Grow Tents: Master The Art Of Indoor Growing

The use of an indoor grow tent can open the doors to year-round growing and many successful harvests. For those who are somewhat new to the indoor growing scene, this brief guide is for you – we will cover a few tips and tricks to ensure that your plants are as happy and healthy as can be, including LED grow lights and equipment recommendations, pest control solutions, day and night cycles, and more.

If you have been searching for the ideal one-stop shop for all of your cultivation needs, you are certainly in the right place. Here, at Futurama, we have a vast catalogue of grow tents, LED grow lights, nutrients, carbon filters, and inline fans – just about everything you will need to get the ball rolling and create a thriving indoor garden that will more than likely result in some impressive yields. So, if you are interested in mastering the art of indoor growing, we encourage you to read and find out more.

Pest Control Solutions For Your Indoor Grow Tent

While it is true that pests are significantly less of an issue when growing within the confines of an indoor tent, it is still crucial to take proactive steps to safeguard your plants and ensure a successful harvest. When we say ‘pests’, we are not only referring to insects and critters but also microscopic bacteria and fungi. Some of the most common pests you may encounter on your growing journey are Thrips larvae, spider mites, aphids, fungus gnats, leaf liners, and cutworms. If you take steps to limit infestations you can rest assured that your plants will remain in perfect shape and that they won’t pick up any pesky diseases along the way.

Here are a few ways to effectively mitigate the presence of pests inside your indoor grow tent:

Make Sure You Close The Tent:

Most of these pests are tiny creatures and are able to sneak through even the smallest of gaps. It is for this reason that we recommend keeping your tent closed whenever you are not actively tending to your plants. To add to this, if you notice any holes, tears, or gaps in your tent, repair these as quickly as possible – this way, no insects have a chance to gain access. Try to seal all air ducts and ventilation pipes so that fresh air can still circulate, but pests are kept outside.

Neem Oil Is A Game-Changer:

The Neem tree is an incredible plant that contains multiple compounds in the leaves and seeds that act as an efficient insect pesticide – they can be added to sprays, concentrates, soaps, and soil conditioners. We suggest Neem oil because it is widely considered to be one of the safest pest control products on the market, assisting in controlling infestations of leaf miners, aphids, mealybugs, flies, etc. These products are much less harsh than many other offerings on the market.

Use An Inline Duct Fan And Carbon Filter Combination:

These two essential pieces of equipment will allow fresh air to circulate within your grow tent, without allowing pests inside. Without them, you will need to leave your tent open for certain periods to allow the air in, and this isn’t ideal as this affords insects plenty of time to make their way inside and cause damage to your crops. Additionally, constantly circulating fresh air greatly reduces the chances of bacteria and fungus growing on your plants.

Ultimately, you want to create the ideal environment in which your plants can flourish, and this involves keeping your grow tent as pest-free as possible. If you have a look at our online store, we have an impressive selection of pest control products from excellent brands like Kirschhoffs Margaret Roberts, BioGrow, Allperplus, EcoBuz, and more.

How To Get Your Day And Night Cycles Spot On

As you may already know, plants require energy in order to photosynthesise, and in nature, the energy that they receive from the sun is not continuous. Different plants have unique circadian clocks and will need adjusted day and night cycles for them to thrive in the way you would like. If you decide to leave the grow light on perpetually, this can damage the plant and throw out its natural rhythm. While plants might not need to sleep like we do, they also have a metabolism that benefits from a night cycle, allowing them to prepare for another day of growth ahead.

When placing a new breed of plant into your indoor tent, we recommend doing some research on the recommended light cycle of said plant. This way, you can ensure that they produce fantastic yields and thrive within the confines of the grow tent. Nowadays, most grow lights have something called a circular memory timer function, which will automatically switch the lights off at the designated moment you prefer. As we mentioned earlier, this will be unique for different plants, but many growers go with an 18/6 or 20/4 light cycle split – meaning the light is on for eighteen hours and off for six.

What To Look Out For When Purchasing An LED Grow Light

Most experienced growers would recommend opting for an LED grow light, as they tend to be the most cost-effective and efficient of the available options. Let’s have a look at three important considerations that will help you purchase the perfect LED grow light for your purposes:

Consider Light Wavelengths And Spectrums 

This is easily one of the most important things to keep in mind, as different plants thrive under different conditions. So, before investing in a grow light, consider the type of plants you want to grow, and do some research about the ideal wavelengths and spectrum of light these plants prefer. This way, you can ensure that you get the utmost from your investment.

Diodes And Different LED Styles 

Are you looking for a chip on board or a more traditional LED grow light? This can make quite a large difference in the overall PAR effectiveness, which refers to the number of photons your grow light creates while factoring in the amount of energy it requires to power it. This is also crucial when thinking about light intensity, as you want to buy a light that will provide your plants with a good amount of energy, however, you don’t want to completely overstimulate them at the same time.

Plant Coverage 

Of course, you want to make sure that all of your plants are receiving an equal amount of energy – if your chosen LED light does not feature enough coverage, your plants will not grow as quickly as you might like. This is especially applicable to growers who have larger grow tents or grow rooms, as the plants on the outskirts may be situated outside of the light footprint of your grow light. With that in mind, it helps to have a good idea of how much space needs to be illuminated, and then you can purchase your LED grow lights accordingly.

For those who are on the lookout for an ultra-high-quality lighting solution, the Kingbrite Quantum Board LED/UV Grow Light – 600W is about as good as it gets. This excellent light is ideal for a 5ft x 5ft grow tent, and it comes with a plethora of features to sweeten the deal. These include dimmable settings to help you grow a wide variety of plants, white light full-spectrum for improved viewing and results, and a reliable passive cooling design which guarantees that your plants are always at a healthy temperature.

If you have yet to check out our Futurama online store, we highly recommend that you do. There, you will find a wide range of growing equipment, LED grow lights, outdoor gear, gadgets, electronics, optics, and much more.

The Benefits Of Hydroponic Growing

For those who are unsure what hydroponic growing entails, allow us to offer a quick explanation. Hydroponic farming is a specific way of growing plants in which you substitute soil for water. Basically, instead of placing the plants into pots filled with soil or raised beds, you dangle the roots of the plants in water.

To enhance growth, you can add nutrients to the water which provide the plants with food and guarantee they have everything they need to produce a successful yield. Even with all that in mind, why is there so much attention surrounding this style of cultivation? Well, let’s get into the benefits of small-scale hydroponic growing – the kind you could do in your grow tent if you wanted to.

One of the main reasons that many growers are making the move to hydroponic setups is that your crops can grow to full size much faster than they would be able to in soil – oftentimes it can be less than half of the time it takes with their soil-grown counterparts. Of course, this is hugely appealing to many, as they are able to grow more plants at a much quicker rate. Beyond the crops growing faster, they also produce significantly greater yields, as the plants have a constant and consistent source of water and nutrients with which to flourish. Additionally, without the presence of soil, pests have less opportunity to breed and compromise the health of your crops.

Here are a few more reasons to consider hydroponic growing:

• You won’t need to worry about soil
• It actually saves water in the long term
• Encourages an enhanced micro-climate, allowing growers to cater the conditions more precisely to the type of plants they are growing
• It is more predictable than soil growing
• Maximises the use of space

If you head over to the Grow Shop section of our website, you will find plenty of hydroponics-related products, solutions, nutrients, and equipment, which should be more than enough for you to create your very own indoor hydroponic grow tent setup!