We Wanted to Find The BEST Growlight Anyone Can Buy at A HARDWARE STORE (What We found Shocked us!)
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- We went to our nearest hardware store and looked at all the lighting options to find the best growlight possible for the money that anyone could find. We spent over 2 hours there, and looked at hundreds of possibilities. But what we found at the end shocked us all.
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For those curious:
Minimum lumens - 2000 lumens @ 6-8” above the plant. The more lumens the better.
Minimum kelvin - 5000k ideal 6500k
Any bulbs recommend for ceiling fan type units. I’ve been using grow lights in basically all of mine for my indoor plants but they do get expensive because they don’t seem to last long. Thanks in advance :D
Ideally, you should also take into account "lumens per square foot". If you hit over 5000 lumens per sq ft, preferably upwards of 7000 per sq ft, then you can actually grow plants to maturity. If you have less than that, it's much harder to get the plant to produce fruit.
Just need clarification if possible, if I have a 6 tube light fixture with 2000 lumen lights would that be like 10,000-12,000 lumen total in a 2foot by 4foot area? TIA
It’s not about lumens, lumens are for humans. Plants do not have eyes. If you’re really wanting to FIGURE OUT proper lighting you’ll need to figure out the PAR/PPFD etc.
I’m not saying you’re wrong but it’s kind of misleading.
Thanks for the great information. Have always been confused about lumens.
Great video idea. This is why you are a leader in the GardenTube community. Instead of selling an expensive product you showed everyone what to look for at a hardware store.
I completely agree!!
Ditto!
Thank you!
I really appreciate his knowledge and he is not just trying to sell us something. It’s so genuine and refreshing.
I've been using Walmart LED 4' shop lights, and they've been doing a great job for seed starting. My units were 5000 lumens at 5000k, and they cost about $20.00.
The current Hyper Tough units are 5500 lumens, cost about $18.00, and up to 4 units can be linked together.
I am a biocultivation expert long time used everything
I'll back this one, harbor freight sells basically the same thing and they all work just fine. Why pay $100+ for something you don't really need.
when it comes to local store lights, hyper though shop lights are hard to beat. especially the newer ones with clear covers, not frosted ones. everything mentioned in this video is so expensive that it doesn't make sense to purchase anything like these when you can get a $60-70 100w LED grow light with 3000K-5000K and 660nm LED chips on it and get much brighter output with full light spectrum coverage, dimming capabilities, uniform light coverage and proper hanging options.
I’ve used these as well
yep, that's what I have too. works great
Super helpful. I was clueless, & although my eyes crossed about halfway through the video, I HAVE saved this video to have with me when I go shopping. Thanks much!
Glad it helped!
Last year I bought a set of 6 2 foot LED shop lights from Amazon. 2500 lumens per 2 foot light and 6500k. The lights can be plugged in individually or can be daisy chained together. I used 3 of the lights over my 18x24" grow area and my hot pepper plants grew like crazy. The entire set of 6 lights was less than $60
Could you post a link? ❤
Regular fluorescent shop lights have 3 sizes of width. Widest are T-12, then T-8 were next, and T-5 are the most efficient.
Now they're available in LED, like the 2ft fixtures mentioned above. 4ft fixtures are around 50% more expensive (but not double the price).
I'd search for a 2ft/4ft T-5, LED shop light. Some may only have the T-8 LED shop light. They last 10-20X longer than fluorescents, though, and stay bright.
Amazon has different kinds, brands, sellers. Once you find a description of this, check reviews, and there should be many to compare, especially.
Those LED "Shop lights" mentioned above, are the perfect example! Look around, and you'll find how they represent different deals. Same product!👍💯✌️
Luke, you get this OLD man soooo excited about all this growing plants. Just watched about the grow lights. Can't wait to get to feeling better so I can go and get some new bulbs .You sure make people feel good my friend. Please never change, and may the Lord bless you and your family my young friend.
