Growlights - advice

[katyhasclogs]

We're ready to get going on some indoor sowing this week. We have a nice, big south facing bay window we can put the seedlings in, but I'm anxious that the plants could still tend toward legginess. We're in S. Yorks, so sunny weather far from guarunteed!

Cheap growlights on Amazon have caught my eye (things along the lines of this) and the convenience of having something flexible and freestanding to give the plants a light boost is very appealing. But is this too good to be true? Are coloured LEDs of any use or should I be looking for some kind of UV lamp? Would a lamp like this make enogh difference to be worth it?

[ameno]

You want something which gives wide-spectrum light, ideally full-spectrum, but failing that, erring on the blue side of the spectrum.

If it's just a windowsill setup then I would advise LEDs as they are cheaper and use less electricity.

[quanglewangle]

We have one just like one one katyhasclogs link. Runs on USB phone charging thingy. We use it on house plants in the kitchen. I think it would be just the thing to supplement dsylight in a bay window. At about 3W not powerful enough alone.

The subject of color spectrums for growth is complex. Vastly simplified: any green in the light is waste of energy (gets reflected - plants are green) ; blue and red make best use of energy, hence the characteristic 'burpurple" color of grolights.
But that's all to do with efficiency of conversation of energy into Photosynthetically Active Radiation. If you aren't bothered about efficiency, ie you dont have hundreds of lights, just use bright domestic LED lamps. That's what i do in my greenhouse.

Don't use UV lamps.

[katyhasclogs]

Thanks everyone! It's good to hear I'm on the right track - I was second guessing myself on it becuase I was wondering if an LED is anything like real sun if you're a plant...

I'm not too worried about it being perfect, just good enough at the price!

[ameno]

Thanks everyone! It's good to hear I'm on the right track - I was second guessing myself on it becuase I was wondering if an LED is anything like real sun if you're a plant...

At the end of the day, light is light. It doesn't really matter where it comes from, all that matters is the spectrum and the intensity.

[Lymmguineas]

Hi Katy,
I bought this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Otdair-Spec...s%2C821&sr=8-5
It looks the same as the one that you linked but £10 less.
I've been using it for a few weeks so far and it works fine.
Good luck!

[Babru]

I have been using something that looks pretty well the same for a few years, and it works a treat for my tomatoes and similar. You do need something to clip the lights to - a shelf or something, they're not free standing. I clip mine to an uplighter in my living room.

[katyhasclogs]

Yeah, the appeal of the one I linked was that it has an attachment that can turn it into free-standing. I can probably clip it to the edge of the windowsill but it would be nice to have the option.

[peanut]

Hi Katy,
I bought this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Otdair-Spec...s%2C821&sr=8-5
It looks the same as the one that you linked but £10 less.
I've been using it for a few weeks so far and it works fine.
Good luck!

Thanks for that link, I've just ordered a couple