Each cannabis cultivator craves to succeed in getting those mesmerizing, potent and delicious buds upon harvesting.
But one of the factors which separate dreamers from achievers in the marijuana growing journey is knowing how to utilize the power of grow lights for weed.
On the one hand, providing sustainable access to light is a must.
On the other hand, however, grow lights can be tricky and you need to learn how to distinguish between the multiple options available.
In this article, we are listing the most crucial expert advice on taking advantage of grow lights to pamper and nurture your green beauties like a pro!
#1 – Why You Need to Use Different Grow Lights during the Vegetative and the Flowering Stage
For a start, it is important to understand that marijuana plants are delicate creatures.
But apart from their intricate sensitivity to the conditions in the surrounding environment, weed is… weed, indeed!
That means your emerald princesses possess the genetically encoded determination to survive.
In fact, this is some great news for you as a marijuana grower!
However, the better you do with satisfying the growing demands of your plants, the greater your rewards when it comes to yields.
Cannabis plants use light much like we, humans, use food.
Your cannabeauties convert the light as part of the process of photosynthesis, which helps to transfer sugars all the way up to the future buds-to-be.
We know that weed plants have to major stages of development – vegetation and flowering.
During the vegetative phase, your green babies need to produce multiple and healthy leaves, as well as strong stems.
That is to ensure the success of your green beauties when the flowering begins. Once your plants enter the flowering stage, you no longer want them to focus on growing branches and leaves but flowers.
Bearing this in mind, marijuana plants require a different light spectrum as to ensure the proper growing patterns in vegetation and, subsequently, flowering.
For us, human beings, the light is simply light – we cannot grasp the entire light spectrum.
Meanwhile, marijuana plants do sense the various colors in the light spectrum.
Moreover, they use those particular colors as an orientation in their surroundings.
That’s exactly how cannabis plants manage to flourish in the wild; they simply follow the Laws of Nature.
Thus, during early spring, weed uses the Blue Light spectrum which is emitted by the Sun, to develop numerous fan leaves.
Afterward, when the mid-summer begins, cannabeauties take advantage of the Red Light spectrum, which serves to indicate it is time to put all the efforts into growing delicious buds.
As a rule of thumbs, the natural sunlight provides the full light spectrum your green cuties need to flourish.
On the other hand, when it comes to indoor marijuana growing, you are the one who is in charge of utilizing the most suitable lights, according to the development of your green princesses; your mission is to mimic the best light spectrum using grow lights instead of sunlight.
#2 – Fluorescent Lights for Growing Marijuana
Fluorescent lights remain an all-time favorite option for marijuana cultivation, and they have withstood the test of time.
Keeping this in mind, fluorescent lights can be handy for small-scale green operations.
That’s mostly because, in the case of growing multiple plants (let’s say anything more than 3), fluorescent lights will fail to nurture all of your green beauties the best way.
Moreover, it is a wise move to stick with fluorescent lights during the vegetative stage.
For this purpose, both CFLs and tube fluorescent lights can work, as long as you utilize grow bulbs, emitting Cool White light.
Cool white light has plenty of Blue Light which will benefit the growth of strong leaves.
400W to 600W grow bulbs are considered to do the trick for most marijuana growers, who are looking for no more than 15 plants. That recommendable wattage goes both to fluorescent lights and HID lights, as well.
In the case you are growing up to 3 plants, fluorescent lights that fall into the Warm White category are suitable to use during flowering.
Fluorescent lights are cheap, easy to find and easy to install.
#3 – HID Grow Lights for Weed
HID grow lights remain the top favorite choice of cannabis cultivators of all levels because they simply work great!
MH (Metal Halide) grow lights are excellent to use during vegetation.
HPS (High-Pressure Sodium) grow bulbs are fantastic to work wonders during flowering for producing massive, THC-coated buds.
However, both MH and HPS lights require a more intricate installation, and subsequently, the setup becomes more costly.
Nevertheless, HID lights are energy-consuming and they can pretty much burn a hole in your pocket once your energy bill arrives.
Another issue with HID growing lights is the excess heat, which creates the need for a better ventilation system and regular monitoring.
#4 – LED Lights for Cannabis Cultivation
LED lights are the newest on the cannabis growing stage, as compared to fluorescent grow bulbs and HIDs.
But LEDs are quickly becoming a top favorite option for cannabis cultivators due to their capability to support both the vegetative and the flowering stage.
Apart from that obvious win-win, LEDs are very convenient to install and despite being a bit pricey, they are incredibly energy-saving.
You simply plug the all-ready LED installation and you are good to go. No need for multiple hanging cables as with CFLs/MH/HPS lights, which is a good bonus.
Nevertheless, LED lights are not reaching the point of emitting excess heat as to burn and/or stress your plants.
In fact, with LED lights, set on a timer to switch from the light to dark cycle of the plants, you can leave your growing space unattended for a while without any concerns.
The top cannabis cultivators swear, though, that LEDs work best when in conjunction with HPS/MH lights for growing numerous, sparkling and hard-to-bear amazing buds.
If you enjoy our outbreak on grow lights for weed, share this article and spread the good vibes to more cannabis connoisseurs!