What Do We Know about Supplemental Lighting
Author: Mars Grow
Release time: 2024-04-11 13:40:52
View number: 126
Supplemental Lighting: Definition, Benefits, and Usage
Grow lights play a crucial role in mimicking natural sunlight to meet the needs of an indoor garden. However, there may be times when you find the intensity or precision of the grow light not up to the mark. For instance, during certain growth stages of a plant, especially nutrient uptake and blooming periods, plants require higher light intensity and broader coverage for robust growth. That's where supplemental lighting comes in.
This might be a new concept to you, but don't worry, following we will explain in detail everything about supplemental lighting, and show you how to utilize it to enhance plant growth and yield.
What is complementary lighting?
Supplemental lighting refers to additional lighting fixtures designed specifically to complement your main grow lights. As its name suggests, its primary goal is to meet your plants' needs for enhanced light intensity, specialized growth spectrum, and filling in areas not covered by the main grow lights.
Supplemental lighting for indoor plants can provide light in various colors such as red, blue, or ultraviolet. Given that the two primary light colors influencing plant growth are blue and red, you'll typically see supplemental light strips offering either red or blue light.
While you might come across options like fluorescent lights or supplementary lamps when choosing types of grow lights, to be honest, they are certainly not the best choices. This article will focus on supplemental LED grow lights, as they are the most efficient and low heat-emitting choices.
Benefits of Using Supplemental Lighting in a Grow Room
Throughout the entire life cycle of a plant, especially during the nutrient and flowering stages, the primary grow light might not perform at its best. Fortunately, whether you're growing plants in a grow tent or a greenhouse, you can benefit from supplemental lighting, such as:
Enhanced Light Penetration and Coverage: Even the most potent primary grow lights struggle to reach the lower leaves beneath the canopy top. As the primary light source disseminates, its intensity weakens, resulting in plants on the periphery of the coverage area receiving insufficient light, thus reducing yield. In this case, supplemental lights can act as LED grow lights beneath the canopy. When placed vertically or horizontally around the grow area, they can improve light penetration throughout the entire canopy, leading to larger, higher quality yields.
Wavelengths Tailored for Nutrient and Flowering Stages: While the intensity of your primary light might be sufficient for photosynthesis, the presence of specific wavelengths stimulates root development and flowering. For instance, supplemental blue light (450-495nm) supports stronger root development during the nutrient stage and encourages compact, healthy leaf growth. Red supplemental light (650-665nm) is most beneficial during the flowering and fruiting stages of a plant's life cycle. It facilitates flowering, budding, and fruit production, contributing to the overall reproductive success of the plant.
In general, supplemental lighting can improve the quality of the plants by promoting more robust and healthier growth. This includes better leaf color, more robust stems, and, in the case of flowering plants, more vibrant flowers. This explains why plants grown with supplemental lights tend to have higher yields.
Best Supplementary Light Bar
By now, you may want to add a supplemental light to your growing light collection. MARS GROW has prepared a range of supplemental lighting strips for the growing chamber, whether it is UV, IR, red or a combination of UV and IR. Let's take a look at them and choose a wavelength that suits your needs.
Best Red LED Supplement Bar (660nm) - Flowering Period
If you are looking for stronger supplemental light for the flowering and fruiting stages, don't miss the MARS GROW Deep Red Supplemental LED Growth Light. It offers a specialized red light spectrum (650-665nm) to enhance photosynthesis and increase yield. In addition, you can also benefit from the following advantages:
Unlike other supplemental lamps, the MARS GROW dark red supplemental LED growth lamp features an IP65-rated waterproof lampshade that works well even in humid conditions.
Likewise, this red supplement light allows for easy expansion and customization of your growth light setup. You can connect up to 32 strips for your growth chamber at 220 volts.
The inclusion of digital programmable timers ensures that you can customize lighting schedules to the specific needs of your plant, thus optimizing growth and increasing productivity.
