CONSIDERING A GROW TENT?
You’ve decided you want to try your hand at indoor gardening but you don’t have a whole room to dedicate to your grow. Growing indoors is a great option and allows you more control over your plants’ environment. These days there’s quite a bit of choice in the options of indoor growing environments. It really all depends on your needs, space, and budget.
Thinking about a grow tent?
A good quality grow tent is made of thick, insulated (for heat and noise), tightly woven, material that has a reflective interior to maximize lighting. They are light and portable.
Size is a huge variable and major advantage to grow tents.
Grow tents come in a variety of sizes and styles to fit almost every need.
They allow for relatively easy expansion, so they can grow with you. They are very versatile. Most offer customizable features, and are highly adaptable. Some even offer multiple chambers. This is especially important if you plan on a continuous harvesting cycle, seedlings in one chamber and maturing plants in another. Depending on the size you choose, multiple access points can also be an option.
In regards to size and space, the thing to remember is the larger the space, the better air movement your plants will be afforded. Some tents have the option of height extensions. The more vertical height your tent has the more space there is between the plants and the lights, which increases light distribution and prevents heat damage. Of course, the larger the grow space, the more plants you can have, the more equipment for ventilation and odor control you can accommodate.
With larger size and more equipment, you’ll want to check the weight rating to be sure it can support the equipment in use. You’ll also want to consider the potential of more noise from the equipment. By nature of the construction, grown tents are less quiet than grow boxes.
Additionally, the potential of odors emanating from tents tend to be less discreet. There is no lock and key system so if security and privacy is an issue, you’ll need to consider this.
You have to take into account that assembly is required so tents are not ”plug and play”. Most manufacturers have videos that offer assembly instructions, so logging on and enlisting the help of a good friend or family member may be the solution.
Here is a guide to sizing your tent with how many plants you can grow:
- 2’ x 2’: 1-2 plants
- 2’x 4’: 2-4 plants
- 3’x 3’: 2-4 plants
- 4’ x 4’: 4-6 plants
- 5’x 5’and 4’x 8’: 4-10 plants
- 5’x 9’and 8’ x 8’: 9-16 plants
- 10’ x 10’: 12-18 plants
- 8’ x 16’ and larger: 16-32 plants
If you’re like most people cost and budget is an important factor. In a direct size comparison with boxes, tents are less expensive. Many options come as kits, complete with everything you need.
Undecided? Check out our post “What’s a Grow Box?”