grow rooms give growers complete control over their environment
Grow room is an indoor space where plants or flowers can be grown in controlled conditions. Grow rooms are popular because they have several advantages including complete control over conditions including lighting, temperature, security, and privacy. Indoor grow rooms can make use of natural sunlight, artificial light, or a combination of the two. Depending on the size, set up, and layout of a grow room energy usage to run and heat from the equipment can cause significant problems.
When growing indoors a primary obstacle is soil or lack thereof. Grow rooms sometimes use soil but increasingly are utilizing soilless cultivation techniques including hydroponics and aeroponics. Many growers report that soilless growing provides better yields, faster growth rates, and quicker maturation. This is attributed to the nutrient control that soilless techniques confer on the grower. Growing in soil nutrient concentrations can only be estimated and fluctuate over time. Hydroponic and aeroponic methods allow the grower to custom create the medium for the plants to grow in. Concentrations can be changed at will and with extreme precision making it possible to provide optimum growth conditions for any crop. Some of the more popular nutrients used for grow mixtures include vermiculite, perlite, coconut husk, and rockwool.
Apart from the medium in which the plants will grow lighting is the other critical design aspect of any grow room. Light is essential for a plant’s growth and has a tremendous impact on the size, timing, and quality of crop yields. In order to maximize the yield from indoor growing growers use three common types of light at different points in the growth and maturation cycle of the plant. Growers use HID, or high intensity discharge lamps, compact fluorescent lamps, and regular fluorescent lamps. The types of lamps used and their placement determines how effective they will be and are commonly changed throughout the growth and flowering cycles. The walls of grow rooms are often covered in reflective material to utilize as much light over as large an area of the plant as possible.
Beyond the growing medium and the lighting set up regular maintenance is also required throughout the process.The light required to grow plants indoors will generate a substantial amount of heat. Fans are usually required to dissipate the heat and for air circulation depending on the location and layout of a grow room. Close attention must be paid to humidity levels and regular inspection for pests will help ensure indoor crops remain safe and healthy.
Grow rooms have proven to be a convenient and effective way for millions of people to grow any plant they want in highly controlled conditions. Many growers report yields of better size and quality than what they can achieve outdoors.