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Your Guide to Hydroponics Lighting

By Martha Cadwell

If you're new to hydroponic gardening, you might have asked yourself how important lighting is to the growth of your plants. Are plants really healthier when placed under hydroponics lighting? Do they grow faster when one uses these special hydroponics lights? How does it happen? These are just some of the questions asked by those who are new to hydroponic gardening.

As you might already know by now, hydroponic gardening is a technique of growing plants and crops with just water, nutrients, hydroponics lighting, and sometimes an alternative grow media-no use of soil at all. This method of gardening is highly popular because it doesn't take all that much space; you can grow plants without using soil, which is messy; you don't have to use fertilizers, making it perfect for organic growers, and it's relatively affordable to boot. But because hydroponic gardening allows growers and hobbyists to grow plants practically all-year round, this method raises some serious questions on lighting requirements and how to best use it for effective plant growth.

This cutting-edge method of growing plants has recently enjoyed a rise in popularity-which is expected to continue in the coming years-due to the increased interest in raising one's own vegetables, fruits and plants as a way of cutting food costs and avoiding food shortage. Hydroponics has also become popular with lovers of ornamental plants-having orchids in a small room have a profound way of adding warmth and beauty to the ambience.

Hydroponic gardening's biggest and most obvious advantage lies in the fact that plants can be grown indoors. Whether it's in your porch, terrace, kitchen, living room, garage, basement or bathroom, hydroponics allows you to grow plants almost anywhere. Some of these areas may not receive adequate amounts of sunlight for plants to grow properly, hence the need for hydroponics lighting. These lighting systems act as substitutes for natural sunlight, giving crops and plants the energy needed to flourish.

There are various hydroponics lighting systems to choose from: fluorescent lights, halide lights and sodium lights. Systems will also come with numerous accessories, including reflectors, ballasts and timers. Depending on your growing needs and budget, you can easily put together a lighting system that's basic and comes with everything you need, or one that's very complex, featuring different accessories and technological perks.

Article Source: Your Guide to Hydroponics Lighting

Your Guide to Hydroponics Lighting

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