Calling all photons…

LED grow lights

What do the majority of grow mediums you find at your local gardening supply store have in common?  They are formulated to retain water lost to a radiant light source such as the sun or HID lighting.  Over the years we have developed mixtures that have amazing properties of water retention that have become staples in many indoor gardens.  In walks LED grow lights without the radiant heat.  The absence of heat slows evaporation which makes it ever more important to look out for overwatering.  Choosing the right grow medium goes a long way towards avoiding related problems.

The parameters changed for the LED gardener.  What now becomes the priority when choosing your grow medium is porosity and the ability to hold oxygen for your root zone.  This concept goes hand and hand with overwatering.  Plants take in oxygen through their roots, it the soil is constantly saturated, they cannot do this.

A grow medium is anything that a plant will grow in and most plants will grow in whatever you plant them in.  For optimal growth under LED grow lights, you want to avoid some common mediums such as sphagnum moss, peat pellets, and rockwool or any medium that advertises water retention as a feature.  Freshwater Diatomaceous earth is an excellent medium for LEDs.  Simply mixing in some gravel, or perlite to your existing medium will show improvements.  There is room for a bit of creativity in the mix.  My personal best crop yet was planted in “Turface” which can be gathered at your local baseball field.  The key is to give your root zone some room to breathe.    AL   http://www.led-grow-master.com