Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers

I really wish I would have purchased the more expensive hard copy of this book instead of the Kindle version because I will refer to this book again & again. It is not a "one-time read". There is so much valuable information on all aspects of growing plants, from how to start seeds & propagate through cuttings to how to deal with common pests. Of course, there is detailed information on why plants need light and how they respond to light. One of the elements that I didn't realize the importance of is that "many plants are photoperiodic, meaning they require different durations of light and darkness to shift into different phases of growth or development, such as producing flower buds or forming bulbs". When a plant has a photoperiod requirement, it will also have a critical daylength (period of darkness) that triggers it to bloom. This is important information for growing certain plants indoors because if the critical daylength isn't provided, the plant may never bloom/fruit. The last half of the book provides an overview of a wide range of edibles (arugula, basil, beets, broccoli, cannabis, carrot, chives, cilantro, citrus, dill, kale, lettuce, microgreens, mint, oregano, peas, peppers, spinach, summer squash, strawberry, thyme, tomato) and ornamentals (African violets, begonia, bonsai trees, carnivorous plants, fiddle-leaf fig, several types of orchids, succulents). For each plant, information is provided under the following headers: PHOTOPERIOD and critical daylength, LIGHT REQUIREMENTS, PROPAGATION tips, TEMPERATURE, SEASON, SPACE required, GROWING MEDIUM recommended, WATER, FERTILIZATION, PESTS & DISEASES to be on the lookout for, VARIETIES & CULTIVARS recommended for indoor growing, HARVEST, GROW THE SAME WAY (other plants with similar growing needs). I highly recommend this book for all gardeners. It is an invaluable resource guide on how to grow just about anything indoors.

I was told this book was written from a scientist point of view, but so that a lay person could understand it. So true for the most part...some things were still over my head but I'd rather that then written too simply like talking down to a child. It works for an amateur like me or a professional gardener. I skimmed at at first, then skimmed it page by page again to see the different areas of lighting it covered. Then I bookmarked the areas I'm especially interested in with post it notes. Now I'm working my way through word by word & bookmarking charts & info I want as references. I'm impressed by the depth of detail. I hate to buy a book only to find it barely covered the high points & most of it I already knew. When I buy an informational book I want my money's worth. I want it to have depth like a college textbook but with info easily understood from the start. This is a book you can constantly refer back to learning more each time you read it. My only complaint is that my copy arrived with a smear of something like reddish grease across the front cover. It washed right off with cleaner & hadn't gotten on the pages so was still pristine. Not an author or publishing problem...just something went wrong in the warehouse when shipping it.

A lot of the info in the book is available for free on-line--but you have to dig around. More importantly, you have to know what kinds of questions to ask and when it comes to lighting and light, generally, most of us are so unfamiliar with how light works that we don't know what we don't know. For example, knowing that incandescant lights are insufficient for growing plants, I assumed that plants simply don't register such lights at all, but it turns out that for some species of plant, incandescents contribute to the sense of a photoperiod and I may be inadvertantly messing with an important environmental cue for certain bioprocesses like flowering when I force my plants to stay up late with me and my reading light. This book presents all of this info in one place, whether you care about all of it or not (but if some parts don't interest you now, they might later). It's also great that it's not written from the perspective of growing cannabis, since the biology of cannabis and the objectives of cannabis growers can diverge widely from those of pretty much every other plant one might want to grow indoors. I can't think of any other book out there like this, which is strange because light is probably THE most important component in plant care. Whether you plan on investing in grow lights or not, a dedicated reference on what light is, how to measure it, and what it means for plants is an incredibly useful tool for any would-be green thumb. And this book is fairly light (and quick) reading.

As advertised

This is a great book for any plant lover. It covers more than lighting and is technical but not exhausting. I have read it more than once and it definitely drastically improved my knowledge and ability to sustain plants both indoors and out.

Thanks to this book, I have an invaluable resource for my indoor plants. Over the last year, I have propagated and overwintered herbs, and grown dwarf citrus and other indoor plants thanks to the advice about proper lighting. Ms. Halleck takes great pains to include information on many kinds of lights for a wide range of plants. This year, I am challenging myself with starting seeds for gardening later in the spring and summer of 2020. I have turned to this resource often for over a year and continue to do so for this next adventure. Highly recommended for beginners and more practiced intermediate and long time gardening amateurs!

For people new to the subject this is an excellent book covering many aspects of indoor gardening. It needs some work in the LED spectrum (pun intended) to be an actual "COMPLETE GUIDE for INDOOR GARDENS" as the cover states, especially given the title: GARDENING UNDER LIGHTS. People that have already done the research and are using LEDs will find this to be a BEGINNER's book. I did learn some things but not much that I could apply. Much of the information on LED grow panels was old and outdated for a book from 2018. I bought this book after reading a blog by the author where she gave the exact DLI (Daily Light Integral) for carrots. That was impressive and exactly what I was looking for. There was also a link to this book on the blog. I expected the book to perhaps have a chart listing the DLI for other common vegetables. The DLI is listed for some, but not all. Carrot is not included. So, this book failed in that regard. It needs some work to be an actual "COMPLETE GUIDE for INDOOR GARDENS" as the cover states. But if you are just starting out, its a good book. To the Author: Next revision, include the DLI for everything listed in the Edible plants section. Also add the common herbs for an LED herb garden (can I grow rosemary, thyme and Basil under the same LED?). Final note to indoor vegetable gardeners: DLI is a critical and key piece of information you will need to have if you want to grow a lot a varied veg , (carrots, basil, lettuce, tomato) in your indoor garden.

This book hits my plant geek buttons. I have years of gardening experience including indoors under lights. The author offers basic as well as technically detailed Information that interests me. She has a slightly quirky writing voice (not too dry!) and lots of interesting and enjoyable pictures. There is good advice on lighting as well as growing information for a broad range of edibles and ornamentals. If you’re looking to get your geek on for a relaxed and informative read, go for it!

I bought this for my dad, for a joint project to grow all our own fruit and veg. With Brexit looming we may see a reduced availability in fruit and veg. The book is comprehensive, yet basic. From what I’ve read it is the very basics, to get started and to have enough understanding to grow your own fruit and veg indoors.

The book was what I expected having already bought an e kindle version. This copy given as a Christmas gift.

It provided the details I was looking for, worth reading.

Extreemly informative, dense, touches all the areas of information in depth and gives a good blueprint of what to research further and how to set up your light systems. Much recommended!

A bit heavy for complete greenhorns but covers all major issues. Might help to update LED technology section which is rapidly replacing all other grow light technologies.