Standard HID lamps are almost a thing of the past, because everyone is busy upgrading the grow lighting to LED. The LED grow lights have undoubtedly gained a foothold and will not unload the roll. The advantages are simply too great: such as lower electricity costs, perfect color spectrum for excellent yield and long service life. Still, you should avoid some common mistakes with your LED setup to get the most out of your plants.

 

1. The wrong LED lighting for your needs

The most important aspect of LED lighting is color specification. But what is the purpose of your grow light? Additional lighting in reduced daylight, full exposure in a dark room, germ lighting, ...

You want the right type of LED grow light with the right spectrum. The most efficient and effective spectrum for the specific life stage of your plant.

Additional lighting in reduced daylight

During the dark months, too little direct daylight often enters through the window with too little energy for the photosynthesis of the plant. It is often sufficient to have LED grow light with lower wattage (<100W) over the afternoon a 6< / span> hour. Full spectrum is not a must, but always works. A combination on the absorption peaks, blue (440-460nm) and red (640-660nm), for photosynthesis is also possible.

Full lighting in a dark room

With full cycle lighting in a closed grow tent or grow box, a full spectrum LED grow light is required. This is because a full spectrum of daylight must be available to the plant. Not only to keep photosynthesis running at full speed, but also to regulate hormone flows. Therefore, a full spectrum grow light is usually composed of a combination of cool white and warm white LED diodes with potentially an addition of specific wavelengths such as UV, red, far-red or infrared. For this reason, full spectrum LED grow lights are perfect for the growth and flowering phase of any plant.

Vegetative

If you only want to grow vegetatively, then a full spectrum grow light with especially cool white and blue LED diodes is excellent. For flowering, the presence of warm white, red, far-red or infrared is adviced.

2. LEDs of low quality

Everyone takes into account the costs when switching to LED grow lighting. But a switch to inferior quality is always going to disappoint you.

High quality LED grow lights are expensive (especially compared to other light types). However, you get your money's worth when you invest.

Helaas the market is flooded with LEDs. Websites and retailers are trying to promote their lamps as affordable. And claim that they will provide you with a superior yield. However, reality usually falls short. Often cheap LED lamps are produced abroad, often in China.

 They are made of inferior materials, have a not too long service life and can even become a fire hazard if they do not meet the strict safety requirements. It is best to spend a little more to buy the right LED grow light with peace of mind.

 

3. Wrong height

Too high: It is common for growers who switch to LEDs have a problem with the height calculations of their LED grow lights. If you're used to growing with HPS or MH, you'll probably need to adapt to LEDs. Traditional HPS lamps are known to produce a lot of heat, so growers are used to hanging the lights high to protect their plants. However, LEDs produce significantly less heat than HPS and you therefore rarely have to worry about your plants burning. If you hang LEDs at the same height as your HPS lamp, the plants will stretch to get enough light, creating weak, lanky growth.

Too low: Many growers also try to hang the LED grow lights too close to the plants, which causes other problems. If you LEDs hangs too close to plants, the leaves can block some of the wavelengths due to overexposure. This is called light stress and is characterized by yellowing of the leaves due to blockage of the photosynthesis reaction.

Often can LED grow lights be safely placed within 15 to 30 cm of the canopy of your plant, but if you see that the upper leaves of your buds are fading, increase the distance by about 15 cm.

Search for the Sweet Spot

It is advisable to follow the recommended distance to the plant per type of lamp and from there look for the sweetspot. You do this by reducing the distance by 5 cm for a few days each time until fading occurs. After this, the grow light can be raised 5 cm again and you have found the sweetspot. The sweetspot is especially important for the flowering phase.

The daily light integral

With the knowledge of the above in mind, it is important to know that a plant needs a certain amount of light during its full day length. That is why it is important not to position the lamp on the sweetspot during the growth phase, which is often characterized by a longer exposure, but to position the lamp on the < 20 cm higher.

 

4. The danger of too much water

You may be wondering what irrigation has to do with lighting. HPS lamps (the most commonly used lighting before LED grow lights) produce a significant amount of heat, which means that the plants often need to be watered to get correct results. LEDs however, produce less heat, so the lower temperature can lead overwatering if you don't adjust your watering schedule. Excessive moisture leads to pests, root rot and fungi. Check the soil regularly before watering. Just moist is more than sufficient.

5. Failing to provide adequate lighting

Helaas, many sites selling cheap LED grow lights will claim to have the best deal on lighting. List a multitude of specifications to confuse buyers. With LED's grow lights, you therefore pay particular attention to PPFD above watts. If you buy LED grow lights with a high wattage, but have a low power factor (<0.90) combined with poor dispersion, the lower parts of the plants will not get enough light.

 

Always take the time to research what you buy and check the recommendations of the seller/manufacturer. Please contact us via Ledgrowersbe@telenet.be.

Whatsapp/Gsm: +32(0)485987682

You will immediately receive correct advice for your setup.

 

Guy Smets