How to Use LED to Grow Tomatoes
Using LED lighting for your house plant's is a great way to mimic not only the light, but the heat of the sun as well. Indoor growing can pose a challenge where light-loving plants like tomatoes are concerned, but the use of artificial grow lights solves this problem. While during germination the tomato plants need constant light, during the plant's adult life, having the light on only at daytime suffices to ensure plump, juicy tomatoes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Choose and buy your lights. Choose LED lights that are full spectrum. Cool white bulbs are your best bet, and you can purchase them at nearly any hardware or garden store at relatively low prices. The quantity of the lamps depends on how many tomato plants you will be planting and how large they are. Purchase at least two lamps, to set one bearing down on the plant and at least one angled from the side.
If you already use regular indoor growing bulbs, the method is virtually no different. However, LED bulbs have many advantages over regular bulbs: LED uses less energy, produces only the light spectrum that the plant can actually use, lasts 10 to 20 times longer, is much smaller and can be mounted, set up or hung in virtually any area of your home.
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Set up your pots. Tomatoes can either grow in a round indoor pot or in a trough, depending on the size of your tomatoes (large or cherry). Fill the pots with potting soil and your choice of commercial fertilizer or compost. As you are indoors, commercial fertilizer is the option with the least odor.
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Plant your tomatoes either from seed or as transplants. During the germination period of your seeds (about 12 days) the tomatoes need about 18 hours straight of light, so keep your lights on for as long as you can. The lights should bear straight down on the plants. If you are able, keeping the LED lights on for 24 hours will speed the process and will have no ill effects on the plant.
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Place the pot close to the largest window and position your lights around it. Even though you are using lights to grow your tomatoes, it is always a good idea to try to take advantage of even the smallest amount of natural sunlight available. If placing the pot near a window is impossible, consider adding a soft white regular light bulb next to the tomato plant along with the LEDs and this will add extra wavelengths that are needed particularly for fruiting the plant.
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Keep the lights on throughout the day, about 18 hours. You cannot harm the plant by keeping the light on full time, however if you need to turn it off, it is all right to turn them off during the night. Tomatoes in nature experience darkness during the natural night, and mimicking it will not harm your plant.
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Water when the soil feels dry. Using LED lights eliminates the need to water as frequently as with regular grow lights. LED lights are much cooler than regular bulbs and cause the plant to use less water. Similarly, LED requires less fertilizer than you would use with regular lights, overall lessening your maintenance requirements.
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