Lighting

You can spend a small fortune on lighting rigs for use in hydroponic systems but we'll use the primary light source we have available to us, the sun. Having the system outside means we can forget about the whole area of which spectrum is best, how many lumens per square meter, whether halogen is better than sodium and so on. It's surprising just how much equipment you need to replicate something as simple as daylight and get it right.

Lighting is obviously essential if you're growing indoors but it add a whole lot of complexity (and did I mention cost), only some of which is to do with actual illumination. Other side effects of high levels of illumination include what to do with the excess heat generated by the lights and how to prevent the plants from growing lop-sided and leggy. There are solutions to these issues but do you really want to have to concentrate on the engineering aspects of heat-extraction, air-blowers and light-movers or have a little fun growing bumper crops?

We might consider a simple lighting rig consisting of fluorescent tubes with reflectors to help seedlings along early in the season when it's too cold and dark outside but that the limit of our interest. This type of lighting is desirable, not essential and can be sourced from your local DIY store for less than £20.00. A bright window-cill is just as good as long as you have space and an understanding spouse.