Some people have the luxury of a big garden or an allotment where they can grow all of their own fresh produce. But not everybody has access to a large outdoor space, so does that mean you can’t grow your own vegetables?

Although many people assume you need a large garden, you can actually grow your own food without a garden at all. However, it is more challenging so you need to make sure you get the setup right. Using specialist lighting is an effective way to improve your yield all year round and grow bigger, healthier vegetables.

They are especially good for starting your seedlings because you get stronger seedlings that will grow faster and are less likely to fail. You can also use lights to grow things like salad leaves and herbs in the winter. If you are short on space, using lights is a great way to grow more vegetables. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.

Choosing The Right Colour

The colour makes a big difference when growing plants of any kind. Sunlight contains all colours of the spectrum, so indoor plants grow best with full-spectrum bulbs. These produce a good balance of warm and cool light that is designed to mimic the natural sunlight that plants would get outside. They are the ideal choice for herbs, seedlings, and vegetables of all kinds.

Choosing The Bulb Type

When you start looking at the options, you will see LED and fluorescent bulbs, but which ones are best to go for? Both options will produce full-spectrum light, so you should consider the running costs. A set of LED grow lights are much cheaper to run and they use way less electricity, so they’re better for your bank balance and the planet. LEDs are also more adaptable, so it’s easier to calibrate them perfectly for the kind of plants that you want to grow. For example, you can have them with an extra burst of blue light to encourage healthy root growth and enhance photosynthesis.

Choosing The Intensity And Duration

Light intensity is an important consideration, just as it is outside. Different plants have specific needs in terms of sunlight. Some like to be in full sun all day long while others like partial shade. You need to recreate these conditions with your lights when growing inside. So, work out what vegetables you want to grow and then research their ideal lighting conditions so you can choose the right intensity of light.

Choosing the right duration of the lighting is important too. Remember, plants always spend some time in darkness during the night and you need to recreate this too. Again, there are differences between plants and some do better in the winter when the days are shorter while others prefer long days. Make sure that you group plants together based on their intensity and duration requirements so you can maximize their growth.

It takes some investment and a bit of trial and error to set up your lighting systems in the right way, but once you have it ready, it’s much easier to grow vegetables inside.