| Indoor gardening makes a great hobby, especially | | | | greens in the center, and orange and red on the |
| during the gloomy and cold winter months, where in | | | | other end. Daylight ranges from 5000 to 6500 K. |
| many areas of the country outdoor gardening of | | | | What all this means to the indoor gardener is this: |
| flowers and vegetables is out of the question. | | | | you are trying to replicate outdoor sunlight in an |
| Hydroponics gardening is a popular method used by | | | | indoor setting. Plants grown indoors need 12-16 hours |
| indoor gardening enthusiasts. Hydroponics is a form | | | | per day under appropriate lights in order to grow well. |
| of soilless gardening; it instead uses a growing | | | | The kind of plants you are trying to grow will also |
| medium (or not, depending on the style of | | | | play a part in the type of grow light you choose to |
| hydroponics you choose) in which the plant roots sit, | | | | use. Grow lamps emitting light in the blue spectrum |
| and they are fed through the application of a nutrient | | | | are best for use in plants in which you want to |
| solution. There are a few basic supplies you will need | | | | promote vegetative growth, such as seedling plants |
| to get started with hydroponics gardening, including a | | | | or lettuces, for example. If you are growing flowering |
| lighting system including grow lights, a ballast and | | | | plants, or fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, you |
| reflector. You might need growing medium, and you | | | | will instead want to use lighting that offers red |
| will definitely need nutrient. The amount and kind of | | | | orange spectrum light. Light in this range is best for |
| nutrient and growing medium you need will depend | | | | promoting flowering and fruiting in plants. Once you |
| on the specific plants you wish to grow. You can | | | | know what type of plants you wish to grow, then |
| start plants yourself from seed, or you can purchase | | | | you can obtain the appropriate lighting for them to |
| plants from nurseries and greenhouses. It is vital that | | | | flourish. |
| you use the correct grow lights, because without | | | | There are many great HID lights, or high-intensity |
| proper lighting your plants will not grow and thrive. | | | | discharge lights, that work well in an indoor gardening |
| Indoor lighting of your plants affects plant growth in | | | | application. They include HPS grow lights, or high |
| several different ways. | | | | pressure sodium lights, and metal halide grow lights. |
| The visible spectrum is the part of the light spectrum | | | | Because of the lower cost yet great light output, |
| that we can see. This spectrum is represented in | | | | many indoor gardeners also like LED grow lights with |
| wavelengths and is measured in the Kelvin scale. The | | | | light-emitting diodes as well. |
| spectrum ranges from purple and blue on one end, | | | | |