Why iPower Makes The Best Ballast For Indoor Growing – 2024

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A Detailed Look At The iPower 400 Watt HPS MH Digital Dimmable Grow Light System Kit

Over my years of experience in growing, I have realized that lighting is one of the most important factors for getting good quality and high yield from indoor growth. A vast variety of lighting options are available to people for providing the correct amount of light to their plants.

Modern equipment such as reflectors and ballasts can help in efficiently utilizing the energy while maintaining safety levels. Advanced systems can be adjusted to ensure that the plants remain in the correct temperature and get optimal levels of lighting.

Before we move on below is the current price and rating on Amazon.com

Features At A Glance

  • 400W Digital Dimmable Electronic Ballast: Support 120V/240V Input; Dimmable Options: 50%, 75%, 100%; 8 Feet heavy-duty power cord included; Stable power output ensure flicker free light.
  • 1 x 400W Super HPS Bulb 2100K; 1 x 400W MH Bulb 6000K; Optimized spectrum and high PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation) to promote healthy plant growth and soonest flourish.
  • 1 x Pair of 8-ft adjustable Ratchet Clip Hanger Rope: hold up to 150 lbs.
  • 19-inch Wing Reflector: up to 4′ x 4′ light coverage; Built-in 15 feet heavy duty lamp cord (UL Listed) with E39 Ceramic Mogul Socket and standard Hydroponic S-Plug; highly 95% reflective textured German aluminum maximizes the light reflected to the plants.
  • CAUTION: This system will generate too much heat to be used in an enclosed area without ventilation. Adequate ventilation is required for all iPower grow light systems. We recommend the use of an iPower inline fan.

Best Lighting Option:

Ballasts are commonly employed for indoor gardening to install a large number of bulbs safely. The bulbs used have high intensity which can imitate sunlight to promote plant growth as required. The ballast controls the electric current which helps the lamps to function with higher efficiency resulting in lower energy bills.

Ballasts can have different designs and types which can make it extremely hard for you to select the perfect one. However, I have noticed that most growers do not stick to the same type of plants (strain) for long periods of time which makes it extremely hard to predict what type of lighting the future batches may require.

After trying more than two dozen popular models by most recommended companies, I have found iPower’s HPS MH Grow Light System with 400 Watt power rating to be the best ballast for indoor growing.

Brand Trust:

The products from iPower come with a guarantee of high quality and advanced technology as the company has an experience of over 10 years and is among the leading grow light system manufacturers. Along with digital ballasts, iPower also provides super MH and HPS lamps along with LED and fluorescent lighting.

Their products can help indoor growers and gardeners for hobby or commercial purposes. Their equipment and tools can help in efficient climate control, hydroponic growth and irrigation for helping the plants to thrive in any type of indoor environment.

Advanced Technology:

iPower’s system comes with HID technology which helps in generating more lumens of light through the available energy. This helps in reducing the energy consumption drastically as HID is the most cost effective lighting solution available commercially.

The system features a balanced set of lights to create a spectrum which is absorbed by the chlorophylls easily while promoting more production of chlorophyll and regulating the life of plant.

Everything Within One Kit:

This system contains everything that you will need for setting up a lighting system indoors. You don’t need to mix fluorescent or extra LED bulbs which provide minimal benefits while costing twice or thrice as much. Since the entire kit has been designed and manufactured by iPower, the parts are highly compatible with each other and can be assembled easily.

Although it is simple to connect and set up the iPower Grow Light System, I would advise you to refer the manual instructions carefully when using it for the first time. This will help in avoiding any mistakes while allowing you to know the vast range of functionalities offered by the system and adjusting it for best results. The kit comes with 5 main parts along with accessories:

1. Digitally Dimmable Ballast Of 400 Watts:

This electronic ballast supports input voltage of 120 or 240 Volts and can be operated at 50, 75 or 100 percent power for adjusting the light as required. The ballast claims to generate 30 percent more light as compared to magnetic ballasts and I noticed that my yield increased because of this.

It is extremely convenient to set up and adjust the ballast as it comes with a durable power cord and wired using S-Plug. The lamp also ignites quickly within 2 minutes once the bulbs are lighted while the high frequency output reduces power loss. The ballast can be programmed through a microchip and converts automatically between MH and HPS lights.

I also noticed that the stable voltage generated no flickers and the ballast was not damaged due commonly observed factors such as power surges, bulb fuses, short circuits or ignition failures.

A cooling fan and intelligent design further kept the ballast temperature low and allowed it to function for long periods continuously. It comes with a 2 year warranty period as well which is not bad and it’s pretty standard among other brands of ballasts on the market.

2. Wing Reflector Hood:

The basic gull type reflector I use can also be employed for 250, 600 or 1000 watt MS/HPS light systems to cover an area of up to 4X4 square feet. The lightweight hood comes with an inbuilt lamp cord of 10 feet length and ceramic sockets.

The 0.4 mm thick reflective surface is made of German aluminum which has been textured to reflect 95 percent of light and reliably helps to intensify the light while enlarging the lighting area. The mounting bracket for reflector is made using galvanized steel which makes it extremely sturdy and strong.

3. HPS Bulb Of 400 Watts:

With a capacity of of 55,000 lumens and a color temperature of 2100 Kelvin(K), this high pressure sodium bulb (HPS) boasts having a lifespan of 32,000 hours while featuring a 1 year warranty. They are also compatible with magnetic ballasts and maintain more than 90 percent of initial lighting capacity even after working for 6500 hours.

They are designed specifically for indoor growing proved to be better for promoting the growth of flowers and fruiting process when I compared them to other HPS grow lights and bulbs.

4. MH Bulb Of 400 Watts:

The metal halide (MH) bulb has a lighting capacity of 36,000 lumens with a lengthy lifespan of 12,000 hours and boasts a color temperature of 6000 Kelvin(K).

They are also compatible with magnetic ballasts and maintain more than 90 percent capacity even after running for 5000 hours. They also feature a one year warranty and helped my plants by speeding up their growth process.

5. Heavy Duty Clip Hanger Adjustable Rope:

I found this rope to be extremely helpful while adjusting the height and position of the lighting system. This rope has ample length of 8 feet and a thickness of 0.125 inches which helps it to support up to 150 pounds of weight although I have never needed it for supporting more than 100-110 pounds.

It comes with 4 carabiner clips which further increase the ease of usage. The rope is made using braided polypropylene, hooks are made of zinc plated steel and internal gears contain 100 percent stainless steel making it highly resistant to tear and rust.

I have used this fully adjustable rope with locking facility for a variety purposes but it has never given me any problems.

Other Models Of This Kit Available

iPower creates other Models of this kit. The main difference between the models is the wattage of the bulbs. I haven’t personally used them myself, because I’ve only used the 400 watt version, but I’ve listed the other models below:

iPower 600 Watt HPS Digital Dimmable Grow Light System Kits Wing Reflector Set

iPower 1000 Watt HPS Digital Dimmable Grow Light System Kits Wing Reflector Set

Overall/Final Thoughts

As I’ve said at the beginning I’ve tried quite a few ballasts, but out of all of them I’ve been impressed and pleased more with the iPower ballasts. Added to the fact that this ballast comes in a complete kit with a reflector hood and all at a competitive price just completes the sweet deal. You certainly won’t be disappointed with this item.

