How To Build An Indoor Grow Box

I have always been a do-it-yourself kind of person, which is one reason I took up gardening. 

Coupled with my love for plants, gardening allows me to experiment instead of following rules all the time. I grow varieties of flowers, grasses, and vegetables, which for me, is an extremely fulfilling activity. 

But sometimes I’ve found myself stumped. Like that time when I bought Snake and Spider plants to grow in my garden. Now, I had never used these plants before, so you can't really blame me for planting them next to my veggies. 

Okay, perhaps you can blame me a little; I should have looked up all the information before rushing to the store. But I corrected myself immediately when I realized that these are predominantly indoor plants, needing special treatment. 

This time I was meticulous in my research and decided to build a grow box. Soon enough, my new plants had a well-furnished indoor room to flower and flourish. Thrilled by my exploits, I've decided to share my knowledge on how to build an indoor grow box.

Hi! I'm Stacy Smith, and let's get started. 

How To Build An Indoor Grow Box?

Step-By-Step Procedure

Contrary to popular opinion, building a grow box isn't difficult. I've mentioned the essential points below for your benefit, and you can note them down to get a proper idea. 

1. Finding Space

Since I'm talking about an indoor grow room, you need to find a suitable spot inside your home. This space should be just right, neither too large nor too small, ensuring that the plants have enough room to grow. 

I've seen people convert an entire room for growing plants. But that's not a feasible option for most people, so you can use a cupboard or buy a grow tent. Since you'll be artificially administering light and nutrients to the plants, there's no need to be picky with space. 

Having said that, do ensure that there are at least a couple of double sockets in the room and an extension cord. Also, remove floor carpets as they hold moisture, leading to the growth of bacteria, fungi, and moss. Instead, it would be best to lay down reflective sheets. 

Now, plants are highly sensitive, and you must think about noise emission. Do the lights, pumps, or fans make too much noise? If so, it would be best to find replacements. 

2. Creating A Light-Tight Environment

Once you've found a suitable spot, you need to seal off all-natural light sources like the window or skylight. 

Remember when I spoke about reflective sheeting? Now, you'll see why. Reflective sheets don't allow natural light to filter through and prevent the artificial light from escaping. So, you can adhere to the lighting cycle without any hassle. 

This is important because indoor plants experience stress due to inconsistent lighting.  

3. Configure Your Setup

Now, there are three things that you can do to create the ideal setup. 

A) Whole Room Setup

If you decide to use this model, it's essential to have multiple lights in the room. You'll need to install a light for every 1.2m x1.2m space throughout the room, delivering optimum conditions. 

Furthermore, to control the climate better, you can fill the space with tents. For example, rather than using the room as one large space, use tents for better management. 

B) Room Inside A Room

You can fill the room with multiple tents for growing a variety of plants. Apart from climate control, it will help prevent bug infestations, reduce light loss, and lower heat and humidity in the rest of the room. 

But what size tent should you use? Well, that solely depends on the type of plants you intend to grow. For taller plants, you'll need a bigger tent, while seedlings and mother plants are more at home in small tents. 

C) Converting An Enclosed Room Setup

To successfully grow plants in a small space, you'll need to manage the heat. So, ensure that you pick a tall area measuring at least 5 feet from the ground to the ceiling. Next, install small lights that won't produce an output of more than 250-315W. 

What's more, it's important to provide constant airflow for which you'll need to create input holes. Set up an extractor fan to carry away the hot air, allowing fresh air into the tent. 

4. Using The Right Lights

There are numerous lights in the market that are suitable for a grow box. Usually, a grow light consists of a ballast, a lamp, and a reflector. With the ballast, you can regulate the energy supply while the reflector directs much of the light towards the plants. 

After considering the power consumption rate, light output, and available space, you can choose between main grow lights and supplemental grow lights. The former method uses a metal halide lamp for vegetative growth and a sodium lamp for flowering. In some cases, a dual-spectrum HPS (High Powered Sodium) light works for both purposes. 

On the other hand, supplementary lights don't support growth but help improve the yield. They are further categorized into plasma lights and CDM lights, having multiple wavelengths. Now, there's no compulsion to use supplementary grow lights but speaking from experience, you'll get far better results if you do. 

My neighbor even used a CDM light as a primary grow light, thanks to its strong reflector. However, irrespective of your choice, you'll need to install sufficient LEDs. You can turn them off during the day, provided there's no change in conditions.

Final Words