Answer 5 quick questions about your room — get a plain-language verdict and a personalised recommendation tailored for northern European conditions.
Step 1 of 5
What do you want to grow?
Choose the plant category that best matches your plan.
Why does this matter? Each plant group needs a different daily light dose (DLI). Fruiting crops need about 4× more light than a low-light tropical — so the same windowsill can be perfect for one and hopeless for another.
Step 2 of 5
Which direction does your main window face?
This single factor has the biggest impact on how much light enters your room.
At 59°N (Estonia, Latvia, Helsinki) a south window receives roughly 4× more light than a north window. US-based guides assume 35–45°N — their thresholds for "bright indirect" light are far too optimistic for northern Europe.
Step 3 of 5
How far is your plant from the window?
Light intensity drops dramatically with distance — roughly halving every 1–2 metres from the glass.
Practical rule: At 1.5 m from the window you have roughly 30% of the light available on the sill. At 3 m you may have as little as 10%. This is why "bright indirect" rarely means what beginners expect.
Step 4 of 5
When are you planning to grow?
At 59°N, day length swings from 6 hours in December to 19 hours in June — this changes everything.
Winter is the critical bottleneck. Tallinn receives only about 6 hours of daylight in December and the sun barely clears the horizon — even a south window may deliver less than 2 mol/m²/day of usable light. Many plants simply pause or decline without supplemental lighting.
Step 5 of 5
Are there obstructions outside the window?
Buildings, trees, or overhangs can cut available light by 30–70% even before it enters the room.