Additional Resources/Info

Grow Light Switchable Ballasts Info

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What Growers Don’t Know About The Advanced Platinum Series P600 Light – 2024

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What Can The Advanced Platinum Series LED Grow Light Do For You As An Indoor Gardener?

For a while when I first started indoor gardening I got tired of buying LED grow lights that were so costly to me at the time and produced little to no results. I thought to myself, “I guess indoor gardening wasn’t for me”. I later learned that I wasn’t using the best grow lights for the types of crops I was trying to grow.

I’ve owned and still own quite a few grow lights, but if your looking for a grow light that I’ve had nothing but success out of well, look no further than the Advanced Platinum Series P600 LED Grow Light. Whether it’s for the growth of buds, flowers or any other plant, this product will not disappoint you. It’s not only pocket-friendly but also produces the desired results in such a short amount of time.

Before I go into the details of this light and my experience you can see the current price and rating below from Amazon.com:

Features At A Glance

* Platinum LED lights have the HIGHEST PAR/LUMEN OUTPUT PER WATT of any LED grow light! 2x-3x the intensity of any other lights!

* SUPERIOR 12-band full spectrum from the depths of UV to the heights of IR – The most complete and efficient spectral output available

* Selectable VEG/FLOWER switches with 4x high speed whisper quiet fans plus ALL NEW upgraded aluminum cooling heat sinks

* 800w HPS replacement with 6ft x 4ft coverage at 18″ height PERFECT for large applications or using multiple units for even coverage in commercial application

* COMPLETE 5 YEAR WARRANTY plus our exclusive 90 DAY SATISFACTION OR RETURN GUARANTEE. Amperage (Veg + Bloom) :3.1A @ 110V / 1.6A @ 220V,Amperage (Veg Switch Only) :1.7A @ 110V / 0.8A @ 220V

About Advanced Platinum

The Advanced Platinum Series P600 is one among the many models produced by Platinum LED. This company is well-known for the production of LED growers that have the highest Photo-synthetic Active Radiation per watt in the market. Their LEDs consist of three top-tier brands: CREE, Bridglux, and Epistar.

Honestly I haven’t see no match to these LED grow lights on the market so far. In fact, the PAR per watt is about three times as much as any other competitor on the market, meaning that the plants grow faster and produce a higher yield in a short period.

The Advanced Platinum Series P600 has a PAR of 3000+ at 6″. This 22 pound LED grower has many other features. Let’s find out what makes it useful when it comes to increment of yield in plants.

Features Coverage

The Advanced Platinum Series P600 can cover a wide area due to its size; (36 by 3 inches). At 18 inches off the ground, the P600 LED grow light covers a pretty decent area of 6 feet by 3.75 feet. It means that two P600 LED growers can comfortably cover a 4 by 4 space.

What I did since these are a bit on the pricey side, I bought one and used a light mover to be able to move the light back and forth over a large area that I needed coverage for. The best light mover that I found that works well is this one.

You also can increase maximum coverage by increasing the height above the ground. By doing this it also means that the PAR will decrease to 1140 at 24 inches above the ground as opposed to when the gadget is at 6 inches as stated above. It entirely depends on your preference.

Power Input VS. Power Output

There have been numerous complaints of high power input to low or no results at all regarding plant growth and yield. Many have been disappointed by some brands. Let me break it down for you.

There are two stages in the growth of a plant, and the creators of the P600 LED grower considered that and came up with the bloom power and the vegetative setting.

The bloom power uses the most watts; 345 watts. The high amount of watts is used to enhance the size of the buds thus increasing the overall yield.

The vegetative power helps the plant to grow. For the newbie, the vegetative stage of a plant is the period where plants stock up to give them the ability to flower. If the right amount of photosynthesis does not occur at this stage, then the plant will just die, wither or have stunted growth. It will occur due to lack of nutrition obtained from light, C02 and water. It’s a sensitive stage, and that is why the P600 can produce a range of light specifically for this purpose.

You must switch on both the veg switch and the blooming switch during the flowering stage. The total amount of voltage you will use for this will be 220 volts, and that will draw 1 .6 amps while 110 volts will draw 3.1 amps. You don’t have to worry about this because the lights are self-adjusting and can sense the amount of voltage and adjust accordingly.

The power input is 345 watts on the higher side, and the power output is 800 watts due to the number of bulbs on the surface area of the P600. You really cannot compare to HPS power input which ranges at a staggering 600 watts.

The Actual LED Bulbs

This is the way the P600 looks like down in my basement. Check out those cool looking bulbs.

The main feature that I really liked about this grow light despite of it’s price is the 90 degrees focus lens on the LED lights. The focus lens can focus light on the lower areas of the plant. No matter how large the leaves are, the P600 will ensure light reaches every part.

The primary goal here is to increase yield. By guaranteeing the lower parts of the plant receive that required light, the P600 makes this a none issue, that is, if you decide to purchase this product.

That is not all; the P600 LED grower’s bulbs do not require replacement over the course of five years as compared to other products which may need you to change the bulbs after every six months. How cool is that! This within itself is a feature that makes the Advanced Platinum series of grow lights worth every penny you pay for them, because you will save money in the long run.

THE 12 BAND LED SPECTRUM

PlatinumLED 12-Band Spectral Output vs Chlorophyl Absorption

Now, the power behind the P600 is merely this well thought out Band spectrum suited to accelerate photosynthesis. It’s a broad range that covers Ultra violet rays, blue light, red light, green light, to infrared light.

Various stages use different wavelengths of light. The blue light is used during the vegetative stage, and the red light is vital in the flowering stage. Some may say that UV light is dangerous for plants, but it is essential in enhancing color, aroma and overall taste of the plant.

The benefit of having the 12 band spectrum is that each frequency of light actively plays its role simultaneously thus allowing for efficient, fast growth of plants with larger buds, sweeter fruits.

You can learn more about grow light spectrum here.

No Heat Emission

Heat emission from grow lights has been an ongoing issue that many indoor gardeners have to face. This is a problem, because too much heat in the growth environment of your plants could hinder proper growth and yield.

These are the fans on the back of the P600. This photo is in one of my friend’s cannabis grow tents where he is running 5 of these at one time.

The amount of heat produced by some grow lights on the market today can be overwhelming for your plants, but with the P600 LED grow light, I didn’t find that to be a problem. As a matter of fact there is no heat emission as this light has inbuilt fans that help to control the heat which is something else I really loved about it.

Lifespan

The P600 has a lifespan of 50,000 to 100,000 hours, a warranty of 5 years and a 90-day money back guarantee. That is a sweet deal and not too many grow light companies can give such type of warranty. It just goes to show that the company is confident in the quality of the product that they have created.

What About The Cost?

The Advanced Platinum Series P600 at first glance looks like it is the most expensive grow light out there. As I mentioned above, just the fact that the bulbs don’t have to be replaced but every 5 years or so makes this grow light pay for itself. If you don’t believe me that’s not saving just take a look on Amazon.com how much just one grow light bulb costs.

Now you know what I mean when I say this light pays for itself overtime and since it combines efficiency with a low maintenance cost all you have left to do is the math. The cost of maintenance plus power input minus the amount of yield produced in five years in some other products will give you the profit margin.

