The Best Grow Light Shelves for Indoor plants

Light is one of those things that we all take for granted—that is, unless you live in the arctic circle or somewhere like that! However, once you get into gardening, specifically indoor hydroponics, you realize how valuable light truly is.

Knowing light requirements is critical for your plants.  Nothing can grow in complete darkness. Of course, mushrooms and fungi are exceptions, but light is required for any plant with leafy green chlorophyll coursing through its leaves. If you do not effectively plan your grow light system, your power bills will keep rising.

Therefore, if you wish to be a successful gardener, you must understand plant light requirements. So, let’s get started! 

Although every plant has a natural growth cycle, light fixtures have a direct influence on the vegetative and flowering stages of growth. Flowers wouldn’t bloom, vegetable gardens wouldn’t produce, and we wouldn’t have any green plant life if there was no light. 

Light provides food and energy to plants and allows everything to flourish. It is a necessary component of all life on Earth. You can read more about the Light Guide for Indoor Gardening here.

What Effect Does Light Have on Plant Growth?

Light has a direct impact on plant growth and flowering by promoting photosynthesis and providing energy to plants. Plants need light to make food, start the growing cycle, and grow and develop healthily. Most indoor plants would not be able to grow or reproduce without light, whether it be natural or artificial.

1. Growth in the Right Direction

A plant’s survival is entirely dependent on the light source. When the plant’s first leaves appear, they will try to grow towards the light fixtures to ensure that the leaves receive the most light for photosynthesis.

When light shines on a specific area of the stem, it stimulates the secretion of growth hormones known as auxins. These auxins cause the stem cells to elongate, causing the stem to grow toward the light. These shifts take place repeatedly throughout a plant’s lifetime.

The right amount of light affects how plants make food, how long their stems are, what color their leaves are, and when they flower. Most of the time, indoor plants that grow in low light are thin and have light green leaves. When grown in very bright light, a similar plant tends to be shorter, have better branches, and have bigger, dark leafy greens.

2. Seasonal Influences

When it comes to outdoor plants, If there is one disadvantage to natural sunlight, it is that it does not remain constant throughout the year. The duration and light intensity of natural sunlight received vary with the growing season. Plants, too, have adapted to the changing seasons. In the summer and spring, when light is abundant, most plants concentrate on growth, flower blooming, and fruit-bearing.

When the light intensity and duration of light decrease as winter approaches, plants focus more on conserving energy and reducing growth. Photosynthesis slows in the fall, and leaves begin to lose chlorophyll. This is why leaves in autumn turn brown, yellow, or red.

The Most Important Advantages of Grow Light Shelves

Veggies, flowers and other different plants can be grown indoors on growing shelves with lights. They come in different sizes and shapes, but most of them have three levels where the plant pots can sit. Grow lamps, plant light systems, and “vertical gardening” are all names for shelves with lights that can be used to grow plants.

Setting up a grow light plant shelf in your apartment can help you in many ways:

• Plants can be grown without natural sunlight. You can grow indoor plants in dark corners, areas, or rooms without any natural light. You can use other lights such as red light, white light, blue light and fluorescent bulbs. 
• You can use the grow light plant shelf to add to natural light or use it instead of natural light to grow small plants.
• You can save room in your apartment by putting a lot of indoor plants in small spaces.
• A good artificial light fixtures system will help your indoor plants grow stronger and better.
• You can make your home look better as a whole. In addition to giving your indoor plants the light they need and making them happy, grow lights and shelves are made to fit into modern spaces and can add to the design of your room.

What to look for when buying Grow Lights Shelves for Indoor plants

When looking to buy a grow shelf for your growing indoor houseplants, you will need to decide on a few things:

1. First, you should decide if you want your indoor plants on open shelves or in closed cabinets. If you need to keep your indoor plants away from pets or children, or if you want to maintain a certain level of humidity, closed plant cabinets are more convenient. But if you use humidifiers in closed cabinets, make sure the cabinets are made of metal or glass, not wood, because wood would get damaged quickly. Open shelves usually look better than closed cabinets. Also, open shelves are great because they let more air flow around plants, which isn’t the case with closed cabinets.

2. Secondly, pay attention to how far apart the shelves are. It’s best if both open shelves and closed cabinets have shelves with adjustable height that can be changed. So, you can have one grow shelf that is taller for indoor plants that are a little taller, and some shelves that are shorter for small indoor plants. As your plants grow, you can raise the grow shelf to make room for them. If the shelves are fixed, you might not be able to fit as many plants as you’d like.

3. Make sure that whatever you think is the best value for you, whether it’s open shelves or a cabinet, it’s made of strong materials. Most shelves are made of wood, metal, or glass, but wire shelving unit is the least expensive.

How to Choose a Grow Light for a Plant Shelf

When looking for a good grow light setup, you’ll want something simple and almost invisible so it doesn’t mess up the look of your home. When it comes to the light itself natural full spectrum lights look the best. They are the most like natural light fixtures and help plants grow the best.

The best choice would be Multi-Purpose LED Grow Lights From ORHFS, read more about it here. This led grow light panel is made up of two separate light panels that are joined together to make a rectangle or square foot.

Check out The Light Guide for Indoor Gardening if you want to find a different kind of artificial light. Just type in the name of a plant, and a list of best grow lights will come up. You can also search by the main types of grow lights or by other criteria.