I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE THAT CLEARLY AND SIMPLY CLARIFIED ALL MY QUESTIONS ABOUT GROW LIGHTS WITHOUT GETTING ME MORE CONFUSED ! YOU REALLY ARE AWESOME !
I use shop lights from Walmart, they are $15 - $20 each. I know my tomatoes had no problem blooming and fruiting with them. I use them for seed starting and for my houseplants, especially those that want a lot of light.
Great explanation, Luke. Another fact to remember is that light intensity is a function of the square of the distance from the light, which means moving light closer or further makes a hugh difference.
Absolutely!
I use a lot of cheap fluorescent tubes and keep them about 1 inch from my seedlings. Further than that becomes taxing on the seedlings.
My question is how are the lumens of bulbs rated, as a function of distance from the light? E.g. a light that is rated at "1000 Lumens", at what distance from the light is that rating? An inch from the light and then decreasing down from 1000 as you go? Or, 1000 Lumens at 5 feet from the light? In other words, if I buy a 800 Lumens bulb, and put it right at the level of the plants, are they getting the advertised 800 lumens, or more? And if I put the plants 6 inches away from the bulb, are the lumens less at that distance? Where is the "lumens" measured from, in distance from the bulb?
We’re in Michigan. Marijuana is legal. I had a friend of my sons give me a huge grow light that he was no longer using, holy crow! My seedlings did so good last spring, I had to up-pot 4 times before I could plant in the ground! They were just like the ones you showed at the end.
How much electricity did they use?
@@classicrocklover5615 not much at all, didn’t really notice much of a difference!
Bought a 4ft shop light with included 5000k dual strip bulbs last year $15 for 2pk for the whole shebang. Got 2. Should have bought more. My seedlings took off amazingly.
I just recently ordered from Amazon 2pk shop lights with bulbs included ( LED) FOR $29.99 42w x 4400 lumens at 5000k daylight I sure hope they work since I ordered 6
@@tammyroyal8467did they work? What is the exact name of lights?
Everyone is posting videos on things right when I need them this year!! This helped me review the light I picked out to buy and I did a good job! Appreciate your willingness to educate us!
I use Barrina shop lights from Amazon. 6500K and 2200lm. 6 four foot lights for $50.
I’ve purchased most of my grow lights from Home Depot until last season. They didn’t have what I wanted in stock and my tomato seedlings germinated in four days last year. I had to buy something quick off Amazon because I doubled my growing space. Hopefully HD will do better with stocking their shelves. I would definitely buy now and not wait until January to get your lights.
Thanks!! This gave me the information I was looking for. Last year I started seedlings in the house. No extra light just sun. Leggy was an understatement. I had to toss all of them. I won’t make that mistake again. Blessing to you and yours!!
Excellent video. I am well versed in grow lights. This explanation is one of the best I have come across in such a "compact" format. I'm loving the 2nd to the last option even though I already have an entire set up!
Awesome, thank you!
@@MIgardener look up Bruce Bugbee. He's a professor with a lot of research and a couple videos on the light spectrum and growing. Blue light helps keep the plant compact but red (the opposite of blue on the visible spectrum) is actually more much more efficient for photosynthesis. So, Samsung Evo leds are about 5000 kelvin for a reason, and then the grow light manufacturers add some 660nm red leds (from OSRAM etc) for efficiency bringing it down to more like 3000k.
Thank you! This made lighting so much less confusing and much more accessible! Saving the video to reference when I’m buying lights!!
I'm in Menards right now watching this again to see what I need to get. Thanks
Videos like this help beginners like I know what to look for, and it's down to earth simply put. Love it thanks so much 🙏.
I have been growing a Tomato plant inside since The End of October and it is over 30 inches tall and is fruiting.
It’s important to remember that fluorescent lights degrade over time, becoming dimmer. The more often you turn them on and off, the faster they degrade.