If you’re growing for commercial purposes, that figure does not compare to the profit margin you would accumulate if you were to use the P600 LED grow light. The P600 price and rating is listed below:

Other Advanced LED Models Available

Advanced LED currently provides 5 other models of the P series of grow lights each with it’s different features and specs. They are the following which you can click on to get detailed specs and the price of each model:

Advanced Platinum LED P150

Advanced Platinum LED P300

Advanced Platinum LED P450

Advanced Platinum LED P900

Advanced Platinum LED P1200

Pros At A Glance Of The P600

1. No maintenance required thus making it cost effective.

2. It facilitates faster growth of plants and produces larger buds, sweeter fruits, stronger aroma accompanied with a deeper color.

3. It possesses a long lifespan of 50,000 to 100,000 hours.

4. It facilitates a higher yield over a short period of time.

5. It requires low power input.

6. No heat emission.

7. It provides wide coverage.

8. There is a volume discount on this product.

9. Excellent customer support.

Cons

The one thing that I personally experienced from this product that I personally dislike and wish they would change in future versions of this model is the fact that you have to alternate the blooming switch and the vegetable switch in different stages of plant growth.

It would be nice if was just a set it and forget it type of light, but I guess I can’t complain too much because this manual aspect of it is the reason why it brings forth such good plant and vegetable growth for me. It makes you pay attention to your plants from seedling to a mature plant.

Final Verdict & My Personal Opinion

As far as grow lights that you definitely get what you pay for, I would have to say the Advanced LED P series and the Viparspectra grow lights definitely deliver just that. I own the P600 and the P450 and I must say I’m really happy with my purchase of these two grow lights.

They certainly are pricey lights and they are best if you need to grow big batches of plants quickly, but if speed of growth isn’t important to you, but you still want the same quality, wattage, budget friendly and great customer support then something like the Galaxyhydro 600W LED Grow Light would be just what you are looking for.

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Growing Plants Indoors With Artificial Lights & Its Benefits

Indoor gardening ranges from a potted plant hanging by the window to full-fledged hydroponic systems with grow lights, nutrient and water delivery systems and sensors. The ideal setup for you depends on what you want to raise and the value you place on the crops.

What Are the Benefits of Indoor Gardening with Grow Lights?

One of the top benefits of indoor gardening with artificial lighting is that you can grow plants out of season. It’s so cool because you can expose flowering plants to red light for example, and watch them bloom, just as if they were planted outside because you are providing the right conditions for growth. This benefit allows you to grow greens and blooms that usually grow in the spring or summer in the winter time.

Grow lights that let you put out specific wavelengths allow you to optimize for leaf growth or flowers. You end up with a higher yield for the part of the plant you want.

Another benefit of indoor gardening under grow lights is that you can grow plants that don’t normally grow in your area where you live at. This means that semi-tropical and tropical blooms could grow in your indoor garden even though they would never have a chance if raised outside.

Another awesome benefit and this was a benefit that really excited me when I first started indoor gardening and it’s that you can control conditions to optimize your plants for certain traits. This means that you can raise lettuce and other leafy vegetables indoors to maximize for maximum yield and you will not have to worry about bugs to eat up and kill those plants.

As we’ll discuss a bit later in the article in more detail, but another benefit depending on the lights you select, you could end up with local heat sources that keep semi-tropical and tropical plants warm even though they are sitting in an apartment that is constantly 70 degrees Fahrenheit inside.

Understanding Your Options with Grow Lights

The Benefits Of Using LED Grow Lights

LED grow lights such as the Hydrogalaxy 300w or 600w use a fraction of the power of other lighting technologies out there right now. For greenhouses, you could save up to half the energy you would need for HPS lights.

However, you need to be careful about the amount of light the LEDs release. Some of the LEDs offered as energy efficient are cheap and don’t put out as much light as other grow lights, with a number of them not even putting out enough light for the flowering phase. What I learned is that you can avoid this problem by selecting LED grow lights that put out at least 2.0 micromoles per Watt.

Durability of LED Grow Lights

One of the main benefits of using LED lights is that they last a lot longer than conventional or fluorescent lights. They don’t suddenly stop working, either, but dim slowly when their lifespan is being reached. Many LED Grow Lights today have auto shut off timers or programmable timers when you want the lights on, dimmed, or off.

Some nerd specs here, but it’s important to know and that is that LED lights put out light wavelengths ideal for photosynthesis; HPS lights, the traditional alternative, don’t put out light on the 400-500 and 600-700 nm range that is ideal for growing plants. You can also find LED lights that put out light in specific spectra like blue or deep red.

Daisy Chain Them Baby’s For Extra Coverage

There is the matter of simplified lighting system designs, since you can use them in vertical systems, inter-lighting designs or ceiling lights. And many LED systems such as the Hydrogalaxy 300 can be daisy-chained, simplifying connected via wires that never touch the ground.

Heat Control and Economical Designs

LED lights don’t put out much heat either which is a plus. These lights are economical, producing more light per watt than fluorescents or HIDs.

If you want to expose plants to 24 hour light to accelerate growth, LED lights are the best choice. And if environmental issues are a factor, the fact that these lights don’t contain toxic substances like mercury is a plus.

Incandescent Lighting

Incandescent lights can be utilized as indoor grow lights in a few cases. They’re too hot to be right next to delicate plants though. They naturally put out a lot of light on the red side of the light spectrum but not the blue, so it can fuel growth of leafy greens and an herb garden but won’t be as good for woody plants.

You want blue light if fueling growth in the vegetative stage. You can use these to supplement natural light for your window herb garden and seedlings if not too close. The downside for these bulbs is their relatively high energy consumption.

Fluorescent Lighting

Fluorescent lights have the benefits of energy efficiency and low heat generation. They also produce light across a broad spectrum. The downside is that they don’t put out a lot of light, so they work best as supplementary lights for plants that need more natural light than they’re getting.

Fluorescent lights are not good enough if you have sun loving plants that need high intensive lighting. Nor do they put out much in the red spectrum, something you want if maximizing leaf growth is what your looking for.

Fluorescent grow lights are manufactured and sell well due to their usefulness. In case your didn’t know fluorescent grow lights are measured by their diameter. A T5 is best for propagation of plants while they don’t work well for vegetative and flowering plants.

HID Lights (High Intensive Discharge)

A HID or high intensive discharge light uses large bulbs that ignite gas inside the bulb. HIDs may be high pressure sodium lights (HPS) or metal halides (MH). In either case, they use tungsten electrodes to ignite the gas within the bulb.

Metal halide lamps put out a lot of blue light which are ideal for the vegetative stage of plants. High pressure sodium lamps put out more light in the red spectrum, and these are ideal for flowering plants.

HID lamps create much more usable light than fluorescent bulbs. They’re often dimmable, though the same is true of LEDs. The downside of these lamps is the amount of heat they generate; they can’t be put a few inches above your plants without risking either burning them with heat or sun-burning them with the intensity of light.

What Is A Ballast?

Another consideration is the ballast; nearly any LED light can be plugged into ballasts designed for LED lights whereas some ballast only work with MH or HPS lights. If you want a mix of lights, you need several ballasts.

Reflectors

And then there is the need for extra hardware like reflectors. These bulbs do contain mercury, so you need to be careful not to break them while changing them out. If you’re using HPS lights, expect to need a ventilation system and AC system in your grow room. Conversely, LED lights get by with a fan that is often built into the ballast.

