LED lights are becoming the most popular trend in Indoor Cannabis growing. There are many reasons behind the justifiable popularity of LED lights including durability, cost effectiveness, energy saving and reduced water usage.
If you are new to growing cannabis with LED lights, here is a quick guide to help you in the procedure.
Using LED lights to grow cannabis
If you are new to growing cannabis indoors, make sure to remember that there are 2 growing phases of cannabis i.e. Vegetative and flowering phases. The vegetative phase requires blue light and the flowering phase requires red light.
If you are not using LED lights, you will have to purchase two types of lights for example metal halide for the vegetative phase and high pressure sodium bulbs for the flowering phase.
LED lights allowed the farmers to manipulate the color spectrum so that they can use the same lights for both phases. It makes the whole process cost effective and hassle free.
How to grow cannabis with LED lights?
The first rule of thumb in growing Cannabis under LED lights is that you should have one light in every 1.5 square feet. You can harvest 6 ounces per plant with this calculation. If you are a small scale grower and only want to grow 1or 2 plants, you can always go for a single LED light of 75 watts. However if you are looking for a large scale setup, go for bigger LED bulbs or install numerous smaller ones. If you are using small LED bulbs, make sure that your plants are spaced equally and correctly so that they get an adequate amount of light. The use of fewer lights can cause stretching whereas using extra lights can cause light burn and leads to higher electricity bill because of more energy consumption. For large scale production, go for 350-400 watt LED operation.
LED lights are not be placed far away from the plants. You can place a 300 watt LED light about 30-70 cm away from the plant. If you are using lights above 300 Watts, keep them about 70 to 80 CM away from the plant. However gradually decrease the space as the plants approach the flowering phase. An LED light of 450 Watts or above should be placed at least 31 inches away from the plant.
The shortcoming of LED lights
If you have been using HID lights previously, you will notice that with LED lights your plants are growing a little slower. It is because HID lights produce more heat which leads to the flowering face quickly.
However even though LEDs do not EMIT much heat yet the plants are still susceptible to light burn. To avoid this, make sure to keep a proper distance between the plants and place them just according to their type and growth qualities.
