How Supplemental LED Lighting in Greenhouses Can Raise Tomato Yield and Quality

The growth of plants depends mainly on a process known as photosynthesis. For this process to occur smoothly, various factors come into play, but none other is more important than light. Adequate supplemental lighting for plants goes a long way in helping them develop healthily and efficiently. Nevertheless, which light a plant may need varies greatly. Not all lights can trigger photosynthesis similarly, as this process depends on the plant’s morphology and energy requirements at any given stage. 

Hands down, tomatoes are one of the most versatile fruits. They can make a delicious meal or side dish when turned into sauce. It’s not uncommon for first-time growers and indoor garden enthusiasts to cultivate tomatoes as their premier crops. After all, why not have that first growing experience by growing such a tasty and convenient everyday fruit? However, one of the major challenges growers face here is inadequate greenhouse supplemental lighting. 

Light is a paramount factor when it comes to growing tomatoes. Using adequate tomato grow lights is essential for crops of this fruit to develop vigorously and plentifully. Tomatoes need around 12 hours of sunlight daily. So, growing this fruit can be challenging if you live in a place with lower temperatures or limited access to natural light. That’s why supplemental greenhouse lighting is essential for this plant’s development.

In this article, we will help you understand how lighting can directly affect the yield and quality of your tomato crops. At the same time, we will provide a more extensive understanding of the technology behind supplemental light for indoor plants to help you make an informed choice for your greenhouse or indoor garden project. 

Increase Yields by Understanding Your Plant

Due to varying light and weather conditions year-round, growers have used tomato grow lights for years to supplement their crops’ daily light integrals (DLI). Replicating ideal sunlight conditions is vital for greenhouse owners wishing their crops to meet market demands. Growers must be serious about researching the best grow light for tomatoes to remain competitive.

Identifying tomato plants’ DLI to know how much supplemental light they need during the winter months (which correspond to less natural sunlight) plays a key role in increasing produce quality. The best LED grow lights for tomatoes tend to have adjustable spectra systems to provide plants with near-constant perfect DLI the whole year round.

Tomato Plants’ DLI Requirements

The daily light integral is a measurement that refers to the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that shines during a 24-hour period. The scientific measure for this is mol/day units. DLI depends on your geographical location and varies daily and seasonally as the angle of the sun and the length of the day change.

Knowledgeable growers classify plants based on their DLI requirements. For example:

• Low Light: Some ferns and orchids
• Medium Light: Annual plants that germinate, flower, set seed, and die within one season
• High Light: Vegetables and perennials with longer lifespans
• Very High Light: Roses and tomatoes 

These valuable distinctions help indoor gardeners decide the layout of their crops and schedule the function of their supplemental greenhouse lighting to take advantage of cheaper electricity hours. Tomato plants need 20-30 moles per day of DLI to produce the highest quality output. Along with others like cucumber or pepper, these plants can tolerate a wide range of DLI to remain fit. Nonetheless, optimal light outputs can help them thrive and provide better yields. 

Professionals and researchers have noticed that increasing DLI results in plants with larger biomass and improved fruiting. However, it’s important to mention that every plant has its own unique threshold in which further light won’t encourage better growth. Therefore, every grower must choose the adequate supplemental greenhouse lighting they need for a target DLI. Doing this will help them set a growth objective. That way, they can strike a balance and avoid underlighting (which results in anemic production) and overlighting (which stresses plants and diminishes yields).  

Additional Provisions Worth Considering

Many manufacturers have been migrating toward LED lighting technologies in recent years. This migration is a direct result of growers wanting to take advantage of the best supplemental light for indoor plants they can use. These lights have higher efficacy, lower operational costs, and optimized spectral options. When getting LED supplemental greenhouse lighting, access to multiple wavelengths tends to be one of the decisive factors. 

However, if you are running a greenhouse and wish for your plants to grow and thrive, there are other provisions you should keep in mind:

• Lighting Access

Depending on your plant’s location, it will receive different amounts of light and shadow. Some plants like to be bathed in light, while others tend to prefer shadows. Regardless, when exposed to supplemental light for indoor plants, depending on your configuration and setup, it’s very likely that your plant will receive more of its lighting from up top. The end result is upper-light leaves getting about 98% of the light and shadowed leaves near the ground getting about 2%. 