Light Emitting Ceramics

Light emitting ceramics are even more advanced. They use a ceramic arc like HPS bulbs but operate like halide lights. They last longer than metal halide and HPS lights. Their light spectrum is similar to natural light, ideal for both vegetable growth and flowering.

The downsides of these artificial grow lights are that you can only use magnetic ballasts and their cost. These are expensive and nowhere within my inventory of grow lights to tell you the truth. These are more for industrial purposes unless you just have the money, these are a good option.

Another negative aspect of these light emitting ceramics is the fact that they put out UV light. Other lights come with warnings that you shouldn’t look into them for risk of burning your retinas. These have that risk as well as the risk that they’ll cause sunburn. Wear long sleeves as well as UV-blocking sunglasses if you are considering using these lights.

Sulphur plasma grow lights resemble natural light, including putting out the bright light sun-loving plants will thrive under. The problem is that they can’t be put close to plants. These lights could be used at the top of high-ceiling grow rooms or greenhouses.

A good thing about these lights is that they are long-lasting. If you’re using them in a grow tent, they need to be high up because they could literally heat the tent if not burn it. On the downside, Plasma grow lights tend to be very expensive and because of this they are usually used for industrial purposes.

Additional Resources

Jaka Designs – All About Gardening

6 Steps On How To Grow Plants With Grow Lights

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Top Vegetables You Can Start Growing Indoors Hydroponically

Now I know that “hydroponically” is not necessarily correct grammar, but it got your attention right? Anyways, I love gardening indoors just as I’m sure you do as well. It not only gives you a sense of privacy (depending on what your growing), but because it is an easy way to extend your outside garden inside if space is limited outside.

I’ve grown different types of vegetables, herbs, and some house plants and some have been very easy to work with, while others are just a straight pain in the behind because of so much testing and pampering that I had to do. Nevertheless, I learned alot and had a lot of fun at the same time which are the most important aspects of indoor gardening.

So whether you’re indoor gardening vegetables because you want fresh produce over the winter or you simply want to garden because you don’t have a plot outside, here are a few tips (with experience backing these up) for raising vegetables indoors.

Basics Of Growing Vegetables Indoors With Lights

The main issues for raising vegetables indoors are giving them the right level of light, having a good growing medium, the right humidity and temperature and air circulation. While you may find good potting soil outside and your apartment already has decent air temperature and humidity for growing plants, the reality is that your existing lights are not likely to be good enough.

The fluorescent lamps that keep ivy growing in the corner and supplement natural sunlight for your potted violets isn’t going to be strong enough to feed vegetables. This is why anyone raising vegetables indoors should plan on using grow lamps of some sort. Even an herb garden in the window may need supplemental light in the winter due to the shorter days.

Depending on the plants you select, you could raise them solely from sunlight coming in through the window. This is where plant racks that put the plants squarely in the middle of the window become essential if you don’t want to use grow lights. And in this case, you need to know how many hours of sunlight comes through the window and only put plants there that will thrive with that level of light.

Shelving lets you raise plants with a minimum of floor space, but you need to be careful to ensure that all plants get enough light. This could require a grow light for each shelf, but this means that you have to carefully place the lights far enough above your plants to not burn them.

Which Are The Easiest Vegetables To Grow Indoors Without Soil?

Fruiting vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes need a lot more light than salad greens like lettuce. This is one reason why lettuce and spinach are so popularly grown in indoor factory farms while tomatoes are raised in greenhouses with natural sunlight.

The other reason is that their shallow roots make them suitable for growing even in shallow window boxes, though they are sometimes raised in grey-water systems and don’t need soil at all.

You can raise tomatoes under grow lights, but it is going to be more energy intensive. Corn, squash and beans need a lot of light and are best raised outside. Then there’s the fact that corn and beans (barring heirloom varieties) are so cheap that there’s no point in raising it yourself.

Herbs and root vegetables need less light than cucumbers and peppers, but root vegetables tend to need a lot of depth for their roots as well as vertical height for the leaves. This is why someone who wants to grow potatoes should consider a potato barrel outside instead of trying to raise them indoors.

Carrots require relatively little light and are hardy, but you could plant them along the edge of your flowerbed or under your bushes instead of trying to raise them inside. Conversely, you can plant them in containers, as well.

Best Vegetables To Grow Indoors

Click Image To View 9 Vegetables That You Can Grow Indoors

Your probably asking by now, Alicia, so what are the best vegetables to grow indoors? In short, these will be vegetables or plants that don’t take up alot of space especially horizontal space.

Also, vegetables or plants that don’t require too much pampering and constant supervision are some of the best vegetables to grow indoors especially if you are a beginner indoor gardener.

Beets and onions can be raised indoors, but from experience onions, garlic and herbs are a better choice since you’ll enjoy strong flavor from even a small harvest. In the case of herbs, you may be able to raise herbs in your own herb garden for less money than it would cost to buy them at the store.

Garlic greens stand out as an excellent choice since you can create a steady supply of garlic tops; just put the garlic cloves an inch deep in four inch deep soil and water regularly. If you get a pot that is at least 10” deep, you could grow fresh mint without much issue for your enjoyment and health.

Mini-tomatoes can be raised indoors as well. Cherry tomatoes have the added benefit of being fun to pop in a salad to eat. Lettuces can be raised indoors, but the cost-effectiveness is questionable. Peas prefer cooler temperatures, so they could be raised under grow lights if they aren’t exposed to too much heat.

Growing Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Potatoes

Broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes can all theoretically be raised indoors if given enough space to grow. Again, now you have to decide whether you really want fresh broccoli or would rather dedicated the space to herbs.

If you do want to raise plants like potatoes, you can buy potato “towers” and bags to grow them vertically. This tactic is employed by gardeners with limited mobility, since you don’t have to dig down into the soil to harvest the potatoes. Potato bags and towers can be reused two or three times a year to grow a crop.

How About Them Peppers and Scallions…

If you want to try to grow peppers indoors, such as an unusual variety not available at the grocery store, you’ll need a container that’s at least ten inches tall and a grow light. Hot peppers need at least ten hours of light a day.

At the other end of the spectrum are scallions. Scallions don’t even require you to buy seeds; simply bundle the scallions you get from the store and put the bottom of the bundle in water. Once the scallions start growing roots move them to soil and let them continue to grow.

Believe it or not scallions are a renewable resource. In other words if you harvest the green tops while leaving at least an inch to regrow, they will regenerate. You could also take one scallion out of the container to use the white portion while leaving the rest to continue growing.

Let’s Talk About Microgreens

Hands down for me the simplest vegetables to grow indoors are microgreens. What are microgreens? Well, these are the first shoots of salad vegetables like Swiss chard, mustard, basil, kale, cilantro, beetroot and arugula.

These shoots are called micro-greens because they are smaller than “baby greens”. These shoots are ofte

n used as garnishes on dishes. The benefits of raising microgreens include the fact that they’re available in one to two weeks and don’t require a lot of space.

Microgreens need at least a fluorescent light or two to grow, although 10-12 hours under a grow light is ideal. You want to make sure that you harvest them once they are one to two inches tall. This could take anywhere from one to three weeks, although strong light will help accelerate this process.

Last But Not Least Let’s Talk About Sprouts

Another easy vegetable that i could easily put in the same category as microgreens and that is sprouts. These vegetables are cheaper to grow at home than buy them at the store and they’re fresher when you raise them yourself.

