Get the Right Light

Our test of seed-starting lights shows you which ones are worth your money and which aren’t

Serious gardeners love to get their seeds go in tray before fountain for a number of rationality : to extend the growing time of year , to ply optimal sprouting conditions , to try strange diversity , and to save money , among others . But to get those plant life growing , you ’ve got to have light — a caboodle of lighting — and while some nurseryman have room with lot of Lord’s Day , most of us do n’t . And even those who do often want longer days than what wintertime has to offer . So what are gardeners to do when they do n’t have enough sunlight ? They utilize artificial light . And there are a lot of lights to take from : Incandescent , fluorescent , and LED ( light - emitting diode ) lights all vie for gardeners ’ dollars . But which ones really deliver ? We conducted a trial to see out .

We tested seven different Light , six of which were intend for starting source and growing seedling . We hung these lights in single plant growth chambers over tray filled with the seeds of various plants , include sweet pea , tomatoes , flowering baccy , kale , peppers , basil , oregano , arugula , and thyme .

We used a quantum sensing element to adjust the brightness level so that each one supply the same amount of illumination to each tray . Therefore , when we appraise how well the plants grow , we were measuring how the lineament — rather than the quantity — of lighting from each source dissemble these plants .

The plants had no other source of lightness , and we kept the temperature in each sleeping room at 72 ° Fduring the daytime and 68 ° Fat Nox . The luminousness were on for 14 hours each day . As the seedlings grew , we watered and fertilized each tray as necessary . After five weeks , the plants were harvest , dry out , and weighed .

LED Lights

■Heliospectra

verbal description : This is a paradigm of a new LED kindling system that is scheduled to be on the market place in summer 2014 . Unlike most lead systems that we have seen , it utilizes many different - biased LED igniter as well as a special system to disseminate the luminance so that the industrial plant that are n’t instantly below the system will still be well illuminated .

Pros : The Heliospectra produced the good maturation of all of the systems we tested . It is fully programmable , so you’re able to easily alter promiscuous intensity as well as spectral composition ( color ) ; you’re able to even program it right on from your smartphone .

Con : This system is not cheap .

generator : heliospectra.com , $ 700–$1,400

The bottom line : The Heliospectra surpass the other lights right from the beginning , but it is expensive . If you are serious about starting nag and you have the money , this will be your best alternative when the product hits the market . We did not essay any other mellow - end light-emitting diode system , so there might be others that would provide standardized answer .

■MiracleLED Grow Lite

■LEDwholesalers Hydroponic Lamp 225 LED Grow Light Panel

Description : We tested two LED products presently on the market : MiracleLED bulbs and a console build by LEDwholesalers . decently from the showtime , it was evident that these products lacked intensity and acquire columnated Light Within ( light focus straight down and not spread out well ) . Because of this , works that were directly below the lights fared better than industrial plant at the bound of the tray .

Pro : These lights were extremely attractive to look at , almost like a modern - day Lite - Brite .

Cons : The plant in the tray under these lights fare abysmally . This execution is probably due to the want of reporting that the lights provided as well as the specific eccentric of elucidation they offered .

Sources : MiracleLED Grow Lite : miracleled.com , $ 14.99 ; LEDwholesalers Hydroponic Lamp 225 light-emitting diode Grow Light Panel : ledwholesalers.com , $ 37.00

The bottom line : If you have a sunny stain and need to jazz it up with some cool - looking igniter , these might be a cracking idea . Other than that , do n’t waste your money .

Fluorescent lights

■Jump Start Grow Light System

■Spectralux T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Lamp

■T12 workshop bulb

Description : We tested three dissimilar 4 - foot - long fluorescent lights : the Jump Start develop Light System , a Spectralux T5 replacement tube placed in a Jump Start system , and a stock workshop lamp . Both the Jump Start tube and the Spectralux tube were T5 lamps ( indicating that they are smaller , high - efficiency lamp ) and leave off what is generally guess of as a “ cooler ” or bluer color . The shop light was a cool - white T12 incandescent lamp , a orotund , less - effective fluorescent fixture pipe , which has similar calibre to the T5 subway with slightly different spectral emission .

Pros : Fluorescent lamp are well found in any hardware fund , are Energy Department efficient , and do n’t give off much excess rut . In this study , all the fluorescent lamp performed well , with the shop lamp get along the good .

yardbird : Although the fluorescent lamp performed well , they by and large were n’t as efficient as the Heliospectra or Agrosun lights .

Sources : Jump startle Grow Light System : amazon.com , $ 64.95 ; Spectralux T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Lamp : sunlightsupply.com , $ 11.95 ; T12 workshop electric-light bulb : local hardware shop , $ 4.00

The bottom line : A fluorescent lamp is believably the best alternative for any gardener on a budget because of its cost and its energy manipulation . Although we did not test multiple coolheaded and warm lamp together , this overture may be utile for improving plant growth .

Incandescent lights

■Agrosun Dayspot Grow Bulb

Description : This is the only incandescent light that we tested , and it is found in many garden centers . We used four bulbs to ignite the tray . Like any incandescent , this bulb gave off more heat than any other bulb . Also , it provide Christ Within across a broad range of wavelength than the other production .

Pro : The incandescent light performed well in our mental test , originate plant that were broadly speaking 2nd in size of it only to the Heliospectra lights .

con : Incandescent lights are becoming outdated because of their mellow vigor use and estrus output , which may be an issue if plants are grown too close to the bulbs .

rootage : amazon.com , $ 10.14

The bottom line : Although the incandescent light performed well and we do n’t want to dismiss it out of hand , we ca n’t urge it because of its energy use and heat output .

So which product would we choose?

We are all in agreement that if we had the money , we ’d purchase the Heliospectra system . But most of us are n’t that rich , so we would settle for a fluorescent tube . Although the incandescent lightbulb generally did a little bit well than the fluorescent tube in terms of industrial plant growth , its high energy necessity made it less attractive . As a general rule , bulbs should be placed as snug to the produce works as potential while leave enough room for light to spread out across the whole growing area . If you ’re go to use an incandescent bulb , be careful to put enough distance between the luminousness and the plants so that the plants do n’t cauterize .

A look at the numbers

We measure the light by counting how many of the seedling that germinated hold up to the end of the trial and then dry the plants and consider them . Below are the averages for each light :

Jeff Gillman , Gary Gardner , Redeat Tibebu , and Doug Brinkman are current or former members of the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul .

Photos , except where note : Steve Aitken . Photo of T12 shop bulb : Brittany Carlson .

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