I start most plants inside in basement using 4 shelf open metal system. I can adjust each light. I also encircle the shelf system with thin Mylar fabric (lg pieces). I use metal clips to hold it on metal so I have no problem lifting sheets to water plants, etc. since my basement is in 50s and low 60s the Mylar really increases the warmth around plants.
That's genius! Thanks for sharing that idea.
I had a lot of success starting seedlings in tupperware containers with LED striplights attached to the lids.
The lights are less than 2 inches above the soil, so despite being very small and weak lights individually, it worked well. The plants can even touch the light without burning.
Genius!
Thanks you for putting this in laymen's terms. I've watched so many vids and your is by far the best. Again thank you.
I have a very strong, healthy indoor garden. The plants have strong sturdy stalks and dense foliage. My tomatoes plants have bunches of tomatoes that are ripening nicely. I'm starting my second planting on leafy vegetables. I'm transplanting my snow peas and pink celery into the quart sized Ziplock bags. My Wherokowhai Tomato plants are looking great, but they are a lot bigger than I expected. I will be transferring them and my dinosaur kale to the gallon sized Ziplock bags soon. This is my first year growing Wherokowhai Tomatoes, so I wasn't expecting them to be 2-3' tall. All together I have about 20 varieties of vegetables growing on wire shelf units. My biggest problem is they keep outgrowing the space I have available. Fortunately, since I use LED grow lights the plants can grow to touch the bulbs with very little problems. I have the shop type LED fixtures suspended from chains and I try to keep the light less than 4" from the top of the plant. My garden space is about 8x8'.
What is the name of light and wherw did you buy it?
oh yeah. Definitely helped. I love that you were right there in the store. Thanks,
This is the most helpful video I've seen in a long time. Thank you. I've spent hours at Walmart not getting this right.
Wow! Thank you so much for clarifying so many things 🥰
Your vid from last year about surrounding your grow area with white reflectors changed my plant starting life!
Oh this is fantastic help! I've always been intimidated and confused by grow light options. Im in a small apartment in the city and patio gets no sunlight. Only downside I see with the high bay lights are it could become a cat swingset 😂 as my kitties are just so curious if they could make a perching spot from anything lol! But the smaller low bay one I could maybe do something with that. My cats like nibbling leaves so Id have to have a shield or something to protect the plants and make sure i dont grow anything that would hurt them just in case they got into it! For now community garden is good option.
Thanks for the lesson Kelvins and Lumens. And the final best choices. Now I just have to find a convenient location for them!
Hi Luke, I've always used 2 shop lights and keep them about 1 inch off the plants and the tomatoes are gorgeous.
I bought the $100 GE option last year that you showed at the end of the video. I also bought a small timer for it. I started from seed: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plants, squash, zucchini, wildflowers, and sunflowers and they all did great. Once it warmed up and after last frost, i planted them into my in-ground garden and my raised beds and everything did wonderful. I did harden them off to natural sunlight over about a 2 week period before planting them. I had the best garden around last year! I also had a nice compost pile that i added into gardens that im sure helped as well! I decided on that light after watching your old light videos MIGardener! Thank you for the info and trying to help people out instead of just trying to sell us something!
What is the timer for?
Did you remove the opaque screen on each fixture so the LED is not filtered through it? I also purchased this light and wondered if I should remove them so the LED is not filtered.
@@wvhunter1i always remove the diffusers
I bought the 10-pack Barrina shoplights, 5000LM, 5000K, for like $19.99 on Amazon 2 years ago. Then a month later when I tried recommending them they were like $160. I just checked and they're on sale for $107. I wonder why the price hiked so much a month after getting them. 🥴
honestly the 10-pack was likely an error. I've never seen these things for less than $18 each.
I like the last light that is round. I have been looking for a light for my very young fig plants. Thanks for the information.
Thank you! Could you also talk about distance from plants and if there’s a method to on/off time and anything else to consider in set up?
Great suggestion!