To grow sprouts, you only need the seeds, a mason jar and a sprouting lid. Bean sprouts are about the most popular and easiest sprouts to grow. The best two things about growing sprouts is that they don’t really need much light to grow yet are so healthy to eat.

Additional Resources

9 Vegetables That You Can Grow Indoors No Matter What The Weather

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A Closer Look At The GalaxyHydro 600 Watt LED Grow Light – 2024

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The Galaxyhydro 600 Watt Full Spectrum LED Grow Light by Roleadro

I personally own the Galaxyhydro 600w and while it is not my favorite Grow Light, this is by far my favorite brand which makes my favorite grow light the Galaxyhydro 300w which you can read a full review on here.

Grow lights are complicated, especially for us humans. Before I got into indoor gardening, I expected all lights to be pretty much the same. After all, they all glow when you flip the switch.

Boy, was I wrong. Light is just a narrow band of a larger physical phenomenon called the electromagnetic spectrum. What we see as changes in color are more like changes in the pitch of a sound or the choppiness of the ocean. This might not matter much to our eyes, but when it comes to plants, small differences in color (or wavelength) can have a big deal.

This is just one of the factors that complicate grow lights. Different plants prefer different colors of light. This means that two grow lights that are different in color will have different effects on the same plant.

The very best grow lights use an array of different types of light to counteract this. Rather than relying on a small number of bulbs and a small number of colors, these lights have banks full of many small lights that cover the whole relevant spectrum. Some of these lights may even provide infrared or ultraviolet light, which is invisible to humans (but totally helpful for plants).

GalaxyHydro’s 600W LED Grow Light bank is one such product. It’s a carefully chosen array of LEDs in different sizes and wavelengths. This particular grow light has an abundance of red bulbs to help with flowering. This means it’s ideal for any plants that have beautiful flowers that you want to cultivate.

Before we continue you can view below the current price and rating of the Galaxyhydro 600w LED Dimmable Grow Light by Roleadro on Amazon.com

Features at a Glance

  • The Galaxyhydro series 600W Led grow light is comprised of 200pcs high powered 3 Watt Light Emitting Diodes featuring a proprietary intensified spectrum designed for plants growing and flowering large yields. Your Galaxyhydro grow lamp will cultivate record breaking yields, both in quantity and quality.
  • Professional spectrum provided by over 9 years researching and producing grow lights experience manufacturer, which has more bandwidths (7), equals a much fuller and more complete spectrum (crucial when it comes to photosynthesis). It provides plants Veg and Flower all stages with everything they desire in the natural sunlight.
  • 2 big high speed cooling fans and upgraded aluminum heated sinks makes this plant light superior. While running, it’s quieter, cooler, and more efficiently than any other grow lights. Efficient cooling systems make your plant grow lights durable to use. Service Lifespan up to 50000hrs.
  • UV function sterilizes growth and kills bacteria which seriously influence plant’s growth and ability to produce abundant healthy flowers. The IR function promotes cell division which improves growth in both vegetation and flowering phases. This can increase the yield to a certain degree.
  • Daisy-chain connection is available. Two or more light can be connected together with the standard included power cord. Perfect for a 3×3’ growing area at 24’’ height (Max coverage 4×4’)
  • 2 year warranty and 30 day return service policy to ensure that you are 100% satisfied with our products. Any problem, please feel free to contact Galaxyhydro by Amazon E-mail.

Energy Consumption & Heat Dispersion

Two other important factors to consider are energy use and heat. LED grow lights (like this one) are the best type of grow light long-term because of these factors. While LEDs are more expensive up front, they’re incredibly efficient. Not only does this mean they use less power, they also generate less waste heat.

In addition, the bulbs themselves have a lifespan that’s usually longer than the power supply in your unit. This means that you’ll save money when you choose this 600W LED grow light over a cheaper HOD or fluorescent bank.

In order to help manage the minimal heat that the LED bulbs produce, this unit comes with two built-in cooling fans. It’s quite quiet while it’s in operation, meaning you won’t disturb the human occupants of your house with your grow operation.

Full UV Light Spectrum

One of the 7 distinct wavelengths this product outputs is a band of the UV spectrum that kills harmful bacteria outright. This means that this grow light will help you save money on pesticides and ensure that your plants grow up healthy and strong.

The other wavelengths were carefully chosen after years of intense research. Among other things, they provide the necessary energy for photosynthesis, promote cellular division, and direct your plants to grow in the correct direction.

The best part of this light is the carefully balanced spectrum of lights. There’s plenty of red for healthy flowering and cell division, while the whites and blues provide raw energy to your plants.

UV works to help kill bacteria, while infrared provides an even bigger boost to flowering and growth. The final mix delivers impressive results when it comes to healthy plant development.

As I mentioned above, I personally own a Galaxyhydro 600w and have to say that I saw a big improvement in my plants over the first 30 days of using this light.

The Daisy Chain Effect

That said, the most important feature possessed by this grow light is the ability to daisy chain it together with other lights. It’s got both input and output plugs, meaning you can plug it into an extension cord, the wall, or another glow light and then power more glow lights from the plugs built into this light.

In other words, it makes running a large, complex indoor grow operation fairly simple. It also makes it trivially easy to scale up your indoor garden into something larger. You can simply plug your new lamps right into this one!

Each of these lights can illuminate between 20 and 40 square feet of indoor garden. It’s recommended that you hang this light between one and six feet above your plants. It’s not very heavy, so you should have no problems finding an appropriate stand.

What Is A Zener?

While some cheaper LED glow lights won’t work if a single LED is broken, the GalaxyHydro 600W utilizes a Zener. This capacitor-like circuit ensures that your light will still work after a few individual LEDs fail. This won’t happen fast, however. It’s estimated that this light should work for about 50,000 hours before you have to replace it.

Pros 

Does it work? Absolutely. The technology in this light ensures that it’s one of the best options on the market when it comes to powering your grow operation. It’s got plenty of light in all the right wavelengths, it’s long lasting, it doesn’t use much power, and it’s fairly cool and quiet. In other words, it’s just what you want.

Cons

That said, it’s not going to run your whole operation for you. While this may be one of the best lights available, you still have to manage your soil, your water, and the temperature in your grow room.

You also have to hang the light at the right angle and distance and make sure that it’s at the right level for the plants you’re trying to grow. In other words, while this is an excellent tool, you still have to use it right.

My Final Conclusion

Overall, the GalaxyHydro 600W is a top option for anyone who wants a big, serious LED for their indoor gardening projects. It’s a bit pricey up front, but the electricity savings will more than pay for the increased unit cost over the course of a year or two. With over 50,000 of expected unit life, you’ll be sure to have this light for more than long enough for it to pay for itself.

I’m happy with the 2 GalaxyHydro 600W’s that I own. I like my 300w’s better, but each grow light serves it’s intended purpose and depending on how much wattage you need to use will be the main determining factor of which model to choose.

If you think you’ll be running your indoor gardening project a year from now, the GalaxyHydro 600W is a perfect choice for you. You’ll save money on electricity while providing your plants with the right spectrum of light.

The ability to daisy chain them together gives you easy scalability should you want to make your operation bigger in the future. If you’re thinking about getting serious, the GalaxyHydro 600W is the grow light for you.

