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The backlighting of seedlings is one of the most important questions over which heads beginners as novice gardeners and truck farmers annually, and experienced business executives. Additional light in many respects determines the success of the development of healthy and strong plants.
The advantages of additional illumination are:
- prolongation of daylight hours, which is especially important in the early growing of seedlings;
- additional light provides all-round illumination of plants, thereby preventing stretching of plants and their ugliness;
- providing plants with the necessary spectrum guarantees their phased development to adult crops.
Practice confirms the necessity and importance of the transplantation of seedlings of all cultures. The better to highlight seedlings - this is a more complex and multifaceted question.
Plants, which are regularly highlighted, grow more hardy, strong, strong and resistant to pathogens of various infections, and the yield from one plant is also increased.
The highlight is the maximum approximation of lighting to the natural spectrum of sunlight.
The most important spectra in the ray are red light, responsible for the growth and development of plants, and blue, which ensures the proper development of cells. Considering this, it is recommended to select the light elements in these two spectra.
On this graph, we see that in the red spectrum, photomorphogenesis (the formation of fruits) is maximal! It should also be taken into account when designing luminaires for seedlings! Pay more attention to the red spectrum!
The main ways to highlight seedlings at home
Among the options presented to date, the organization of highlighting the following ways:
- backlight for seedlings on the windowsill without lamps;
- additional lighting of seedlings with different types of lamps.
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, which in many respects determine the scope of this or that lighting option.
Illumination without the use of lamps
For the organization of lighting on a window sill, a simple construction from a cardboard box is often used. The box removes the top and side, leaving small sides. All this design is pasted with foil and installed behind plants. Sunlight, falling through the window, falls on the foil and reflects on the plants, providing a comprehensive illumination of the culture.
This method is affordable and economical, but it is efficient enough. However, a significant drawback does not allow the use of such a technique for large plantings - in cloudy weather or on the north side of the house of light is not enough and the foil can not compensate blackout. In such cases, you can not do without lamps.
Lamps
Make the highlight for seedlings with your own hands is easy. For this it is sufficient:
- organize space - free the windowsill, make tables in the room, build a rack;
- to provide fastenings for lamps - various hooks, self-made "ears
- extend the wire from a fixed electrical network or generator set.
The most important process in the arrangement of lighting is the selection of suitable lamps. Gardeners in their experiments apply:
- High Pressure Sodium Lamps. Provide a stable warm light, which has a beneficial effect on seedlings, but the lamps require an additional equipment (power regulators), and also have an excessively high price, which is incommensurable with the yield the average gardener.
- Phytolamps. Excellent solution for lighting - the range of violet-pink lamps is ideal for plants, but it is very harmful for humans, therefore it is recommended to supply such lamps with a special reflector.
- Sodium metal halide elements. Also quite affordable and effective way of additional lighting facilities, but still in the spectrum is very little blue, and because the plants are difficult to develop and peck.
- Fluorescent lamps. These fluorescent lamps are in many ways good, but still their light is too cold, and therefore poor in the red spectrum.
- Classical incandescent lamps. They are one of the most useless ones for lighting up. Lamps are more suitable for heating a room, and not for lighting it.
- LED lights. These types of lamps are some of the most promising, available and have a number of features that you should talk about separately.
Advantages of LED lighting for seedlings
The backlighting of seedlings with LED lamps gives the gardener and plants a number of undeniable advantages, which are worth mentioning:
- When creating a luminaire, you can combine the two most important spectra - blue and red - and create an ideal seedling lamp;
- LEDs are quite affordable, and their low cost quickly pays off;
- LED lamps consume a minimum amount of electricity, but produce enough light - up to the required for the normal development of plants 6000 lux;
- ease of installation and ease of operation won the love of millions of gardeners.
Light-emitting diodes are modern materials which are actively applied in a life and on manufacture. It is quite efficient to use LED lamps on seedling shelves - they both illuminate the area well and the air does not heat up.
To make an LED lamp you do not need to have special skills or special knowledge.
To create a ribbon LED light you will need:
- LEDs in red and blue;
- thermal paste, it can be replaced with hot glue, but it is more expensive;
- base - a piece of aluminum, a profile from furniture, any improvised material down to the old ruler;
- driver or power supply - it provides current stability and the right voltage;
- cord and plug.
For optimal illumination of seedlings, alternating LEDs on the tape in the sequence of 2 red and 1 blue element are recommended.
They are connected together by soldering and output to the driver, which respectively connects to the switch and the plug. Tape is fastened with bolts, double tape or rivets on the prepared surface. After this, it is assembled into a single circuit with a driver, cord, switch and plug.
Shelving rack with illumination
The construction of the shelving will not take you much time, but it will save a lot of space for seedlings, placing containers with soil and seedlings in several tiers.
For the manufacture of the shelving can be used as a metal corner, and a wooden beam, treated with stain or etched from parasites. Self-tapping screws or bolts are used to fasten the materials together.
The design is extremely simple - shelves with hollow compartments for boxes. The length and width of the rack directly depends on the size of the seedlings. It is recommended to install no more than 3 rows in height. Each row is illuminated by its luminaire, fixed at the bottom of the top seedling box.
What better lamps to highlight seedlings, each gardener decides himself. Someone is fond of fluorescent lamps, and some people consider LED light bulbs to be the best. Conduct experiments and watch their pets, find a comfortable way to grow seedlings. After all, gardening - is primarily a pleasure!
Video: the advantages of LED lamps for seedlings
In this video, the experienced horticulturist Valery Medvedev conducts experience with seedlings, and proves that LED lamps for seedlings are the best choice!