Distance from your plants depends on lumens they put out. Best to develop a feel for it based on your setup. If you plants are leggy, too far. If leaves are curling up or very short, you might want to lift them higher. I have pretty high output Spider Farmer LED lights that I keep about 20 inches above my indoor tomato and pepper plants. This seems to be about idea for me. I also have a small low wattage LED grow light that I keep about 8 inches above seedlings.
I'm set with growlights, but have friends that are getting started and wanted to know what lights to get from the store. Thanks a bunch for doing this. Now I can just point them here, and you can get new viewers. 😉
One thing to keep in mind when discussing lumens and comparing different bulbs. A T8 bulb with 2600 lumens that's 3 ft long will give less light per foot than a PAR30 bulb at, for example, 1400 lumens. The amount of light per square foot area is often not considered.
I love watching your videos! Thank you Luke.
Harbor Freight has had 4 foot single tube/string LED lamps, 5500 lumens Shop Light for a few years. Each lamp has a pull chain switch and chain and hooks to hang them. They now have linkable lamps- eg. plug one lamp unto another for continuous power to all lamps. They have a sale on them 3-4 times a year. A few years ago, they were $26.99 (non linkable) sale around $16.99. Now the linkable ones are $22.99, sale $16.99.
I built a frame to hold 4 lamps out of aluminum U-channel. the assembly is 4' wide and 2' deep, and I can raise & lower them as needed. I have fixed led lamps 2-1/2 feet above the table for seed starting. The table is just under 8', so can't have 2 sets of adjustable lamps. I held my eyeglasses under one lamp, 12" and 6". In 10-15 sec they started to darken, so they have some UV output.
This is how I control my fan and lamps.
I tried to send a picture. didn't work.
I have 3 switches in one box that do everything.
on on on
off auto off
Originally, the fan was 'auto' (timer) & 'off''.
Then I realized the wind doesn't go away when the sun goes down, so I changed It to 'on/off'. Just moved 1 wire from the timer switch to the light switch.
In that section with the installation lights they sometimes sell a couple grow lights. I use one of those along with the bell shaped fixture you can use to adjust and direct the light
It is nice to have a guide like this because there are so many terms and marketing quirks to lighting
GREAT video!! That reference to solar panels makes perfect sense.
This was very useful & timely as I'm doing layouts of an aquaponics system in my basement and as a part of the setup will be garden walls that'll be rather close together, your descriptions gave me better ideas in lighting that'll fit that setup.
Wonderful video would love to see more like this for the small guy
This is helpful information. I some things growing indoors right now but plan on starting more plants soon. Thank you for the information!
This was a very useful video!
Having the criteria spelled out simply makes evaluation lamps for this"off-label" use very doable for anyone.
Thank you for explaining all this. Very helpful!
This is great information, important for people to understand!
Good stuff. Never heard it explained so clearly. Thanks
Super nice! Thank you for taking the time. Now I have to watch it ten times to absorb all that information :-)
Thanks so much for the information, it was very helpful to me
This video was SUPER helpful. Thank you.
What a great resource! I will be watching again!
Brilliant piece of educational content! Thank you. I think I will use it in my physical science classes when we study light waves. Maybe we can even turn it into an experiment to grow spinach and donate it to our school”s food pantry.
Very well done explanation of K and Lumens. In September of 2020 when I decided to get back into vegetable gardening and starting plants indoor I found that using clamp lights on a shelving unit with A19 Light Bulbs Efficient 14W, 1500 Lumens, 5000K worked well for me. I had a total of four to get my plants going and was satisfied with the results versus cost of equipment.
could you put up a video please. i just like to see your plants and setup. how good they are growing.
Hey guys. Not growing much indoors this winter, can't afford the lights. I am growing some lettuce, and a couple herbs starts. That's about it. Yo
I use the GE full spectrum lights, been using for fish tanks since 2020, they have a 50 par flood light, a 2 ft led with 73 par, and a 4 foot with 52 par. Ranging from 45$ to 75$.
back in early 2022 the 2ft ones went on sale for crazy cheap, and I got like 6 of them for 30$ each.