Other Resources & Interests

The Advanced Platinum P600 LED Grow Light Review

See what Grow Lights helped my seedlings mature quicker

See what my Top 4 Gardening Tips That Every Beginner Should Know…

For more information about grow lights and indoor plant growing visit this link

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Consider These Points Before You Buy Your First Grow Tent

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What separates the best grow tents from merely good ones? What should you look for in a grow tent? We’ll discuss the benefits of grow tents in general and what you may need to look for in a grow tent when shopping for one yourself.

The Benefits of a Grow Tent

One of the benefits of a grow tent is that it gives you far more control over the environment, whether you’re raising crops indoors or out. If you’re an indoor gardener, grow tents let you contain moisture and heat, maintaining a separate set of environmental conditions than is found in the rest of the house.

Whether you’re heating or cooling the space, the grow tent saves you energy on HVAC costs. The barrier also reduces the risk of damage to the plants, since the tent keeps out curious children or pets. The tent by its very presence provides a measure of pest control.

Grow tents give you the ability to tailor the atmosphere, such as pumping in carbon-dioxide rich air to accelerate the growth of plants. The same trait provides a measure of odor control, so that others don’t smell the plants that you’re growing.

Things To Consider When Shopping for a Grow Tent

 Grow Tent Dimensions

One of the factors that you need to consider when buying a grow tent is dimensions; how big do you want it to be and in what shape? Don’t buy an oversized tent in the hope you’ll use the space. If the tent is much larger than necessary, you’ll use more power for heating and cooling. This is true whether it is taller than necessary or has a bigger footprint than you need.

If you have a tent that is wider than you need, you may end up with a less than ideal setup as you try to fit the rolled up plastic in and around the space. This could create a place where water can accumulate and mold could grow. Conversely, an undersized tent will crowd your plants, whether they’re too crowded now or will be crowded when they are mature. The tent needs to be several feet taller than your mature plants so that you have space for lights, filters and ducts.

Size Matters

What is the right size of grow tent for your application? The answer is that it depends on the type of plants you’re growing. A two foot by two foot tent covers, in general, two mature or four small plants. This type of tent is a good choice for a mother plant.

A four foot by two foot tent covers three mature or eight small plants This size lets you turn many closets into a greenhouse. Yet you can fit many seedlings and micro-vegetables in the same space. And a dwarf tree may fill the entire tent. The four foot square tent is perfect for raising half a dozen plants under a standard 1000 Watt LED grow light.

Five foot square grow tents are very popular as are 4’ by 8’ grow tents. They let you grow four to ten plants, depending on their size. The 8’ square grow tent is perfect for putting in a spare bedroom, since this size gives you plenty of space around the tent for air flow, access and supporting equipment. A 10’ by 10’ grow tent fits in a large bedroom or a small garage.

Tent Access Points

Access points matter. For a small tent covering the rack or table your plants are located on, reach-in access is fine. (Yes, you can find mini grow tents.) For larger arrays, you want a walk-in tent. Zipper quality isn’t as important as this issue, but a brand with a reputation for crappy zippers is something to avoid.

Consider The Weight

The maximum weight ratings for the frames are a consideration. You should probably buy a tent with a much greater weight maximum than you think you need. This allows you to hang a light or tools off the frame as you work without worrying about bringing the whole thing crashing down. Or you have the margin to mount the fan inside the tent if it can’t be mounted outside the tent.

Interior Light Reflectivity Is Important

Interior light reflectivity could be a concern. Too much light reflectivity and you could burn your plants. Not enough reflectivity, and you need to install reflectors or more lights. However, not all plants can utilize reflected light; so a grow tent with interior light reflectivity could reduce the need for supplemental lights for shade-loving plants but it won’t make a difference for sun-loving plants.

Light Control

Light control may be a deciding factor for you. If you want bright grow lamps in a corner of your apartment, tents that keep the light in and features like vent socks and zipper covers may be necessary.

Even a grow tent outside may need light control features, whether you live somewhere that has light pollution rules or you just don’t want an angry neighbor because your grow lights make it hard for them to sleep. Light control is critical for grow tents if the artificial lights put out light that could damage someone’s eyes if they looked directly into them.

Tent Location

The location and number of air vents and ports is something to check. Will the tent have good air flow if you put that tent in its intended location? If the tent is just smaller than the room it will be placed in, your air vents will just blow air onto the walls then gets sucked right back into the tent. This is akin to having an air conditioner surrounded by bushes or dirty vents, causing it to pull in hot dirty air and work harder to try to cool down your home.

If the tent barely fits in a shed or indoor space, you risk the same issue causing the tent to overheat since it can’t exhaust hot air. Conversely, vents for the grow tent that line up with vents for the room may solve this problem entirely.

Tent Customization/Flexibility Options

There are grow tents that let you adjust interior dimensions like its ceiling height; others come with dividers. The value of these traits depends on your application; a divider with reflectivity/light control lets you use one tent for both raising flowering plants and those in the vegetative stage.

Other grow tents are notable for their portability, as easy to tear down as set up. These tents are ideal for those that don’t know exactly where they want the tent to be for the long term or intend to relocate it based on the season.

Resistance To Damage

Puncture resistance and canvas density are somewhat important in a grow tent. It matters even more if you are concerned about someone cutting into the tent to steal your plants. The best grow tents are durable; they don’t start falling apart as soon as you set them up.

Grow Tents For Beginners

With the above points in mind, below I have listed some of the best grow tents that you can buy now. Whether you are a beginner or a rookie indoor gardener, these grow tents will get the job done and will at least teach you what you need to learn about indoor gardening.

CoolGrows 2x2x4 Feet Small Indoor Mylar Hydroponics Grow Tent

The CoolGrows Grow Tent is an affordable little grow tent is an all in one package. Protect a mother plant or small plants. It zips up to seal in your harvest, and it has a viewing window for checking on plants without having to go in. It is durable and seals light in. It is easy to assemble and take down.

Current price and rating on Amazon below:

Gorilla GGT55 Grow Tent 5’x5’x6’

We recognize that some people are looking for a large grow tent for a significant project. The Gorilla GGT55 Grow Tent is perfectly sized for fitting in a small bedroom or shed, and you can extend the height another foot if necessary using the kit that comes with it.

It is affordable for its class and comes with a very sturdy frame. The complete kit comes with an infrared blocking roof insertion to keep heat within the tent. It keeps the light inside, as well. The reflective materials inside do a good job a reflecting even the most minimal light available.

Current price and rating on Amazon below:

Growneer 4’x4’ 600D Grow Tent

The Growneer 4×4 Grow Tent is perfect for fitting in the corner of a bedroom or a master closet. It has a zip up door and view port so you can see or access the crop as necessary. It even has a floor tray for hydroponic applications.

The built-in grow trellis makes this tent perfect for growing fruits like tomatoes or climbing beans. The Growneer is a very sturdy tent that is also tear-proof and does a good job with competing with the Gorilla Tents like the one I listed above.

I personally like the design and color schematics of this tent. I haven’t used it personally but it looks pretty cool compared to the old ho hum looking grow tents on the market today.

Current price and rating on Amazon below:

VIVOSUN 48″x24″x60″ Mylar Hydroponic Grow Tent

The VivoSun Grow Tent is truly designed for the hobby gardener and beginners, and is perfectly sized for fitting in the average bedroom closet. It has an observation window and floor tray and comes with a heavy duty canvas exterior and light-reflecting interior layer.

