On November 8th 2016, Massachusetts was one of a few states passing measures that legalized marijuana. For Bostonians in particular, it was a day of celebration as every year in September a Freedom rally takes place in Boston to protest for the legalization of weed. All across the states where marijuana became legal, it is proposed that people who are 21 and above will be allowed to carry a certain amount of marijuana and will be allowed to grow up to 6 plants on their private property. In the state of Massachusetts, people can carry an ounce of marijuana and 5 grams of concentrated weed in public, whereas they may keep a maximum of 10 ounces in their homes. They may also grow up to 12 plants in their homes. Furthermore, smoking a joint in public is strictly prohibited, so is any marketing or endorsement of the drug.
After the legalization, the indoor cultivation of marijuana will most likely increase. The cultivation of marijuana can be costly so growers need to choose the right equipment to successfully grow indoors. One thing that can make or break your cultivation is the grow light you are using.
What are Grow Lights?
Grow lights are the most important tool for indoor gardening. These lights provide the light required by plants for photosynthesis. Grow lights are special and different from other lights in that they target specific wavelengths of the light spectrum needed by plants to photosynthesize, grow and develop potency.
There are many different types of grow lights available in the market. The most commonly used grow lights are high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs that have been around for a long time. These lights emit a full spectrum light that can be perfect in growing all kinds of plants. However they also have many disadvantages and thus their popularity is rapidly decreasing. These HID bulbs waste a great deal of energy given off as excess heat that can destroy the plants. HID bulbs also use up a lot of electricity and are not safe for the environment in general.
Other than HID bulbs, there are other kinds of grow lights such as incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs and LED grow lights. Fluorescent and LED grow lights are power efficient lights that produce very little or no heat. However, fluorescent lights are not very effective in growing plants on a large scale. LED lights, on the contrary, can be used to grow a vast array of plants. These lights are becoming very popular and can provide the environmentally friendly way to grow bountiful harvests indoors.
Why go for LED grow Lights?
LED grow lights are very power efficient. Unlike the bulky and power hungry HID lights, LED lights consume very little power. Because of this, they do not waste the fossil fuels we are already short of, and save money on electricity bills. LED lights also prove to be very cost efficient in the long run. Their initial cost is more than other grow lights, but because of their very long life span, they don’t need to be replaced. Indoor growers also save on venting systems and A/C for heat management as LED lights produce very little heat.
Another important reason why marijuana growers should turn to LED lights is that the quality of the weed produced under these lights tends to surpass that which is grown with other lighting sources. The flowering stage is very crucial in cannabis cultivation as during this time the trichromes containing the resin start to develop. The quality of your weed depends on your resin. LED lights with added UV can increase resin and trichome formation on the cannabis plant. Bostonians should turn to LED lights for marijuana cultivation because these lights are not only environmental friendly, but they also produce weed of a superior quality.