Indoor Lighting Basics
You may be sitting at home right now thinking about starting your own Indoor cannabis grow and you begin reflecting on those formative years when you learned about what it takes for a plant to grow. On that list includes one of the most necessary inputs needed for your Indoor growing success, Light.
Light is very important and can dramatically influence your cannabis plants. Getting your Indoor grow lighting down is critical for your Indoor cannabis grow success.
Join me on a crash course about light and learn how to properly give your Indoor cannabis plants the right light requirements at home!
The Lighting Lessons
(The First Lesson)
The First lesson one must understand is what type of light to use on your Indoor cannabis plant. This is a step that you do not want too cheap out on. Lighting is key and will dramatically impact the performance of your cannabis plants growth and bud development.
Allow me to help! Below I will provide you with a list of options you should consider.
Type of Lights
– LED (We recommend because they do not give off heat)
– Fluorescent
– HID
We generally suggest purchasing an “all-in-one” LED grow light set up from your local garden center or online retailer.
(The Second Lesson)
The Second Lesson one must understand is the height spacing requirement your lighting must be on your Indoor cannabis plant. Each stage of your cannabis plants growth requires different lighting heights in order to reach optimal productivity.
Allow me to help! Below I will provide you with a general rule of thumb to follow based on the growth stage your Indoor cannabis plant is in.
The Stage Breakdown:
Vegetation Stage (The ‘Greening’ Stage)
– You want to hang your lights between 36 – 48 inches away from the top of your cannabis plant.
Initial Flowering Stage (The ‘Flowering’ Stage)
– You want to hang your lights between 36 – 48 inches away from the top of your cannabis plant.
Bud-site Formation Flowering Stage (The ‘I’ve got Buds’ Stage)
– You want to move your lights up every two weeks when flower buds are present.
(Third Lesson)
The Third Lesson one must understand is the lighting timeframe your Indoor cannabis plant requires. Remember this is for your standard photoperiod plants.
The Stage Breakdown:
Vegetation Stage (The ‘Greening’ Stage)
– You want to leave your lights ON for 24 hours or ON for 18 hour and OFF for 6 hours.
– This will last for the first 6 weeks of growing.
Flowering Stage (The ‘Flowering’ Stage)
– You want to leave your lights ON for 12 hours and OFF for 12 hours.
– This will last for the remainder of time until harvest.
(Forth Lesson)
The Forth Lesson one must understand is the importance of white walls/reflective material in your Indoor cannabis plant grow area.
To optimize and use all the light you are inputting; you must make sure your grow area has a reflective material surrounding it. If you are growing in a tent, the inside should be reflective already. If you’re growing in a room, make sure the walls are white or Mylar.
Tips:
1. Light Leaks: When your lights are off, make sure the space is pitch black and no light can penetrate. If it does, it can make your plant turn into a hermaphrodite (both male and female) which you do not want to happen. It could potentially cause your plant to produce seeds through self-pollination.
2. Power Strip Lights: The one thing that you may not think about is the little red light on the power strip. That small amount of light can produce a mini light leak which you learned about above.
3. Showing your friends: If you have some friends over and you want to show them your cannabis grow but your lights are off. Remember, don’t turn the lights on! This could trigger your plant to turn into a hermaphrodite which is something you do not want.
Solution: Have a green light around and use that! Cannabis plants cannot ‘see’ green light, so it won’t trigger them, and you can still show your friends what you got growing!
What’s Next?
You have checked the Indoor Lighting Box off your list and now you need to focus on what is next. Are you looking for more Beginner basics or are you experiencing problems as your grow? Our Grow 101 education platform we have created is here to help you be a better Cannabis Grower! An array of Cannabis Growing information ranging from Beginner to Expert is at your fingertips and the best thing is that it is all FREE!