Just like most grow tents on the market today the VivoSun is tear proof and nearly light-proof. Of course some grow tents do a better job at being tear proof than others so that is something that you will have to make sure you do your research properly on.

You can check the plants by looking through the observation window instead of opening the door with this unit. As I mentioned above it is a perfect tent for beginners, because according to the manufacturer you don’t need tools to set it up. It also comes with a two year warranty which is more than most grow tents come with now a days.

Current price and rating on Amazon below:

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The Best Grow Tents With Lights In 2024

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What to Look for When Shopping For Grow Tents with LED Lights

Ever since I started indoor gardening and practicing hydroponics I quickly realized how indispensable grow tents are. Sure, you can place grow lights over plants out in the open and you’ll get growth, but is not the same growth that you will get in a controlled environment that grow tents will provide you.

If you’re shopping for a grow tent with LED lights, (which I recommend Amazon.com for the best grow tent deals) you’ve already decided that energy efficiency is a key criterion. With that in mind, having a grow tent with excellent light reflectivity to maximize the luminosity of the area without having to install secondary lights or reflectors is probably something you’d appreciate.

In the same vein, having a grow tent with good insulation, whether keeping the warm air inside the tent or minimizing drafts that let moisture escape and bugs in probably matters to you.

The best grow tent, though, will also depend on the application. Some people want a small grow tent for a mother plant, while others want a grow tent to give them the same environmental control as a greenhouse for a large crop but without the attendant expense. Ease of access is a given, but whether or not you need dividers to maintain two or more crop stages at once or tool storage depends on you preferences.

And the value of all in one kits containing both LED lights and the grow tent depends on the equipment you may already have versus what you need and the kit contains. Without further ado, Here are some of the best choices in my opinion when looking for grow tents that come with led lights. I have not personally tested all of these but from my years of experience they seem pretty promising in order to help with your plant yields this year.

TopoGrow 300 Watt LED Complete Kit

The TopoGro grow tent is 32” square by 63” tall, enough to fit in many closets or a corner of a living room. The kit, though, comes with everything you need. It comes with a right-sized LED light, a basic 4” fan, ducting and air filter.

You get everything you need to grow several mother plants or a small crop. And the grow kit literally lets you grow almost anything, since the full spectrum light supports everything from seedling germination to the flowering stage. The tent itself is waterproof on the inside and light proof on the outside.

You can spray water on the crop and not worry about damaging the tent, while the exterior means that the bright lights on the inside won’t bother you even if you’re close to it. It is easy to assemble and just as simple to maintain.

The only downsides that I see and according to customer reviews are that it doesn’t always come with all the connecting hardware and you don’t get a light timer with this kit.

Current price and customer reviews below:

TopoLite 300W LED Compete Grow Tent Kit

The TopoLite Grow Tent is another kit, grow tent and all. The grow tent’s dimensions are 20″x20″x48”. I actually own this grow tent kit myself. Not a bad tent, but I wouldn’t consider it my favorite one although I am actively using it.

The tent itself could actually fit in a closet or fit easily in a corner of your house, although for aesthetic reasons I would try to keep your growing tents out of sight as best as possible. Ideally, if you have a basement that’s where you should place your grow tents which is what I do since I have a basement.

The later scenario is good for having multiple grow tents in order to maintain several different crops that need different environmental conditions. This of course will depend on how big your basement is.

The kit comes with a 300 Watt LED grow light and pre-cut vent holes. The LED light although it produces 300 Watts which I have confirmed myself, does not compare with a grow light such as the GalaxyHydro 300W or other 300W grow lights that I have reviewed in other posts but it will be enough especially for beginners.

The TopoLite does not come with a fan or the vents themselves like other kits do which is one of the things I didn’t like about the kit. If you understand the side hardware that you’ll need you won’t have issues putting this tent together, but if you already have the hardware or can get it easily, everything snaps together quickly.

Current price and customer reviews below:

Casolly 32″x32″x64″ Hydroponic Grow Tent

I know what you’re going to think, this tent is not a complete kit and furthermore does not come with a light. However, the tent itself is very high quality and so easy to install almost any small to medium size grow light in it. I should know because I personally own a Casolly. Here’s a pic of my light setup. Click on the pic to the right to make it bigger.

The Casolly brand grow tent is a sturdy, basic grow tent. It has a highly reflective interior surface and light-blocking exterior. It has a convenient access door, pre-cut vent holes and easily assembled push-lock connectors which are further reasons why I like it so much. The vent holes and zippers keep in both moisture and light.

It’s durable and solid; the frame is strong enough to let you hang grow lights, fans and grow filters from them, up to 110 pounds. The tent also comes with a floor tray you can use when growing seedlings which comes in very handy.

A rare thing now a days with products but the assembly instructions that this unit comes with are written in a way that even beginners can figure out. The manufacturer has a good warranty and equally good customer service according to Amazon customer reviews because I haven’t had to personally contact them. I highly recommend this tent.

Current price and customer reviews below:

Oppolite Grow Tent Kit

The Oppolite Grow Tent Kit is intended for those who need both plenty of light and plenty of space. The tent itself is 48” by 48”. This is a nice size especially if you have a large crop that your working with.

The Oppolite itself is 80” tall, which is also perfect for those who want to step in and walk around without having to constantly hunch over. This grow tent also comes with a window to let you check on the crop without having to open the door. Now how cool is that!

The kit comes with a 1200 Watt full spectrum LED light perfect for sun-loving plants. This grow tent and supporting equipment is perfect for fruits, vegetables and herbs. The LED grow lights have an even light distribution and deep penetration, perfect for growing bushy plants and thick flowering plants.

On a personal level I am considering a bigger tent for a large batch of oregano that I’m trying to grow and the Oppolite is definitely on the top of my list because of how much of a punch it packs for for the price.

Current price and customer reviews below:

Viparspectra 36” x 36” Mylar Hydroponic Grow Tent

The Viparspectra 36” square grow tent is perfect for growing a few mid-sized or tall plants. The tent is 72” tall, good for letting someone conveniently access the plants or when raising very tall plants whether on a trellis or a small tree.

This grow tent is simply a grow tent and not a complete kit, no supporting hardware like fans or lights. I simply placed it in the list because Viparspectra is mainly known for their high quality grow lights and I would assume that their grow tents would be just as high in quality.

The tent comes with pre-cut connection points for vents and fans, which helps seal in light and moisture. The tent itself is tear-proof and water-proof and comes with a one year warranty. It has an easily removed floor when it is necessary to clean it which is a very much needed feature in grow tents.

One of the things that I especially like is the fact that the tent is tear proof which I mentioned above, but you won’t end up tearing the light-proof material inside of it when you’re trying to work with your tools which is such a pain when this happens.

Current price and customer reviews below:

iPower 96″x48″x80″ Hydroponic Water-Resistant Grow Tent

Sometimes you need the biggest grow tent you can find that will fit in a master closet or small bedroom. The iPower Mylar Grow Tent is designed for exactly this. It is 96” wide and 48” deep, perfect for hiding away in an unused master closed or a small bedroom.

Again, this is not a complete Grow Tent Kit, but because it is so big and comes with so many features I had to add it to this list. At 78” tall, it also lets you walk around with minimal cramping, but it will also fit under most closet shelves. The tent itself is versatile; you can adjust the vent doors, for example.