How to Use Supplemental Lighting for Indoor Growing
By now, you should have a general understanding of supplemental lighting. The next question is - how do you take advantage of these lights in your grow room? Here's a comprehensive guide:
Assess Light Intensity Needs
For the best and accurate growing experience, it's suggested to use a light meter to assess the amount of light reaching your plants and the intensity needed for optimal growth. Your supplemental light should support your primary light, not overpower it, with each supplemental unit ranging from 25w to 100w. Establish the ideal PPFD for your plants, identify where it decreases, and choose supplemental lights to match or get as close to the ideal intensity as possible.
For the best and accurate growing experience, it's suggested to use a light meter to assess the amount of light reaching your plants and the intensity needed for optimal growth. Your supplemental light should support your primary light, not overpower it, with each supplemental unit ranging from 25w to 100w. Establish the ideal PPFD for your plants, identify where it decreases, and choose supplemental lights to match or get as close to the ideal intensity as possible.
Determine Coverage Areas
Understand the coverage of your primary light and where it fails to illuminate fully. This will determine how many supplemental lights you might need to cover any dark spots or the outer edges of the canopy. Luckily, Spider Farmer makes your job easier. You can find pairing recommendations for each supplemental light and their suggested use in grow tents.
Understand the coverage of your primary light and where it fails to illuminate fully. This will determine how many supplemental lights you might need to cover any dark spots or the outer edges of the canopy. Luckily, Spider Farmer makes your job easier. You can find pairing recommendations for each supplemental light and their suggested use in grow tents.
Install Supplemental Lights Horizontally or Vertically
Strategically place your supplemental lights. Placing them above the plants can enhance overall intensity and wavelength transmission. You can also use them as LED grow lights under the canopy, meaning they are hung on the sides to expand the footprint of the primary light, particularly useful for reaching the edges of the canopy. If you're unfamiliar with supplemental lighting, you can initially pair these lights horizontally with other bar-designed LED grow lights and adjust positions while observing plant growth.
Strategically place your supplemental lights. Placing them above the plants can enhance overall intensity and wavelength transmission. You can also use them as LED grow lights under the canopy, meaning they are hung on the sides to expand the footprint of the primary light, particularly useful for reaching the edges of the canopy. If you're unfamiliar with supplemental lighting, you can initially pair these lights horizontally with other bar-designed LED grow lights and adjust positions while observing plant growth.
Adjust Light Positions and Duration
Once installed, supplemental lights should maintain an appropriate distance - typically at least 12 inches away to avoid heat stress. For more detailed grow light distances, check out this guide: "How Far Should LED Lights be Hung from Plants?" Moreover, compared to the primary grow light, supplemental lights need to be active for a shorter duration.
Once installed, supplemental lights should maintain an appropriate distance - typically at least 12 inches away to avoid heat stress. For more detailed grow light distances, check out this guide: "How Far Should LED Lights be Hung from Plants?" Moreover, compared to the primary grow light, supplemental lights need to be active for a shorter duration.
The rest is continuous monitoring. Check their performance, ensuring the supplemental LEDs provide the needed light coverage without overheating or damaging the plants.
Conclusion
As we conclude our exploration of supplemental lighting and LED grow lights under the canopy, we've learned their importance in promoting plant growth and yields. These lights not only fill the gaps in light intensity and spectrum left by primary grow lights, but they also offer flexibility for specific growth stages. By understanding how to choose and utilize these lights - considering the right wavelengths, optimal intensity, and coverage area - we enable indoor gardeners to cultivate healthier plants and enhance their yields. Effectively implementing Spider Farmer's series of supplemental light bars can significantly improve plant development, ultimately elevating the indoor growing experience.
As we conclude our exploration of supplemental lighting and LED grow lights under the canopy, we've learned their importance in promoting plant growth and yields. These lights not only fill the gaps in light intensity and spectrum left by primary grow lights, but they also offer flexibility for specific growth stages. By understanding how to choose and utilize these lights - considering the right wavelengths, optimal intensity, and coverage area - we enable indoor gardeners to cultivate healthier plants and enhance their yields. Effectively implementing Spider Farmer's series of supplemental light bars can significantly improve plant development, ultimately elevating the indoor growing experience.