Correctly Using Hydroponic Systems to Grow Plants

by admin ~ January 29th, 2010

Bucket Hydroponic SystemThere are several different hydroponic systems that you can use to grow indoor plants without having to rely on soil. This is because hydroponics is the use of a water nutrient solution to grow plants. The plants’ roots are suspended in the solution, and they draw their nourishment from this solution and grow much in the same manner that plants grown in a traditional setting do. However, because it does not rely on soil, hydroponic systems are becoming more and more popular with people who want to enjoy the benefits of indoor gardening without having to worry about the problems that bringing soil into the house can cause.

There are different hydroponic systems and techniques under which they operate. These will vary depending on the type of indoor garden that you want to have, as well as the size of the operation. For example, there are profitable hydroponic farms that sell massive loads of vegetables to the markets each year. The hydroponic systems that operate these large gardens are going to be significantly different than the ones that you will want to use if you decide to operate one in your home. The most common system for home use is based around a static solution. This is where the plants are placed in a jar or container that has been filled with the appropriate solution.

People often worry that they have to buy a large complicated containment center for their hydroponic systems, but the truth is that many times indoor gardens that rely on hydroponics can be safely completed in simple glass jars, plastic tubs, or even fish tanks, and you will want to make sure that if you use a clear jar or tank that it is covered by a material to cut out the light. Although if you use a smaller glass jar or plastic container then you may find that you will need to increase the size of the solution container as the plant grows. You will probably want to make sure that you use an aeration system so that your plants can get adequate oxygen to thrive. For home made systems this can be as simple as using a pump for an aquarium.

The Benefits of LED Grow Lights

by admin ~ December 4th, 2009

Growing plants indoors has a number of challenges. You’ve got to find the space, for one thing. Then you may need to modify that space. If you’re going to grow vegetables and other plants in a spare bedroom, for example, you’ll want to take up any carpet that may be in there, and you might even need to install a French drain in the floor. All of this can be somewhat expensive, but there is more expense after you’ve done this: you may need to buy tables to hold your pots, put in some sort of watering system, and purchase and install grow lights.

Without grow lights, your plants won’t be able to get all of the light they need. Without sufficient light, they can’t perform photosynthesis or get enough nutrients. You can try opening up all the windows in the room or installing a skylight to give your plants these nutrients, but then you have to deal with cloudy days or with the fact that you can’t always get sunlight into a room through windows. Grow lights are much more efficient and useful.

The only problem is that traditional grow lights are also expensive. They are big, bulky, and heavy, too. Then there’s the heat factor—they put out a good amount of heat. These lights can also use up a good amount of energy. But there is another option. LED grow lights are much cheaper to operate, and they don’t weight as much, either. They are so bright that they can light up larger areas than traditional lights, so you need fewer panels. They have many other advantages, too, such as operating at a cooler temperature and not being quite as heavy.

Using Grow Lights to Create an Indoor Garden

by admin ~ December 2nd, 2009

Growing an indoor garden can be difficult. You’ve got to have the correct type of grow lights, for example, in order to guarantee that your plants, vegetables, and flowers are able to get enough light. Without indoor grow lights, your plants won’t get enough nutrients. Sure, you can try opening all of the windows in the room, but there’s no way you’ll be able to grow more than a few plants at a time. With indoor grow lights, however, you can position your plants anywhere in the room and they will still get enough light.

But what kind of grow lights do you need? Traditional grow lights are easy to come by, but they’re often very heavy. Installing them in your home may require some modifications to your ceiling. They will also take up a lot of power, and you may see an immediate impact on your energy bill. These types of lights also put out some heat, and if they fall, there’s always the chance they could cause a fire.

LED grow lights and HID grow lights, on the other hand, may be better solutions for what you need. LED lights are much cooler and do not require nearly as much energy as traditional grow lights. They can also put out a lot more light than traditional grow lights do. Because of this, you don’t need as large of panels, so the LED grow lights are actually lighter than traditional lights. LED grow lights will save you on energy, save you on purchasing many large panels, and yet will still give you all the light you need.

Using Indoor Grow Lights to Have a Garden in a Cold Climate

by admin ~ November 25th, 2009

Living in a colder climate can be wonderful. The snow falling all year round, the ice hanging from the edge of your roof, and the chilly weather feel like home to many people. However, one of the downsides to living in a cold climate is that it’s almost impossible to grow a garden outside. If you’ve moved from a warm climate to a cold climate, you may miss gardening. However, there is one thing you can do: have an indoor garden.

Doesn’t that mean having a greenhouse? Not necessarily. While it is possible to grow some herbs and other types of plants by placing the pots in your windows, that’s not going to help you grow a large garden or really provide many vegetables for your family to eat. So what can you do? If you’ve got a large enough house, you may be able to set aside one room to be your gardening grow room. For that, of course, you’ll need some special equipment.

