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How to properly illuminate seedlings: all day or only in the morning and evening – a very important point
19.01.2024 22:01
Everyone knows that in winter, seedlings will not grow due to lack of sunlight. Fortunately, phytolamps solve the problem.
The light wave of the required spectrum replaces the daylight, and summer residents joyfully illuminate their window sills with ultraviolet light all day long. Is this right?
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, told how to properly illuminate seedlings.
Plants need light, but that doesn't mean that keeping a lamp on all day long will improve the situation.
Therefore, you need to know when to turn the lamp on and off and how many hours you need to keep the sprouts under the phytolamp.
Are there any standards?
To prevent the seedlings from turning pale, stretching out, and withering, they are illuminated from 11 to 17 hours a day. It all depends on the type of plant.
There are morning and evening supplementary lighting. Sometimes it is necessary to illuminate plants during the day.
Tomatoes need an artificial light source the most. They can have lamps on for 14 to 17 hours a day.
Their closest nightshade relatives – peppers and eggplants – will need only 10-12 hours.
The lamps are turned on at about 6 am for 3-4 hours and in the evening at about 6-7 pm for the same time.
What does the backlight duration depend on?
First of all, it depends on the weather. In cloudy weather or when there is a clear lack of daylight, you will have to turn on the lights during the day.
And you definitely shouldn't leave the lights on at night. It's been proven that plants have their own cycles and light burning around the clock disorients them.
Therefore, it is important to observe the alternation of natural cycles.
Previously we told you which plants should not be fed with ash .