• Lighting Time

Most plants prefer a natural circadian rhythm that you can imitate using greenhouse supplemental lighting. Matching the timer of your lighting setup to align with your crops is paramount. Ensure you program the amount of time they get under artificial lights to match the natural sunlight they need.

• Lighting Intensity

This requirement refers to the amount of photon flux density. In other words, the number of photosynthesis photons in the radiation of your lighting setup. Micromoles per square meter per second is the measurement to quantify lighting intensity. Regarding grow lights for tomato plants, you’ll want to ensure different light intensity levels during the various stages of plant development. 

• Light Color

The sun emits light in space, which travels to the Earth in the form of electromagnetic waves. The wavelength of light is what defines its color. So, for example, electromagnetic waves between 380 and 750 nanometers are the range of light visible to humans. However, plants can use different spectra during various phases of their growth process. Traditional greenhouse lighting relied heavily on blue and red lights for plants to grow, but researchers and growers have recently found the whole lighting spectrum is valuable. 

Research your crop in more detail and ensure you provide the correct spectra of your supplemental LED grow lights during its different growth stages. Taking this approach helps plants grow efficiently and produce abundant harvests. 

LED Tomato Grow Lights: Why You Need Them

Tomato grow lights are artificial light sources that help plants thrive by imitating the ideal natural sunlight radiation. They need this radiation for their photosynthesis process to kick in and produce the resources they use to grow well. For this process, they use a pigment called chlorophyll, which absorbs all the energy from the sunlight. This pigment is also responsible for giving leaves that characteristic green color. 

Grow lights for tomatoes allow you to start cultivating your tomato seedlings and plants regardless of the season, even if temperatures are freezing outside. As established earlier, tomatoes need around 12 hours of sun daily to produce fruit. If the conditions outside aren’t the most favorable, you can always use a tomato plant grow light to provide the extra light they need. Using the best grow lights for tomatoes guarantees you can always get a head start on the growing session, not to mention that it also ensures proper DLI application all year round. 

There are various categories of grow lights available in the market, but one type stands out among them: LEDs. In particular, full-spectrum LED grow lights for tomatoes are the most cost-efficient option since they use the least amount of energy. At the same time, they are also safer since they produce less heat than other conventional light sources.

LED supplemental greenhouse lighting has come to replace many of the old forms of lighting growers used. They have a solid reputation in economy and efficiency, not to mention their long lifespans. In addition, they can produce fuller, richer wavelengths thanks to their complete spectra implementation, helping tomato plants have noticeably better yields. 

Essential Aspects to Look For in LED Grow Lights for Tomatoes

Have you ever wondered how to grow tomatoes indoors with lights in a proper manner? LED technology is unique and highly valuable in its ability to amplify critical wavelengths of light. When applied in the right amount, these wavelengths can elicit strong responses and positive results in tomato plants. Various studies cement that spectral optimization is vital in increasing the yields of tomato growers.

When growing tomatoes with LED lights, choosing a lamp that emits suitable wavelengths is essential. Plants use various wavelengths for different purposes. In the case of tomato growing, you’ll need supplemental greenhouse lighting capable of emitting red light to help during the flowering and fruiting phases, and blue light for the vegetative growth phase.

Simultaneously, ultraviolet and infrared light also benefit tomato plants since they can assist in preventing plant ailments and improve the uptake of nutrients. The best supplemental greenhouse lights should contain these spectrums to ensure exceptional plant development during all phases. 

Besides getting the full spectrum of wavelengths, a few other things are essential when choosing grow lights for tomatoes. As mentioned earlier, the intensity of the light you choose also plays a crucial role. Tomato plants need lots of light! Therefore, you must select a tomato grow light that is powerful enough to meet the needs of your crop. 

