Indoor Gardening Archives | Happy Leaf LED

The world of indoor gardening has blossomed in recent years, fueled by the desire for fresh, homegrown food and the convenience of year-round cultivation.

Growing spinach indoors offers a wealth of benefits:

Year-round availability: Harvest fresh spinach regardless of the season, enjoying its vibrant flavor and nutritional value.
Control over growing conditions: Optimize light, temperature, and nutrients for healthy, thriving spinach plants.
Reduced exposure to pests and diseases: Protect your spinach from outdoor threats and enjoy a cleaner, healthier harvest.
Convenience and space-efficiency: Grow indoors regardless of limited outdoor space, enjoying the satisfaction of homegrown spinach right at your fingertips.
Optimized for flavor and texture: Contrary to some expectations, food grown indoors can actually have a very appealing texture and flavor.

This guide specifically focuses on the use of Happy Leaf LED lights, renowned for their effectiveness in promoting healthy plant growth. Keep in mind that all grow lights are not the same. Happy Leaf LED lights provide the perfect environment for your indoor spinach to flourish.

Preparing for Indoor Spinach Cultivation

Choosing the right container is crucial for successful indoor spinach cultivation. Consider the following:

Size: Opt for a container that is at least 6 inches deep and 12 inches wide to accommodate root growth. Self-watering vegetable planter boxes are ideal.
Drainage: Ensure the container has drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
Material: Choose a material like clay, plastic, or fabric that is porous and allows for air circulation.

Next, select a spinach variety that thrives indoors. Popular choices include:

Space: A compact variety with short, upright leaves.
Bloomsdale Longstanding: A high-yielding variety with tender leaves.
Tyee: A fast-growing variety with smooth, dark green leaves.

Gather your necessary supplies:

Medium: Choose a well-draining potting mix formulated for vegetables. Consider a 50/50 blend of coco coir and vermiculite.
Container: Self-watering vegetable planter box. 30” x 14” x 12” (deep) is an excellent size.
Nutrient: We recommend General Hydroponics MaxiGro 10-5-14.
Happy Leaf LED grow lights: Select a grow light suitable for the size of your growing area. The 33” Procyon 2.0 is the perfect size for that vegetable planter box
Seeds: Purchase certified organic spinach seeds.
Timer: Automate the light cycle for consistent growth.

Setting Up the Growing Environment

Spinach prefers a cool environment with temperatures between 60 and 75°F. Typically our homes are within this range. Place your Happy Leaf LED lights approximately 12-18 inches above the container. Aim for 14-16 hours of light per day. We recommend using a programmable timer so you don’t have to worry about turning your light off and on.

Growing Spinach Indoors: The Ultimate Beginners Guide 1

Planting Spinach Seeds

1.Fill the container with potting mix medium, leaving 3” – 6” of space at the top.

Growing Spinach Indoors: The Ultimate Beginners Guide 2

2.Moisten the medium with nutrient water.

Growing Spinach Indoors: The Ultimate Beginners Guide 3

3. Fill the nutrient water reservoir if you’re using a self-watering container.

Growing Spinach Indoors: The Ultimate Beginners Guide 4

4. Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep, spacing them 2-3 inches apart.

Growing Spinach Indoors: The Ultimate Beginners Guide 5

5. Cover the seeds lightly with medium and gently water again.

The first time you water will be from the top, after that, use the self-watering “trough” located near the bottom of the container.

Caring for Spinach Plants

If you’re using a self-watering container, check water levels every couple of days. Water your spinach plants deeply when the top inch of soil feels dry. Avoid overwatering, as this can lead to root rot.

Monitor your spinach plants closely and adjust the light settings if needed. As the plants grow, raise the lights to maintain the optimal distance.

Managing Pests and Diseases

Though less susceptible indoors, spinach can be affected by pests and diseases. Common threats include aphids, fungus gnats and fungal diseases.

Organic methods like insecticidal soap and neem oil can be effective in controlling pests. Small sticky traps are effective at controlling flying pests like fungus gnats. Maintain good sanitation and avoid overwatering to prevent fungal diseases. Read more about organic pest control on Roots & Refuge.

Harvesting Spinach

Spinach is ready for harvest when the leaves are 4-6 inches long and tender. Harvest individual leaves or cut the entire plant at the base with scissors.

