When plants stretch or grow toward the sun, also known as tropism, they are reaching for more blue light. When sun-loving plants grow in too much shade, their growth slows down and their internode length elongates.

The plants stretch to avoid the shade so they can compete with surrounding plants and reach more light.

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I converted an unused closet into a small grow room for young vegetative transplants, leafy herbs, houseplants, and out of bloom orchids. The 250-watt CFL works well in this small space to maintain these types of plants.

I don’t grow heavy-flowering or fruiting plants, such as tomatoes or squash, to fruiting maturity using CFLs, but I often use a 250-watt CFL for growing plants in a vegetative stage, as well as for young tomato or pepper transplants, leafy greens, leafy herbs, foliage house plants, and maintaining orchids and other tropicals when out of bloom.

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Some plants, such as salvias, are very easy to propagate from stem cuttings. Keep in mind, the overall health and nutrient levels of the mother plant will have a big impact on the success of your cuttings. Be sure to start with a vigorous, healthy mother plant that has characteristics you want to replicate.

Cuttings tend to root better and take off faster if the mother plant has high levels of carbohydrates and less nitrogen. Stop fertilizing your mother plant with nitrogen about a week before you take cuttings.

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Grouping your indoor edibles by temperature preferences is important - especially if you're growing inside grow tents. Remember that cool-season crops, such as lettuce, greens, dill, and peas, may not withstand the heat build-up inside an enclosed grow space or grow tent unless it is artificially cooled.

Your heat-loving plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and cannabis, can handle tighter spaces with warmer HID lighting.

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Grow lighting can be used for large set ups or for individual houseplants. If you need lighting for single plants in your home or office, simply use a mobile, easy to install spotlight LED.

There are many types of spotlight LED grow lights. Full spectrum lights will emit a white colored light. Dual band, or mixed band, LEDs typically emit a pink-colored light.

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Don’t overdo it when selecting the size of your new container. Replant a 2-inch seedling plug or cutting into a 4-inch diameter pot. If you plant a very small seedling in a much bigger container, it may drown in too much water held by larger soil volume or it could dry out as water moves away from the root ball to the edges of the container.

Always choose growing containers that have drainage holes in the bottom, or porous fabric grow pots that allow water and air to permeate.

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Fluorescent fixtures are relatively small, and you can mount them to all sorts of structures. If you have only a small space on the kitchen counter under the cabinets, you can mount an individual fluorescent fixture for one T5 tube right there. This is a perfect spot for a few leafy kitchen herbs, such as basil or chives.

I designed these custom kitchen grow shelves to keep fresh herbs handy in my kitchen. I had an electrician run the lamp wires into the wall to connect to power and mounted a light switch to turn them off and on.

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Some fluorescent grow lamps are available with spectrums weighted to specific color ranges, such as red or blue.

Fluorescent grow lamps are available in distinctively warmer spectrums, as well as full-spectrum forms that provide a better balance of light across the entire PAR light spectrum, which allow you to grow plants more effectively through their vegetative and flowering phases.

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