The unit has a removable floor tray ideal for growing seedlings which is a feature I really like and wish all grow tents would have. The tent itself is light proof, tear-proof and durable.

Also, the Mylar interior reflects back more than 95% of the grow lamp’s light which helps promote faster blooming and growth for your plants. The poles are strong and stable and allow for you to be able to attach fans or grow lights to the tent bars.

Current price and customer reviews below:

Conclusion

I’m not going to pinpoint just one particular grow tent because these are all great. What I will say is that you have to purchase a grow tent that will meet your hydroponic/indoor gardening needs the best and that it doesn’t break your budget. To learn more about grow tents and their features click here or view the video below:

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These Grow Lights Helped My Seedlings Mature Quicker

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The Importance Of Lighting To Indoor Plants

As a hardcore indoor gardener I want the best for my indoor babies. I would imagine that you do too if you really care for your indoor garden. One of the aspects of indoor gardening that you cannot get away from is lighting for your plants. From seedlings to mature adult plants, botany life cannot live without proper light.

If you are a beginner and would like to know more about lighting in general you can read my post on the Top 4 Indoor Gardening Tips that Every Beginner Should Know.

What Are The Signs Of A Good Grow Light

The best grow lights share several characteristics, if I can put it that way. The first one is that they generate light at the frequencies that support plant growth at whatever phase you want to foster. In this regard, bright lights don’t matter as much as lights that put out more red light to accelerate leaf growth and vegetative phase growth along with some blue light for strong stems and overall plant health.

The overall luminosity matters, especially if growing sun-loving plants, but there’s a point where you can have too much. You need grow lights that will put out the energy you need without too much heat, since that can dry out or burn plants. The ideal grow lights will put out light but barely any heat, since this is correlated to good energy efficiency.

Well made grow lights such as the Galaxyhydro 300W have simple hardware where you get both the lights and everything you need to mount it and run it in one box. The ideal grow lights let you plug them in to the wall and be done, instead of having to figure out where to put cables, how to connect fans and whether or not you can plug in timers and reflectors.

There is one reason why we can’t say there is one perfect grow lamp, and that is the fact that the best grow lights for your situation depend on the application. Different grow lights provide differing coverage areas and are often designed for optimizing growth at specific stages. For that reason, we can recommend several good grow lights but not a single, ideal grow light for every single use case.

300 Watt Grow Light by JHOTEC

This full spectrum grow light is good for plants in the vegetative stage like seedlings and flowering plants. It mimics natural sunlight except for the UV light. It has both strong light and deeper than average penetration.

This particular grow light is energy efficient, and the light gets amplified when you switch between growth or bloom mode (though you can do both at once). This means you could have it put out only red light when encouraging micro-vegetables and seedlings and use less power than a grow light that puts out predominately blue light.

This grow light covers a 2 foot square growing area when two feet above the plants. Its maximum coverage is 3’ square if you have plants that don’t need high intensity light or you’re using the grow light as a supplement to delay blooms.

The Grow Light by JHOTEC comes with built in fans to keep them from overheating. The only downside of these models is the tendency to burn out bulbs rather quickly. Conversely, you can connect them in a daisy chain fashion so you only need a single timer to control a whole series of the lights.

The Current Price and Amazon Rating is listed below:

EnerEco 100 Watt Grow Light Bulb

This is not a complete grow light per se, but it is bulbs that I have bought to replace burnt out ones. I have to say, they pack a punch. The 100 Watt bulb is designed for almost any application. It is good for seedlings, vegetable growth, hydroponics and greenhouses. It puts out roughly three times as much red light as blue light, fostering leaf growth without resulting in weak plants.

The EnerEco bulb is energy efficient ad has excellent heat dissipation. Consider this bulb as a good light source for a single large plant or 2’ square area of seedlings. I’ve personally used it as supplementary light for plants receiving natural light to accelerate growth or delay flowering.

Another option would be to use a network of these bulbs in an enclosed area where no natural light gets in. This really comes in handy especially if you are doing your growing in a basement where there are no windows at all. I recommend that you do not handle these bulbs or install them in the socket without proper eye protection.

The Current Price and Amazon Rating is listed below:

GrowLED LED Indoor Garden Light

I remember when I started my indoor gardening endeavors and started using indoor garden lighting I started with something similar to this…(Nostalgia is setting in). This is great for beginners or those just getting started with indoor gardening/hydroponics.

The GrowLED indoor garden light as I mentioned is designed for novices. Its clean, minimalist aesthetic makes it perfect for putting in a windowsill or sitting on the kitchen counter as you grow sprouts, micro-vegetables or herbs.

The broad spectrum white light is safe to put in the open, a strong contrast to other grow lights you can’t risk the kids looking at. However, that doesn’t mean you should stare at the bulbs.

It comes with a timer for 16 hours on and 8 hours off to fuel plant growth. Unfortunately you can’t dim the lights on this unit. According to user reviews it is best that you don’t put it right next to the sink where it could get really wet. Light sprays of water as you mist the plants to maintain the right humidity or splashed water as you do dishes is fine and won’t hurt the electrical parts of the unit.

It seems that the main downside of this unit is that the manufacturer shows the lights as being part of an entire kit when in reality it doesn’t come with pots or containers for the plants which is a bummer to say the least.

The Current Price and Amazon Rating is listed below:

Black Aspect 20W Luxury LED Grow Light

There are times we want grow lights that don’t look like industrial grow lights. In comes the Black Aspect brand luxury grow light. This 20 Watt LED grow light looks like a classic black hanging lamp while it produces supplemental lights for anything from potted plants to dwarf trees.

This unit is capable of covering a small area suitable for a few small plants or one larger one. One benefit of this model is that it runs cool enough that it doesn’t need a fan, which is perfect for putting in the corner with a plant that needs extra light without looking like an actual grow light. Note, that a 40 watt model is available, and the same grow light comes in white and silver so you can find something that suits your décor.

Seriously, when I saw that someone had actually come up with something like this I knew I had to get one for myself because that would give me the opportunity to have plants growing upstairs without having it look like it. I highly recommend it even though it’s a little pricey. Here’s a picture of my setup with this light.

The Current Price and Amazon Rating is listed below:

Hgrope 14W Indoor Grow Light Bar

This indoor grow light bar not only is convenient, but is a very affordable way to get several lights in one place without much hassle. The Hgrope Light Bar puts out 20 watts of light and generates red light, blue light and even UV light. It comes with two separate rows of bulbs, each on their own flexible arms.

These LED grow lights are perfect supplemental lights, since you can position them to help a specific bunch of flowers or any level of the under-layer of any plant.

As I mentioned above you can use them as mobile supplementary light sources as well such as providing some extra light when the autumn summer sun isn’t giving your herb garden enough light or the plants on your desk seem to be suffering.

You can even choose whether to run one or two of the rows of lights. I’ve managed to put about 6 of these together to cover a big area of plants when I first started indoor gardening, but quickly realized that this defeats the purpose of the mobility aspect that these lights were originally made for.

Another cool aspect of these lights is that they intentionally generate heat, making them a good choice as a supplementary light and heat for a single planter if that is all you will be using it for.

The Current Price and Amazon Rating is listed below:

Additional Resources

Click here to read more about grow lights and indoor gardening

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