Photosynthesis – The source of life
Have you ever thought how fascinating plants are? In our daily life they seem not to be so important, just trees growing by the streets and some weeds sticking out of the pavement, salad on our plate. But this green stuff is the key to our whole being. I am talking about the most important chemical reaction on earth, photosynthesis!
In photosynthesis energy from light is captured and put together with carbon dioxide and water to make oxygen and sugar. This means that the plants and some other organisms create the air that we breathe and the food that we eat. All the oxygen in earth’s atmosphere is created by photosynthesis and all the energy we get from our food is created by it too.
Sensing the light
We humans can see light with our eyes, but plants sense the light. Plants can sense the quality, quantity, direction and duration of light and use it to guide all the aspects of growth and development. Plants do not only absorb the light they need for the photosynthesis but sense the whole variety of spectra and utilize it in optimising growth and reproduction. Have you seen sunflowers turning towards the sun or long pail plant growing in the shadow? Light means everything to plants!
By giving different colored light to plants we can influence on the growth of plants. With knowledge on light it is possible to naturally customize plant size, color, taste, nutritional value, and growth speed. Look at the picture on the top. You can see a red and green salad growing out from same seeds of red salad. In the left one, the light used does not contain any blue light, which is essential for developing the pigment, hence the green colour.
Different light for different growth needs
To grow, plants need water, nutrients, air and light. In Plantui we use hydroponic growing method with LEDs to give special designed lights! During the early phases of growth, when plants are germinating, Plantui Smart Garden gives purple light to make seed germinate and seedlings to grow and develop. When adding height blocks, Plantui light will change to mimic the light of Finnish Lapland. In the North, the light from the sun is bluer. This Lapland blue light makes them grow stronger and produce more vitamins. Plantui light might look dimmer compared to many other indoor gardens and farms, but actually Plantui gives more light that plant can use for photosynthesis, because blue and red light are much more effective for photosynthesis than plain white light.
Extra light for bushy herbs and salads
With Plantui you can also use special Light Height Blocks to optimise you plant growth. Depending on what you are growing in your Smart Garden there are two types of light blocks to choose from. Use Boosting Height Block if you are growing plants that grow horizontally and are bushy. It ensures that all the leaves get enough light and makes them grow stronger and produce more leaves.
Plants that have flowers and create fruit benefit from Plantui blooming light. Blooming Light Height Block emits more red light that plants take as a signal to start blooming. This method is commonly used in professional greenhouses to grow flowers and fruits.
Future indoor gardening lights
Light is one of the most important factors in plant growth and we at Plantui are very fascinated about it. We are actively doing research and learning how can we grow best plants in the world and believe that the future indoor gardening and farming will be revolutionized by modern light solutions and biotech.