Best Led Grow Lights Shelves for Indoor plants

1. LED Grow Light Kit with Wood Finish

• It is ideal for herb seeds cultivation
• The light resembles natural sunlight

This compact stand with an integrated LED light and timer can be a stylish addition to any room in need of some greenery. It also has an automatic timer that can be set to run for eight or sixteen hours of use. It’s simple enough for one person to set up and take apart. It’s a good idea for small indoor plants or herb gardens.

2. 4-Tier Metal Plant Stand

A structure designed with geometric mechanics and artistic aesthetics provides dependable stability and super load-bearing. The space between the plant trays is large enough to allow each tier enough room to grow and receive enough warm light. Each tier of this four-tiered metal plant stand is made of thickened PP plastic plant trays. The flower pots stand display is made of a thickened and upgraded metal tube. It can be easily assembled and disassembled by one person. 

3. 2-Tier led grow light garden

This super-bright grow lights are unrivaled for indoor gardeners. There are three balanced light spectrum in each fixture, so your indoor plants, even delicate ones like orchids, will develop quickly, healthily, and robustly. These LED strips were designed to specifically meet the needs of a variety of plants. They provide full spectrum lights with a boost of blue light fixtures to stimulate stronger root growth and improve photosynthesis. Long-lasting LED tubes will not shatter like glass light bulbs and are mercury-free, unlike fluorescent tubes.

4. Wall Growlight frame shelves

This grow shelf can be used in conjunction with an app for light settings and timers.

It includes a power plug.

This picture frame plant light can be used indoors or outdoors, and the best option  for the design is that the light fixtures and timer are hidden. Because the frame holds a few small pots, it’s ideal for newly acquired indoor plants when a collector is running out of space near south-facing windows.

5. Compact Table Top, Self-Watering Garden Kit with LED Grow Lights for Indoor Use

This Table Top small grow light is perfect for growing Microgreens, Wheatgrass, Seedlings, Herbs, Lettuces, and any other variety of plants that could benefit from a little extra natural sunlight.

And, to make your life easier, self-watering!

Your plants are watered for up to 14 days by the capillary matting, which wicks water from the reservoir below. It includes four reusable plant trays and is compatible with any of the tabletop greenhouses or microgreen trays. It is simple to set up in less than 30 minutes.

6. Plant Grow Shelf, 3-Tier Ladder Hanging Plant Stand

It is a steel-wood structure that displays large potted indoor plants. It can be used in corridors, inside, outdoors, bedrooms, living room, balconies, courtyards, gardens, front porches, offices, and stores.

The Most Convenient Way to Install Your Grow Light Shelf

You can purchase a grow shelf that already has a grow light installed, or you can build your own. Here, we’ll show you how simple it is to convert a regular grow shelf into a grow light shelf.

To assemble this grow shelf system, you can simply repurpose any grow shelf you have at home by following these simple steps:

1. Connect the supplemental lighting. Both panels should always be connected. If you use a single bulb panel, the light may be damaged due to the higher current.
2. Attach the light to the grow shelf with a clip. The artificial light comes with a different installation method, screws. But if you don’t want to drill the shelf, you can use clips.
3. Clip the light to the wall on both sides.
4. Connect the light.
5. Turn on all of the lights, and there you have it!

You can also add an undershelf storage basket for very small full-sun indoor plants to keep them closer to the light.

Always place a LED grow light directly above the plants when positioning it. The light is most intense directly beneath the artificial light. The light weakens as you approach the edges. Plants that require a lot of light should be kept directly beneath the light, while plants that require less light should be kept on the shelf edges.

You can use your grow light plant grow shelf to supplement natural type of light or to grow indoor plants (and edibles) entirely under artificial lights, with no natural type of light at all. If you do the latter, make sure to increase the photoperiod (the amount of time the lights are turned on) and possibly even reduce the distance between the light and the plants for some of the indoor plants that require bright light.

How To Get The Most From Your Indoor Grow Light System

1. Install Multiple LEDs

Most LEDs have a tailored beam angle, making them ideal for spotlighting certain larger areas of your growth. Still, expanding your grow’s surface area by the right amount of LED lights will ensure an even light distribution.

2. Keep Track of Your Watering

Overwatering is a common problem for horticulturalists who are transitioning from HPS or HID fixtures to LEDs. The reason is simple: when you use an HID lamp, you add more water to make up for the high output of heat and infrared (IR) light that these bright lights produce. Without caution, you run the risk of dehydrating your plants and soil.

3. Monitor Your Heat

Regarding much heat, growers who use HIDs frequently use the high heat these lamps produce to regulate the ambient temperature of their living space. When using LED grow lights, you must be careful not to have an ambient color temperature that is too low, as this can harm your plant.

The simplest fix is to increase the temperature in your greenhouse. While this may increase your electricity consumption for heating, the less energy efficiency from led strips should be sufficient to generate positive net savings.

4. Make sure your mounting hardware height is right

Since LED grow lights operate better than other main types of grow lighting, how high (or low) you mount your right grow lights has a significant impact on how much yield and how well-made your products are.

Even though figuring out the best adjustable height to mount your LEDs can be hard because you have to think about things like the number of incandescent bulbs and the amount of natural sunlight, a good rule of thumb is to make sure your LED grow lights give off a wide and even spread full spectrum of light.

Conclusion

Growing your own variety of plants indoors is a wonderful way to avoid the risks associated with outdoor gardening. Proper ventilation, consistent temperature levels between day and night, and enough light for photosynthesis reactions that create food from minerals, water, and air all contribute to the success of these indoor gardens. 

Grow lights are necessary for indoor gardens because they provide the light that plants require to grow. I hope you now have all of the information you need to set up the right grow lights system for your indoor plants and enjoy them regardless of how much light you have in your home.