are efficient in the sense that they have a yellowish light which promotes bud formation.

These two subcategories of grow lights are efficient and can be used together to give high yields. They are better to the fluorescent lights. However, they produce high amounts of heat and this is of great concern to the growers. Most growers hook them to exhaust vents to get rid of the excess heat.

LED Grow Lights-These are the most preferred by many cannabis growers. This is because they tend to be cooler than the HID’s. They come with built-in cooling systems hence your plants will not be at risk of getting burnt by the heat. Another thing is that they are able to penetrate through the plants. This makes them better than their fluorescent counterparts. Movements are also limited. There are some growers who have come up with the idea that using these lights will lead to more resinous buds.

Conclusion

For best results, a grower may opt to combine the grow lights. It is, however, prudent to take care while doing this as you may end up burning your plants with the heat.