What Is the Precise Amount of Lumens Every Plant Needs?

Contents

How many lumens do you need per plant?

When you are growing plants, flower or crops out in your own yard, there are certain necessities they should acquire. You need to supply the sufficient amount of water, air, and fertilizer to boost their growth. They would also be much healthier if you regularly expose them out in the sunlight. If all of these are adequately provided, your plants would grow healthy and in no time.

Winter could be a harsh season for growing plants. The temperature drops and the available hours of daylight may not be sufficient. As we all know, the sunlight is vital to the growth of the plants. So if this is not present and the plants do not receive the optimal amount of natural light during daytime, some issues may occur. What should you do?

Growing plants indoors could be your final resort, but you can still allot all their needs. This procedure can be as effective as the natural growing process if the proper measures are applied. When it comes to the sunlight exposure, you can be less concern about it. Grow lights will help you provide the supplementary light for your plants.​

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Now that you have the grow lights for your plants, how many lumens should you allocate for each plant? What is lumen in plants, anyway?

​What is the lumen in plants?

Lumen refers to a measure of the total amount of emitted visible light by a source. The total number of lumens varies according to the type of grow light, the type and number of plants, the total measurement of the area, the distance of the plants, and their height. If possible, you should also determine the current stage of your plant to know how much supplementary light you’d apply.

Moreover, if you have decided to continue the process indoors, it is a must to know the preferable amount of lumens every plant should receive. Determining the precise number of lumens prevents any damages on your plant. Thus, supplies the necessary optimal light for their productive growth.

Plant Lighting: Supply the Right Amount of Lumens​

Though grow lights have been an efficient tool for growing fruits and veggies indoors, note this may not be a good option for some crops. Squash, peas, beans, melons, cucumbers, corn or watermelons may not survive the artificial growing process indoors.

However, there are certain crops that thrive indoors especially when winter season comes. Potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, herbs, tomatoes, lettuces, broccoli, and spinach are some of the best choices. So if you are left with no choice but to grow them indoors with grow lights, how would you know the right amount of lumens per plant?

The basis for the total measurement would be lumens per square foot.

The figures listed below are based on the average lumens that are proven effective by many users. With this reference, a CFL or compact light fluorescent is used.

  1. The optimal light would be 7000 to 7500 lumens per square foot.
  2. If the plant only requires minimum lighting, it should be approximately 2000 lumens per square foot.
  3. For the mid-range measurement, it should be approximately 5000 lumens per square foot.
  4. The vegetative phase is when the plants carry out photosynthesis and other accumulating sources needed for the reproduction and flowering. If ever you are in the vegetative period, approximately 2000 to 3000 lumens per square foot would be the minimum amount.
  5. If your plants are on the flowering phase, 5000 to 10000 lumens per square foot is recommended.

NOTE: Results may still vary according to the number of plants, how far apart every crop is planted, the type of plant, the area size, and the grow light being used. Indoor air and temperature are also major factors that can affect the growth of your plants.

Gardening with Grow Lights

Due to the unceasing progress of technology, a lot of tools have been efficient for gardening indoors. Grow lights are one of the outstanding innovations that have been beneficial for growing plants. Though this is an artificial procedure, the results are as effective as the natural process. You just have to be keen with the details regarding the lumens or watts every plant needs.

However, you cannot also just rely on the intensity of light for a productive growth. To achieve the best outcome, there are certain things you should remember if you opt for this process.

  1. ​Choose the right color. Plants respond to the spectrum of the light. The sunlight has the complete spectrum of lighting, such as rainbow colors, that is why all plants grow healthy and productively. Hence, full spectrum lights are highly recommended as they ensure the optimal lighting the plants need.
  2. Provide the right duration. Too much or too little may cause some complications to the plant’s growth. It is indeed important to know how long you should expose your plants under the grow lights. Kalanchoe, azaleas, begonias and chrysanthemums are some of the plants that should be under the light for 12 hours each day.
  3. On the other hand, vegetable and flowering plants usually require 14 to 18 hours of light per day. African violets, foliage plants, geraniums and coleus are some of the plants that can be exposed under the grow lights for 8 to 12 hours per day.

Conclusion

Growing plants indoors may not be the best option for many users. However, if the season changes and the sunlight’s not available for growing the plants, you can try growing them indoors with the grow lights. Just make sure to remember how many lumens every plant needs to ensure their healthy growth. If want to measure using watts, there are also certain guidelines you need to follow.

Hope this article helps you as much as it did to me. If you have any thoughts and questions about it or any experiences you’d like to share, tell us through the comment box below!


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