Ghost plant, Graptopetallum spp.,produce shimmering silver foliage that typically sports tints of lavender or blue. They are perfect for container gardeners. Plants must be grown in a bright south windowsill, or provided with supplemental light indoors from grow lamps.

Ghost plant is impressive in wide-low containers. Plants are related to Echeveria and will grow under the same bright-light conditions.

Gardening Under Lights Book

When you want to grow edibles and herbs in your kitchen, you might discover that you don't have enough light to support good plant growth. You might need to install some grow lights to keep your herbs happy. In these kitchen grow light shelves I designed, I mixed up my plant selection with fresh herbs and ornamental plants.

Place lamps within 6 to 12 inches of your plants. Leave them on for 16 to 18 hours per day if plants receive little to no light from windows. If there is partial ambient light, 12 to 14 hours are adequate. In these fixtures, I'm using HOT5 Fluorescent grow lamps.

New BOOK! Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers

Everyone is in love with succulents, but they can be difficult to grow indoors without grow lights. If you want to grow succulents indoors, look for small LED or fluorescent grow lamps or contained units to support them. Gardening under lights doesn't have to be utilitarian - there are some attractive grow units out there, if you do you research.

By employing supplemental lighting indoors, you can keep a healthy collection of better-looking succulents year-round. You can also grow succulents under lights year-round to keep them healthy, but set them out in your home in lower light conditions for short periods of time to enjoy.

Gardening Under Lights Book

Beans are relatively easy to grow indoors. But standard bean vines can grow 15- to 20-feet tall! Not exactly an easy fit for the indoor garden. Dwarf or bush beans, on the other hand, will typically grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide, but can be planted densely and trained upright. This makes bush beans perfect for growing indoors. Use 6- to 10-inch diameter or 2- to 5-gallon containers.

Plant bean seeds in loose, well-draining, rich with organic matter. Add coir to loosen the mix. Plants are suited to hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic systems.

New BOOK! Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers

To date, LEDs may still not be quite as efficient for growing plants as other types of grow lamps (such as high pressure sodium lamps -HPS) - but the technology is getting better all the time. Newer LED lights, depending on the wattage, claim to be just as intense as traditional HPS lights in terms of the amount of PAR they can produce. I see new LEDs coming out on the market all the time and they are getting more powerful and efficient in terms of the volume of light they deliver to your plants.

Real outputs will vary among different manufacturers, and quality construction matters. As in most cases, you get what you pay for. Look for good quality lamps from companies who will provide you a lot of information about the grow lamp and its light output. Cheap doesn't usually translate to efficiency!

Gardening Under Lights Book

The dormancy mechanism helps protect plants during adverse and extreme environmental conditions in winter and summer seasons. While dormant, plants drop their leaves and the growth process slows significantly or stops. After warming temperatures break dormancy, plants continue their flowering process.

Florist hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are an example of a plant that sets microscopic flower buds in summer, or when it finishes its spring–summer flowering cycle; these buds sit undeveloped until after plants experience a dormancy period in winter.

Gardening Under Lights Book

Before you are able to harvest lunch from your indoor veggie garden, you need to experiment. Not all crops are easy and made for indoor growing--but trying is how you learn.

It is important to group together crops with similar lighting and temperature requirements. If you mix plants with different environmental needs, one will likely thrive while the other fails.

Gardening Under Lights Book!

Some ceramic metal halide (CMH) lamps - also known as LECs - come equipped with a built-in reflector and ballast, giving you an easy plug-and-play option that takes up less space. Some of these complete CMH rigs are affordable and produce results comparable to more expensive HID lamps.

CMHs are also a good option if you have limited amps or older wiring and are concerned about your power draw.

Gardening Under Lights Book