Hydroponics Lighting Optional Items to Consider

• Utilizing horizontal reflectors and horizontally designed bulbs will result in the light shining directly down on the plants with optimum efficiency. Look for reflectors and bulbs that are designed for horizontal placement.  A vertical bulb will shine its light primarily to the sides where the light will have to be deflected downward toward the plants, losing a great deal of efficiency in the process.
• You can get convertible bulbs that can be placed in the other systems sockets. For example, switch out the Metal Halide (MH) bulb for a High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulb when your plants reach the blooming or fruiting stage
• Electronic ballasts automatically adjust for Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs so you can switch bulbs when your plants reach the flowering or fruiting stage.
• Electronic ballasts may cost more to purchase than a magnetic ballast but run cooler, are more efficient, can handle both types of bulbs and may adjust to the slowly diminishing bulb output.
• Consider adjusting the height of your lighting system as your plants grow.
• Consider using a Light Mover to slowly move the light over the plants.
  • A slowly moving light can be placed nearer to the plants without fear of burning them because it is only over the light for a short time.
  • All plants receive a more even distribution of light resulting in a better growth pattern.
  • You can cover more area with a Light Mover, thus expanding the efficiency and coverage of your light system.
  • Light Movers can move in a straight line for a rectangular system or in a circle for square systems.

For more information about Hydroponics Lighting products and solutions, see http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/inf-hydroponics-lighting.html

Comments with additional recommendations to consider are quite welcome.

Hydroponics Lighting Potential Problems

Lighting your hydroponics plants can be a very trying and expensive part of your hydroponics experience.

The most important aspects of artificial light to consider are intensity, color, and duration. If you can come close to duplicating sunlight, plants will flourish. For vegetative growth:

• Plants require 200 to 1000 foot candles of blue light
• wavelength of around 440 nanometers
• This is best provided with metal halides.

For flowering and fruitation,

· Plants require about the same intensity of light except in the red-orange part of the spectrum

· wavelength of between 640 and 700 Nm

· Sodium vapor (High Pressure Sodium) lights provide these frequencies.

Potential Problems:

• Place the light in the center of your system and you can get a pyramid effect with the plants receiving the most light in the center growing tall with diminished growth for the plants on the outer edges of the system who receive less light.
• Place the light bulb too close to the plants and you can burn the plant from the heat of the bulb.
• Place the light bulb too far from the plants and you can get scraggly growth from lack of sufficient light reaching the plants.
• Utilize a low wattage bulb to save costs and the plants may not receive sufficient light for optimum growth.
• Utilize a high wattage bulb can result in excess electricity costs and problems caused by heat or excessive light.
• Vertical bulbs placed above a hydroponics system can result in most of the light reflecting out to the side with only a small amount shining or reflected down on the plants.
• Lighting systems may be primarily Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium which are very good for only part of the growing season. Multiple lighting systems can be very expensive.

For more information about Hydroponics Lighting products and solutions, see http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/inf-hydroponics-lighting.html

Comments on additional problems are quite welcome.

Hydroponics: Increasingly viable solution to growing populations

Hydroponics is becoming one of the increasingly important solutions to the rapidly growing population of the world and the corresponding shrinkage of viable farmland for growing food.

The increased awareness of pesticide dangers, environment damage from chemical fertilizers and an increasing shortage of fresh water  is pushing us to focus on alternate gardening methods. 

Hydroponics provides :

* Organic gardening methods

* Greatly reduced water use

* Very efficient and more rapid plant growth

* Environmentally controlled regardless of weather or climate conditions

* Reduces or eliminates pesticides and fungicide use

* Provides higher yield in less space

* Systems can be tailored from very simple containers up to large commercial operations

See http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com for more information about this expanding solution.

Hello world!

I’m particularly interested in Hydroponics (Hydro=water + Ponics=working with) which is also known as Soilless Gardening.  Growing populations with corresponding shrinking resources of farmland, water, and farmers make growing organic foodstuffs in comfortable, controlled surroundings with minimal requirements of space, water and labor.

Check out my website at http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com for more information about the growing private and commercial hydroponics systems.