
Can I grow a Plant at night using Hydroponics and LED lighting?
One of the benefits of hydroponics is having full control of the environment including, light, temperature, humidity, water temperature, nutrient level, pH levels, and also Darkness. In a Grow Tent scenario particularly, I have the option to control when the plant has it’s ‘day light’ hours.
It is important for Plants to have some hours with no ‘sun’ light, and you should not leave your Grow Lights on 24/7. The plant will become stressed, and it can lead to stunted growth and can create mutations. The plant will also be weak and it’s ability to produce flowers and or fruits will be greatly reduced.
I have the Chilli plant in a small Grow Tent, with a Full spectrum LED panel which should enable it to Photosynthesize properly over night, and Respire during the Day. It is in a DWC Grow Container, with a very diluted dose of TriPart.
There does not seem to be a huge amount of information about this. I’m either mad, or not looking hard enough. I will continue to research and update you with articles and videos on our YouTube Channel.
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Will a Plant Grow at Night?
Plants do grow at night. It is a misconception that they stop growing when the sun goes down. Plants Respire during the night. With a break from the sun (or Full Spectrum LED panels), they get a break from photosynthesis, and concentrate of Respiration. This is a chance for the plant to rest, and process some of the C02 that it absorbed during the day to produce sugars, and oxygen.
This is the basic version of Photosynthesis and Respiration that all plants go through.
Will a plant accept a Switch in it Day/Night cycle?
The question I’m asking is, Will a plant accept a change in the Day night cycle that it has evolved with for millions of years.
I don’t know yet. They and us have evolved on this planet with the sun going up and down and the changing of the seasons throughout the year.
What type of plant is it?
The plant I’m subjecting to this experiment is a Chilli pepper given to me by a friend. It had been grown from seed outside, in soil and a mix of bark and wood chips. It has only ever been fed water, and was pruned nicely with good foliage, and new growth.
After some days in my south facing kitchen window however, it became infested with mites, and then a flying insect that I assume hatched from the soil/grow medium.
It has since had a drastic hair cut, as I had to remove almost all of its leaves. This will not help it to Photosynthesize in its new home, the Grow Tent. However, I think there is a chance it will pull through!
Why are you growing a plant at night?
This is an experiment to reduce the power cost of growing food at home. Due to the Huge increase in electricity costs here in Sweden. The difference in cost between the day time and night time is sometimes upwards of 40%. This makes its very expensive to have grow tents running LED lights on all day during the winter months here as I extend my growing season using hydroponics equipment.
Stay tuned for small updates like this, which will hopefully turn into an epic Day/Night plant growing guide for Low powered Hydroponics food growing.
Other articles about winter Growing and Chilli Peppers:
Winter Growing with Hydroponics – 3 tips to help you Grow food all year round