Regular harvesting encourages new growth, ensuring a continuous supply of fresh spinach. Store harvested spinach in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Conclusion

Growing spinach indoors with Happy Leaf LED lights is a rewarding and accessible way to enjoy fresh, delicious spinach all year round. This guide provides a solid foundation for successful cultivation, empowering you to nurture thriving spinach plants in the comfort of your own home.

Want to grow tomatoes, peppers, succulents or learn about starting seeds? Click the highlighted links or visit Happy Leaf LEDs YouTube channel for a bunch of fun videos!

Maximizing Plant Growth: South Facing Windows vs. Grow Lights

Are you really giving your plants the best possible environment with a south facing window? We sometimes hear gardeners talk about the success they have starting plants in a south facing window, or how they can keep some plants happy in the winter just using a south facing window. What comes to mind for us, as a grow light manufacturer, is that we hope you will consider that even the loveliest south facing window is not giving your plants the best possible environment for growth and survival. Even if the window is not covered in a coating that blocks sunlight, winter days are still much too short to provide the ideal amount of daily light most plants need.

The Limitations of South Facing Windows

If you happen to have an ideal-sized window that faces true south, then you’re pretty lucky because it is possible to have some level of success with keeping plants alive or starting seeds. While some folks are happy with the results they get from a south facing window, anyone who has decided to take a leap and try a really great grow light, will tell you there is definitely a real bonus for your plants if you pick the right grow light.

Understanding Daily Light Integral (DLI)

We all know plants need sufficient amounts of light to grow robustly. The word “sufficient” is very important here. I am going to mention one technical term and I promise this will be the only one. Plants need their daily dose of light and the technical term for this is Daily Light Integral or DLI. It is the average intensity of the light multiplied by the total number of hours of light that the plants are getting. For example, lettuce, herbs, and microgreens need a DLI of 3 to 5 per day whereas tomatoes and peppers may need a DLI of 10 to 15 per day.

By the way, the units for DLI are moles of photons per square meter per day for those of you who are curious. That is all we will say about DLI but I think you get the point that what really counts is the amount of light our plants get each day.

Challenges of Winter Sunlight

South Facing Windows : Grow Lights vs. Sunlight 6

The challenge for those of us living in the northern half of the US is that the days get pretty short in the winter (i.e. 6 to 8 hours of reasonable sunshine) and that many of the days in the winter are cloudy or overcast. So we may only be getting on average 4 to 6 hours of sunlight per day.

On top of that, the windows we all have in our homes have special coatings on them to improve their ability to insulate from the cold and to reduce the amount of light entering our homes in the summer to reduce our air conditioning cost. These coatings are called low emissivity or Low E coatings. These coatings block about 75% of the light from the sun.

Add these factors together and it turns out that we are lucky if we can get enough light through our windows to keep our plants alive and maybe grow some microgreens. If we were hoping to grow plentiful amounts of greens, herbs, or possibly some cucumbers or tomatoes, we will most likely be disappointed.

Optimal Growth Solutions with Happy Leaf LEDs

High quality grow lights that use very efficient LEDs will enable you to grow pretty much any plants you would like quickly and efficiently for just pennies a day. They use the proper ratio of red to blue to green light as well as the right intensity for growing everything from arugula to tomatoes. Turn on your light that can be in your basement, closet, or kitchen for 14 to 18 hours per day and you will be amazed at your winter bounty.

Click here for a deep-dive into what you need to know about grow lights.

And that brings us to flexibility. With Happy Leaf LEDs, you won’t have to locate ALL OF YOUR PLANTS IN ONE WINDOW…. or, only in south facing windows…. or, in any windows at all. You can grow herbs on a shelf in your kitchen, lettuce in your living room and tomatoes in your basement! No windows (north, south, east or west) required.

A 33 inch Procyon 2.0 Happy Leaf light can grow an area of up to 2 x 4 feet for your greens, herbs, and microgreens. You will be eating your harvest within 4 weeks of your planting date.

We encourage you to give it a try and we guarantee you will become as addicted as we are to winter indoor gardening.

Still on the fence about starting your indoor gardening adventure? Get inspired by our YouTube channel or browse our blog posts for answers to your technical grow light & indoor gardening questions like ‘Grow Lights – How Much Should I Pay?‘ or what are some unique varieties I can grow?

Happy Leaf LED is a proud member of The National Garden Bureau.