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 Grow Lights and Plant Density
Provided by Advanced Nutrients
Generally speaking, HID lights should be placed as close to the growing tips of plants as possible, without burning the leaves. A good rule of thumb is 24 inches to 30 inches above the canopy for 1000 Watt Lights, 19 inches to 24 inches for 600 Watt Lights, and 12 inches to 18 inches for 400 Watt Lights.
If the plants start to become tall and spindly, they are stretching for more light. Bring the light source closer to the plants. If the leaf tips become "sun bleached" or begin to curl, back them away from the light source.
Proper spacing is also important. Hundreds of seedlings can be huddled together under one HID lamp. But as the foliage begins to spread and grow, make sure that the leaves do not touch and shade each other. By altering the spacing every few days so that the plants remain as close together as possible without actually touching, shade will be kept to a minimum and growth will be maximized, this is optimum for plant growth and yield.
You can build your own 4 x 8 ft. table out of wood, or you can buy the plastic kind, which is actually 3.5 x 7 ft. To use 2 1000-watt lights, you should center them above the table, each of them to hang two feet from the edge and two feet from the other side. If you have a 6 foot wide row, you should place the lights every 3 feet to center-for a 5 foot wide row, they should be placed 3.5 feet from the center. Good spacing is very important to get an even light on your crop.
High light intensity helps keep plants short and stocky, with smaller but denser and heavier leaves. The cuticle and cell walls are thicker, and the leaf stomata, through which transpiration of Carbon dioxide, Oxygen, and Water take place, are denser. These changes help make the plant more resistant to high temperatures, drought, and infection.
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