Never even thought about those fish tank lights. Thanks...
Was just thinking about if I’m going to attempt to buy grow lights or not to start seeds this year. Thanks for his video in advance MiG
This was super helpful. Thank you so much for being very detailed. Because didn't know anything about lumens or Kelvin. So this was great!!!
Been growing all of my plant starts with 6 T8 bulb Troffers. Two stations 4x8 6 troffers on each station. 2 to 3 thousand seedlings they work great!
I used the Walmart Hyper Tough 4' LED 5000 lumens shop lights for my indoor grow station last spring. The shop light has 2 LED strips and is very bright. The box should state daylight so you know the kelvin rating is high. I hung 2 lights on 2 shelves. My seedlings grew very well under the shop lights. A couple of my 4 week old tomato plants even produced fruit before transplanting them. I was totally impressed and glad I bought them.
Fantastic! This is just what I needed. Thanks!
This is a fantastic video- thank you! ❤❤❤
Thanks for taking all the confusion of grow lights!
Happy to help!
Happy Leaf LED Grow Lights. Best grow lights I have ever used, and I have used a lot, even these hardware store lights. Guaranteed 5-year replacement warranty.
I love the little 20 watt 20 buck full spectrum grow lights. Works great on my clones
The exact video I need. Thank you for all the information 👍🌱☀️
Guys, if you are going to spend $70+ on one light, check out mars hydro, spider farmer, viparspectra. You can get a light strong enough to grow from seed to fruit/flower
Long time watcher and fan of the channel, I just want to say it’s a great video but my disappointment is over the use of the word lumens. Plants do not utilize lumens, they utilize PAR/PPFD, etc. lumens are for humans. That said I’m not saying you can’t use any old household lights to grow plants but when people buy a high rated lumen light it may be garbage PAR. Just wanted to add that disclaimer. Also if your lights have a diffuser take them off so you get unfiltered lighting which your plants will thank you for. If you look at any well made grow lights they don’t have diffusers. I’m not a pro lighting guy but I’ve done a lot of research and have been doing this for almost 5 years. It helps to have a PAR meter like myself. Good luck and happy growing. Thank you Luke for the video, and sorry if this comment comes off as negative that’s not my intention. I love horticulture and I have my grandma to thank for getting me into it and I love learning. I hope my comment helps and maybe you’ll look into PAR/PPFD
A great reference is Dr. Bruce Bugbee of Apogee instruments.
It's very disappointing to see someone familiar with gardening (channel creator, not you) passing off such horrible information about grow lights in 2023. There's so many resources he could have used to educate himself before posting this 20-year-old information.
Tremendous video... have always wondered what is so special about grow lights! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Used all this knowledge for marijuana. Thanks man!
Do a series on indoor growing this winter please
What would help with all these lights is if you took par readings at the top of your plants. Depending on what your growing would be how high you need to have the light above the plant. Don't for get the par or ppfd.
Neat little video, fun info for the home gardener.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thankyou and Merry Christmas!!!!!!
I like HLG lights for growing… things. Expensive, but well made and the Rspec series is a game changer.
This is the way.
Best Grow Light video I have seen. Great Job!
Thank you! This was very informative!
I’m trying to overwinter my lime and lemon trees! So I’m paying attention to this! I’m in SE Michigan zone 6a/b.
Super helpful. Thanks.
Fantastic! Thank you so much!
Super helpful! Now, shopping will be more fun, thrifty and efficient!
Excellent information. Haven't seen anything like this anywhere. Thanks for doing it.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
I have the AC Infinity Evo8 grow light. Incredible light.
Amazon purchases. 1000w led grow light Veg, Gro or both $38, Seed starter tray 40 cell with vented cover and heated mat $24, Coco seed starting soil 4 Qt dry $13. Trying it out on Spinich, Lettuce, Arugula and Kale first.
