There are always people who are all fore using artificial lighting such as fluorescent T5 lights to help plants grow better especially in winter months when there is less natural light. And then there are people who absolutely oppose the idea of using artificial lighting because it is not natural. So I decided to dedicate an article to this debate and to express my opinion on this matter.
First of let me say that I don’t in any way judge the people who think that artificial lighting is unnecessary and unnatural, because to a certain point they are right. If you don’t intend to grow plants in winter and dedicate only spring, summer and autumn to your gardening hobby then you have no need for lights such as T5 lights. And you can absolutely sustain yourself even from gardening only about 8, 9 or so months a year. But that being said I also think that artificial lighting gives us an amazing option to keep gardening even in the dead of winter and enjoy the yield of our plants all year around.
Natural light or sunlight have its advantages of course. It is in the perfect color spectrum for plants that is very hard to replicate in grow lights so by growing your plants using sunlight you can be absolutely sure your plant get the light they respond to the best. And you also cannot forget that sunlight doesn’t cost any money, because it doesn’t consume electricity like grow lights do. But in my opinion grow lights offer more advantages and their energy consumptions aren’t that big anyway.
Artificial lights or simply grow lights lets us not only grow plants no matter what the weather conditions or seasons outside our windows are, but they let us also control the light cycle, light intensity and the color of the light that the plants are getting. Grow lights basically allow us everything the nature does naturally just on our own terms and in our own rhythm. You can change the light cycle to 24 hours of light or to 12 hours of light, which will each benefit the plants in a different way and you can put in either 6,500 Kelvin bulbs or 3,000 Kelvin bulbs to promote plant growth or flowering. Basically any artificial lights but especially T5 grow light allow you to manipulate you plants grow cycle and tailor them to your liking.
Another great thing about grow lights is that you can actually choose the time when you grow your plants. For example if you are planning to spend half the summer traveling or just relaxing you absolutely don’t want to think about your plants and that they need to be cared for. But with T5 lights you can start to grow them in autumn of winter, so that by summer they are finished growing and you can enjoy their yield or beautiful flowers.
I think there isn’t one right answer if you ask which light is better, because for different people different lights seem better and more efficient. I think that the best way is to combine the two light and let you plants grow in the sunlight but also help them with light from grow lights when the natural light isn’t as intense anymore. This way you not only get the best of both worlds, but you also get the best money payoff as well as best rasults.