You’ll need to install some indoor grow lights, for example. These indoor grow lights will provide all the artificial sunlight you’ll need for your plants to germinate, grow, and bear edible fruits and vegetables. If you purchase and install LED grow lights, you won’t even have to worry about the heat or the power drain because these lights are fairly cool and do not need much energy. These lights can transform any room into a virtual greenhouse without all the extra expense. They can truly let you turn any part of your home into a great indoor garden where you can grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

Using LED Christmas Lights

by admin ~ November 17th, 2009

With the holiday season upon us, many people are purchasing and putting up Christmas lights. Many people think these Christmas lights are so tiny that they don’t use up that much power or generate that much heat. That’s true if you just have a few strands of them on your tree or even some lights up on your house. However, if you have enough of these Christmas lights up around and in your house, they do actually draw a good amount of power. For that reason, if you’re planning a holiday lighting extravaganza, you should invest in LED Christmas lights.

LED lights draw much less power overall, and even though a strand of Christmas lights isn’t going to make your electric bill jump up, it is still best to do what you can to keep it low. Plus, using less power will also help the environment. LED Christmas lights can be hung inside or outside, so you can use them anywhere.

LED lights are also very bright. In fact, some of them may be brighter than traditional Christmas lights. You won’t have to worry about your light display not being seen by others. You also won’t have to worry about heat. While traditional Christmas lights don’t really put out much heat at all, they do produce some. However, LED lights don’t put out much at all—they’re virtually cool to the touch.

LED Christmas lights are available in many stores and online websites for a very low price. Most don’t cost much more than standard Christmas lights, and they only cost a fraction of the cost to operate.

Dress made from 24,000 LED’s

by admin ~ November 16th, 2009

From London based designers Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz comes pretty much the greatest dress ever made. The Galaxy Dress was created using 24,000 LED full color LED lights. It is powered by many tiny ipod batteries hidden throughout the dress. The spaces not using LEDs are covered in 4,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals.

Unfortunately, the dress has not been worn by an actual woman. It went directly from the designers to become the centerpiece at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Not sure how I am going to convince them to let my fiance wear it at our wedding.

LED Dappled Sun Tunnels to Grace World Expo 2010

by admin ~ November 11th, 2009

These gigantic canopies will stand thirteen stories above the central hub of the green themed World Expo in Shanghai. Not only will they collect rain water, but also act as giant sun collectors filtering and channeling the light to the walkways below.

The World Expo is expected to have over 70 million visitors and six of these Sun Tunnels will help moderate temperatures and weather over the central hub of the event. These magnificent structures will be crafted out of steel, plastic, and adorned with LED lights. They will truly be an amazing sight.

Photos from People’s Daily Online

An Awesome Sticky Situation for LED

by admin ~ November 2nd, 2009

Designer Keywon recently came up with a prototype for LED enhanced duct-tape. We can put a check in the box for one more of technologies true goals. Duct tape has always been among some of the greatest inventions ever, who out there knows how many life improving, or even saving, repairs have been performed by the “poor man’s chrome”. And now it looks like duct tape may be taking a step down the evolutionary path.

I look forward to seeing this in production, and hopefully in time to be my Tron costume next Halloween!

2008-12-05-sculptalight09

Using LED Grow Lights

by admin ~ October 30th, 2009

There are many advantages to using LED grow lights for your indoor grow room. These little lights might not seem like they could put out enough power to really light up the room, but they actually light up larger areas than comparable traditional bulbs. They also put out less heat and use less power, making them idea for those on a budget. There are many different options when it comes to LED grow lights. If you are lighting up a huge room, you may need large LED panels. However, if you’re only going to light up a small area, something like the Growspot may be perfect for you.

The little Growspot LED grow light is designed to give you all the light you need for an area. It’s also designed for ease of use—the Growspot can be used in any standard light socket, so there’s no need for any special mounting or wiring. It uses the same type of high intensity LED grow lights that are used in larger grow panels, so you get the same high quality lighting in a smaller package. You can use the Growspot as supplemental lighting for a larger room or, if you’re just lighting up a small indoor garden, it may be all the lighting you need. The end of the Growspot is flexible so you can aim it directly at your plants. It lights up a five foot square area and will provide lighting for 50,000 hours. You won’t have to think about replacing the Growspot for quite some time, obviously. It also uses very little power—only 15 watts.

Using LED Grow Lights to Your Benefit

by admin ~ October 30th, 2009

If you are someone who enjoys growing your garden plants indoors, then you might have found that you are having problems getting them to grow to their full potential because they are not getting the amount of sunlight that they need to thrive. You don’t have to worry because you can increase your plant’s health by relying on LED grow lights. This may sound like something out of the future, but the truth is that these powerful lights are able to provide your indoor garden with many of the nutrients that they would derive from direct sunlight, and that is important to their future health and growth.

There are many different reasons why someone might want to enjoy an indoor herb garden or other plants, but the most common reason is that you live in an apartment, but you would still like to enjoy as much home grown produce and herbs as possible. With LED grow lights you do not have to worry about this limitation, as you will be better able to manage and control your plants’ growth and stability without having to hang them out of windows or try to cluster them in groups on a small landing or patio. This way you can be sure that your plants are getting the light that they need to thrive.

Another good thing about relying on LED grow lights to enhance the growth of your indoor plants is that you do not have to worry about animals getting into your garden and destroying everything that you worked so hard to see grow. Even if you have a small outdoor area that you have set aside, you might find that birds, cats, and dogs in the neighborhood could tear up your plants and inhibit their growth. By using an indoor Growspot then you will want to make sure that you are doing everything possible to keep your plants healthy and productive for a long period of time. The other good news is that LED grow lights come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so you can be sure that you are getting the one that works best for your needs.