Another factor is the preferred duration of light for the plants you’re cultivating. Tomato plants need 12 hours of light daily to receive the proper dosage of DLI. This high light dosage will ensure they can produce fruits in quantity and quality. Therefore, when growing tomatoes under supplemental LED grow lights, make sure that the one you pick is able to stay on for at least 12 hours a day.

The final aspect to consider is price. Supplemental lights for indoor plants aren’t cheap to build, so picking one that fits your budget and current indoor garden configuration and goals is also important. 

More Factors Indoor Growers Should Be Aware Of

Are you still wondering how to grow tomatoes under LED grow lights? Aside from the above-mentioned vital aspects, there are other factors would-be expert growers need to be aware of when setting the layout of their tomato plants and greenhouse supplemental lighting. If you wish to grow your tomato crops during the whole year and impress your friends and family with your produce, please consider the following:

• Indoor Placement

Many people frequently have doubts when it comes to how to grow tomatoes with grow lights indoors. Even if you’re using artificial lighting, it’s wise to place your plants close to windows and in a place you know will maintain relatively constant temperatures during winter. If you live in the northern hemisphere, consider putting them near south-facing windows, as this will ensure some form of light during the colder months. 

• Space for Plants to Grow

If you’re still wondering how to use grow lights for tomatoes in tight, enclosed indoor spaces, you must consider the plant’s growth pattern, from seedling to mature plant. Tomato plants tend to be tall, so you must account for enough headroom about them for them to grow nicely. The LED panel you’ll use must be adjustable so that you can adapt it as the plants mature. So, again, consider all the extra height needed to accommodate your growing space.

Even though LED panels don’t produce as much heat as other artificial light sources, they still generate some. Therefore, when growing tomatoes with LED lights, it’s essential that your plant’s leaves, flowers, and fruits don’t get too close or in contact with the panel. Fortunately, LED rigs are often configurable for you to adjust their height to your liking. 

• Full-Spectrum LED Intensity

Being able to control the intensity of your grow lights for tomato plants is vital, as this will give you a greater degree of control over the survivability of your plant. High-quality full-spectrum LED sets often include a dimmer switch or dial that you can use to get the exact amount of light intensity for your tomatoes. Depending on each growth stage of your crop, you should aim for the following light intensities: 

• 20-40% for germination
• 40-60% for seedlings
• 60-90% for vegetative
• 90-100% for flowering

• Light Temperature

The Kelvin measurement unit is what scientists use to determine the temperature or color of light. Values over 5,000 K are white. Higher numbers than this tend to have a cold blueish tint to them. 4,000 K is more neutral white. The lower values in the 3,000 K range have a yellowish orangish tint associated with a warmer temperature.

Different temperatures can benefit you in various ways when growing tomatoes with LED lights. For example, lower color temperatures (2,500-3,000 K) help encourage your plant to blossom during its flowering process. However, in general, the most recommended color temperature you should use is between 5,500-6,500 K. This one is closer to natural sunlight and helps promote seed germination and increase the growth rate. 

• Heat Sink

Finally, while not necessary, a proper heat sink for your LED lights is another important feature worth considering. This part drives the heat flow away from the hot lights, helping cast it away from your plants as much as possible. It prevents your plants from drying out, which may happen if they’re in close contact with the light source. It also improves the longevity of your tomato plant grow light. 

The Last Word

Using supplemental LED grow lights can positively affect your tomato crops. Broad-spectrum LED tomato plant grow lights are energy efficient and helpful to assist your plants in producing higher yields regardless of the season. Tomato plants need special considerations to get the best use of your light. Ensuring they get a very high light dosage all year round guarantees abundant produce of the highest quality. 

Depending on your cultivation goals, lighting application could vary. Deciding on the proper lighting conditions when growing tomatoes indoors with LED lights relies not only on scientific studies but also on your geographic location, energy availability, and the specific varieties of tomatoes you’re raising. Let’s not forget other operational conditions within your greenhouse. By weighing all the knowledge and crucial aspects shared here, you should be able to identify the best lighting strategy that fits you. Ultimately, choosing the best supplemental LED grow light will result in increased tomato yields of the highest quality, increasing your satisfaction as a grower and financial returns.