Growing plants indoors has its advantages and disadvantages. For many newbies to grow room gardening, the disadvantages could be more, but it does not have to be so. This is if you know how to run a grow room effectively.
It is not all hard work to be a successful indoor gardener, but you do need to know exactly what the procedure entails. And if you are keen on learning about how heat and humidity affect the system and what you can do to ensure successful farming, you can find value in the sections below.
Starting a Grow Room
The first thing you want to decide on is what you intend to cultivate in your garden, and when it comes to plants that are suitable for planting indoors, there aren’t that many. Some of the common ones you’d find include those for fruits, vegetables, and certain herbs. You can get an in-depth resource from Canada Grows Indoors – ventilation guide, which has all you need to know.
It was not until recently that indoor gardening became more popular and thanks to the popularity of the cannabis industry. More folks are planting their Kush inside their apartment or basement. And when it comes to successfully starting with a grow room, you want to have a plan in place. Some of the things you want to get settled on include
What to Plant
There isn’t much to decide here other than what you want to grow in your garden. And ideally, you want to choose something you like to use around the house or are interested in selling if you are going commercial. This way, you would not lose interest in caring for it. Some of the crops that do well indoors are
- Tomatoes
- Garlic green
- Salad greens
- Carrots
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Hemp
- Ornamental flowers
It’s a long list of plants that can do well in the house without exposure to direct sunlight, and this is where most people get concerned. How do you solve the problem of humidity and heat inside the building or tent where you do your gardening? But before I get into the gist proper, let me first share the setting up procedure for an indoor grow room.
Setting Up an Indoor Garden
It would not be much work if you have some who has experience with the setting up process handle the details, but you could do it yourself if you are not shy to get your hands dirty.
Space
The first thing is to have available space indoors to use for your garden. And you want to make sure there is enough rather than cramping too many plants without adequate spacing.
This is important to allow for proper ventilation, which will help with the tent or room’s heat and humidity levels. Some of the best options would be a spare room or the garage, but whichever it is, you want to make sure it supports healthy growth. You can find more here in spacing your plants in your garden. The link here https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/plant-spacing-chart.htm has more on the appropriate spacing for some vegetables.
Lighting
You have made available space for your grow room, the next thing would be to set the conditions right. And you want to start by installing lighting features to provide heat that plants initially get from the sun. The goal is to make the environment light-tight, so you want to make sure any natural light source is blacked out.
Use blackout reflective sheeting as this is the best way to keep out the artificial lighting you have setup from escaping and the sun from messing up with the preset settings. Since individual plants require their respective temperature settings, you want to make sure the lighting is ideal for providing the right heat for healthy growth.
Decide on your Setup
When it comes to setting up an indoor grow space, you have the option to get creative, but you want to be careful not to ignore the basics. And this is important if you are going to keep the heat and humidity at the best levels. So, start by working with the available space. You can choose to make use of the entire room or divide it into sections. A tent or cupboard could help when it comes to sectioning a large space.
However way you choose to set up the area, you want to factor in the light intensity, and this is the crucial thing with getting the growing conditions right. Not enough light and the plants will perform poorly and too much, you risk damaging the plants.
Choosing your Grow Lights
With the setup in place, you want to now fit in the grow light. You will find many options to choose from, and you can settle for any good one provided it is correctly installed. Three lighting systems are required to keep the heat levels in check, and they include
- For the main grow lights, you want to choose a High-Profile Sodium (HPS). Although other options can serve the purpose, the HPS provides both blue and red lights. And these are required for both growths at the vegetative and flowering stage.
- Supplemental lighting will be required to help with the yield quality. It is ideal to opt for options that provide wavelengths that do not assist with growth but keep heat and humidity conditions balanced.
When choosing the right lighting, you want to consider the space available, the power consumption, and the intensity it provides for the grow room. In short, everything has to be near perfect if you want the heat and humidity to be just right.
Air Exchange System
You also want to make available adequate ventilation, and for this, you will need an air exchange system. This will help with getting out used air and replacing it with a fresh supply. It is mandatory to take this seriously as it could also help with the system’s heat and humidity levels.
The air exchange system will include an extractor fan to get out the depleted air, and you want to install the right numbers to work with your space if you want the job done effectively. You will also need intake fans, which help with circulating fresh air inside the system.
Both fans will have to be positioned at opposite angles in the room. You want to also use a smaller unit for the intake fans compared to the extractor fan. You can find more on this page about keeping the air safe for indoor gardening.
Keeping things Running Smoothly
With your grow room setup already, you can then begin potting your plants. And you want to follow the ideal rules for your specific plants. This can be based on the type, be it flowers or vegetables, and you can bet they require different conditions.
Setting the conditions right is essential if you want to achieve any success at the end of the day. Keep all connections and wiring neat. Also, make sure the floor is dry as you don’t want any accident from coming in contact with all the wiring lying around the place. Another thing is to keep a fire extinguisher nearby to assist with any fire before it gets out of hand.
Final Note
Utmost care is required for keeping a grow room running efficiently. And getting it right starts with the setting up process. Ensure appropriate spacing, choose the right lighting, and have an air exchange system available to help with the ventilation.