Planting a vegetable garden at home: indoor cultivation
How many times have it happened to you that you want a small garden in your house but have always had to postpone it. You don’t have a fairly sunny spot? Know that if your dream is to plant and see seedlings grow. Now you can do it at home too by vertical farming equipment.
There are in fact various indoor cultivation techniques thanks to which you can create your own small vegetable garden directly at home or indoors.
What is Indoor cultivation?
The problem of keeping plants at home, however, is that of the lack of light. This is fundamental for chlorophyll photosynthesis and for the correct growth of the plant.
The vertical farming equipment is in fact essential for any plant species. It is good for shrubs that need to capture the light from small bushy leaves. But thanks to the introduction of specific lamps for plants – also called grow lights in English.
It is possible to create your own indoor cultivation inside the house, even when the light conditions are not the best.
In fact, thanks to the best lamps for indoor gardening (i.e. “indoor gardening”), there are those who can successfully cultivate even in garages or basements, using these LED lamps. While they are now at the basis of hydroponics and aeroponics: they could not do without it!
What is vertical farming equipment? How does it work?
Plant growing lamps are specific LED lamps, which provide artificial sunlight by “tricking” them. It allows them to grow as healthy and lush as outdoors. Thanks to the modulation of the chromatic spectrum of UV rays, balancing warm and cold light, the LEDs are able to reproduce natural light.
The latter exploit by plants to carry out chlorophyll photosynthesis and “transform” it into energy to grow and yield.
Advantages of LED lamps for plants
LED lamps for plants today have the following advantages:
- They consume very little;
- They are able to reproduce the color spectrum of natural light very well;
- Vertical farming equipment allow you to grow most plants and flowers all year round;
- There are many powers and wattages (from 50 to 2000w);
- They make a soft light that is pleasant to see.
We owe the first experiments to the Russian botanist Andrei Famintsyn, who already in 1868 experimented with the first artificial lighting systems for indoor cultivation, acting on the metabolism of plants and trying to artificially grow them.
Although initially he did not properly use light bulbs as we know them today (consider that Edison’s first real incandescent light bulb, working, dates back to 1879), his experiments were fundamental to the development of the current lamps. Lamps that were once incandescent or fluorescent, today LEDs.
The best vertical farming equipment for plant cultivation
We have selected for you the best three lamps for plant growth distinguished by category and characteristics:
- namely the smallest low-power ones
- the medium multidirectional ones and
- The larger “chandelier” ones. We explain everything below.
The first to evaluate is this double-headed lamp with a power of 50W. Attention: 50W is not the actual energy consumption, but it is the performance of the LEDs compared to an old generation HPS lamp.
Don’t be fooled by its few Watts, it still includes the whole spectrum of solar energy (wavelength: 380-800 nm) and is perfect for sprouts, sowing, aromatic plants such as spices (e.g. basil, chili), rosemary), flowers (e.g. roses, tulips, peonies, orchids) and succulents.
It is somewhat reminiscent of studio lamps and like vertical farming equipment can rotate 360 degrees thanks to the articulated arms that can direct anywhere, without effort or breaking boxes. Among other things, at the base there is an adjustable clamp that allows you to fix it wherever you need it.
This model has replaceable and interchangeable bulbs (i.e. bulbs made up of many mini LEDs), extending the average life of the product so that it can be used indefinitely.
- Replaceable LED bulbs
- Convenient thanks to its small size
- Very low consumption
- It is the best-selling on the web
Medium power multidirectional vertical farming equipment
Lamps of this type, i.e. those with medium power. They have the advantage of being a good compromise between low power ones and “chandelier” ones, much more powerful and bulky. In fact, with an absolutely contained size (just 34 cm in height), these lamps have a total power between 80W and 120W.
It covers the spectrum from 400nm to 660nm, favoring correct photosynthesis even inside the house and even in the dark. Thanks to vertical farming equipment a plant can grow up to 3 times more. quickly on equal terms.
The automatic switch-off timer and the command to adjust the light to 10 different intensities are very convenient.
- Power of 80W in just 34 cm
- Self-shutdown timer
- Intensity adjustment
- Duration of the LEDs over 5,000 hours
Plant lamps: the most powerful
The recommended lamp in this case is the SH SERIES 1200W and it is a real power, it must be said! It is a real chandelier suitable for all types of plants. Thanks to vertical farming equipment advanced technology and internal mirrors, as well as the power that can be adjusted according to the type of plants.
It allows you to obtain exceptional results. It is no coincidence that some crafty ones also use them for hemp crops.
At what intensity to use the lamp?
The intensity of the light to be applied to the plant basically depends on three aspects: 1) the type of plant, 2) the brightness of the lamp and 3) its proximity to the plant.
The larger the plant or the larger the surface (e.g. a single lamp for a 30sqm room), the greater the intensity of the vertical farming equipment chandelier must be. The type of plant and the stage of growth should also be considered. Shoots and small spice plants will prefer less intensity, while larger plants, with broad leaves and / or vegetables prefer greater intensity.