I am getting so much conflicting info. on lights. I just watched a CZcams video where the LED specialist said that only high-end grow lights are worth it. Buying cheap grow lights online and ignoring the colors specifications will only hurt you in the end. Now I’m seeing that shop lights is a great way to save money.
For starting my plants, I use 4-foot shop lights, and hang a slivered plastic-fabric insulating sheet (found at Home Depot) over home-made pvc pipe rack to hold heat and light.
I just got back from Home Depot in Madison and I was surprised to see a section devoted to LED Grow lights. They had a dozen or more options for grow lights. I am not a fan of LED's, I'm old school and prefer T5 HO's, but I helped my Father pick out a Feit brand 48" LED with 5,700 lumens at 6700k and 54 watts. It was priced at $70 and it came with a jumper wire to connect up to 4 of them together.
Great information. Thank you!
Yes, 10 varieties of tomatoes, onions, spinach, several flower seeds all started last week. The light looks ridiculous in my office but oh well. Have other seeds in line for their turn on the heat mats and under the lights.
Outstanding video!! Totally needed this info!
A few decades ago I built a 2x4 ft plant stand that was also 4ft high. It had 3 shelves and I could move the middle one up and down. I used two bundles of 1x3 strapping which was dirt cheat then. I used a pair of 4ft shop lights (per shelf)with cool white florescent tubes so I got a boat load of lumins and reasonable efficiency. I ran them off a lamp timer so they got 16hrs of on time a day.
A couple of years ago I replaced the florescent tubes with cool white LED tubes which was even more efficient. I think I paid $10 per 4ft tube.
thanks for making this easy to understand
Thank you! Perfect grow light advice. Now I know to look for 6500k first and then as high Lumens as I can get (and Lumens can be added together to increase the total Lumen output).
Really good information. Thanks.
Great to know..
Thanks
In a 4x4 silver lined indoor basement tent in SW Michigan I grow cherry tomatoes, peppers, Bok Choy, spinach, radishes and onions. It was once a setup for growing maritomatoes, but these days it's strictly vegetables. Been successfully doing this for years now.
My suggestions for someone willing to put a few hundred dollars into a reasonable indoor grow system like mine:
1. Get a grow tent with ventilation out of your house, full spectrum grow light (Amazon), hygrometer (Amazon) and timer.
2. For soil I use Happy Frog or Ocean Forest. This will give you a great start no need to fertilize for a couple months.
3. Expect fungus gnats. Work a tablespoon or so of Mosquito bits (Bacteria BTi) into the top of soil and it'll kill off the larvae.
4. If temperatures are getting too cool, get a couple black 5 gallon closed buckets and fill with water. They can absorb some of the heat during the day and help keep the tent warmer at night.
I've used ocean forest for about 2 years. I dried out all my soil for 2 weeks in a tub(every 3 days mix it) and that solved me fungus gnat problem. Great product but every bag I got has been infested until I dried it out first
Michichgander here. I get the cheapest hanging flourescent lights from Menards. Cheap. Works. I hang from shelves or even form under the bottomof a bench.
Awesome video!
How about showing a How To on propagating plants in our garden for next year's seedlings.
I'm currently keeping Amish & Cherry tomatoes suckers alive, from plants i grew from your organic seeds last May in my garden. Some have actually produced fruit when the roots got b so massive, I fed them hydroponics solution!!
Really good video. Thank you.
There is all kinds of information on grow lights, the purple LED grow lights from overseas are a waste of money as plants do not like them.. The beam angle makes LED a directional lamp, the fluorescent tubes emit light in all directions and most of the lumens are lost.. My research indicates 6500K for veg stage and 2900K for flowering, everything else the plants cannot use.. I still run T-12 shop lights and drape foil off the sides as a reflector to keep the light on my plants as much as possible. The LED grow lights I purchased in the past resulted in disappointment, nothing was big enough to put out after three months. *A cheap moisture/PH meter has a setting for light intensity to measure your grow station vs outdoors in the shade.
Very helpfu video. Thank you.