Best Indoor Grow Setup for Every Home

Putting up an indoor grow setup in your home is not as challenging as people might think. Although you must invest some time and money into a grow setup, getting the required materials is quite simple and can be done relatively inexpensively.

You can build three different types of indoor gardens at three different price points using the instructions on this guide. The hardware you will need for these setups can be ordered online or purchased at a local hardware or gardening store.

Most Important Parts of the Indoor Grow System

An indoor grow setup is a straightforward build. However, you're going to need a few essential items before beginning to construct your indoor growing operation. Below are eight important parts of an indoor grow system that both enthusiasts and professionals alike can focus on to achieve consistent results for their indoor plants.

Indoor Tent for Grower

Growing plants with a hydroponic system throughout the entire year is possible when you have an indoor grow tent. Indeed, tents are fantastic for maintaining and growing plants while keeping the grow protected from the elements.

If you live in a densely populated city, finding enough space to grow can prove to be difficult. You can mount a grow tent almost anywhere! You don't need a dedicated room for a small indoor garden, but many people think that. The truth is that a grow tent can be placed in the smallest of corners in your house and still thrive.

Grow tents can create the perfect cultivating environment through LEDs, artificial humidity, and air filtration. Typically made of flexible materials, tents often contain fans, lights, and carbon filters. A grow tent can help plants grow rapidly because you're able to control the climate and lighting inside the setup.

LED Grow Lights

The windows in your house may be sufficient to grow very small plantlets, but if you want to grow veggies or any plants that love the sun, you'll need some grow lights for an extended period of time. Most homes do not have adequate lighting for photosynthesis.

Plants benefit greatly from the addition of grow lights and being able to completely replace natural sunlight for photosynthesis. These are the three main types of grow lights you can use for indoor growing:

• Fluorescent Lights- This type of light is best suited to plants with lower to moderate light requirements. Fluorescent light can either be a Tube Fluorescent Light that is relatively thin and versatile or a compact Fluorescent Light that does not emit much heat.
• High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lights- These lights use mercury to produce light and heat. The HPS bulbs are generally kept at a distance from the plants, as they can heat up considerably. An HPS light setup will usually require an expensive and spacious grow setup because of its use of heat and ventilation systems.
• LED (Light Emitting Diodes)- LEDs are the most efficient and inexpensive choice in this list. LEDs are much more focused than incandescent lights and produce very little heat. It is possible to target specific wavelengths in color spectrums, resulting in customized "green" lighting that mimics or sometimes even surpasses sunlight effectiveness.

Indoor Grow Air Filtration System

If you're growing indoors, controlling your grow environment is extremely important. An effective ventilation system is essential for establishing a proper indoor grow setup.

An indoor grow room air filtration system needs three components:

• Air Intake- Passive and active intake systems are the two ways in which you can set up your grow tent. Passive systems won't need intake systems at all. Rather than blowing air into your tent, the inline exhaust fan will create a vacuum inside. Fresh air is drawn in by the intake ports at the bottom of your tent. A tent with an active intake allows you to pull air into the tent through an intake port using an additional fan.
• Extractor- In order to maintain a healthy environment inside your grow room or tent, you need an extractor fan. Fan extractors are practical and cost-effective solutions for managing humidity, heat, and odors inside your grow system.
• Filter- Many grow tents and grow rooms use activated carbon filters to control emissions and reduce odors. As a result, fresh air is created, free of allergens and odors. Having an unpleasant odor or emitting toxic fumes will adversely affect the comfort level of your home. A proper filtration system is vital for mitigating this issue.

Light Automation

Your current LEDs or other lighting systems can be upgraded with a wide range of accessories and modifications to provide the best growth environment for your indoor garden.

Using grow light timers and controllers, light moving systems, or light meters, you don't have to manually control your grow room lighting any longer.

Climate Metering

Growers who are just starting out on a larger indoor grow setup do not realize how quickly an entire crop can be ruined. Conversely, some growers simply do not realize how much better their harvest could be if they controlled the climate in their growing space.

Here are what we consider the essential elements to perfecting your grow room climate control:

• Heating- Maintaining the correct temperature in your grow room will maximize plant growth. Temperatures should be between 18 and 25 Celsius (65 and 77 Farrenheit). When the weather gets chilly, a grow room heater will keep your growth going smoothly.
• Cooling- You can cool your room with a number of methods, including venting, air-cooled hoods, water-cooled lights or fans, as well as with air conditioners. Ventilating your grow room or tent by occasionally opening its door/zipper is the cheapest method of removing heat.
• EC meter- One of the main factors to take into account when growing indoors is EC or electrical conductivity. EC shows the mineral salt concentration in the water and is closely associated with plant health. EC meters come in two varieties, compact EC meters and continuous EC meters, both of which use an electrode and a probe to measure the electronic conductivity in water. Compact EC meters are more lightweight, but continuous EC meters are much more accurate and durable.

Humidity Control

Generally, people overlook humidity control, especially when they're expanding their grow operation because they don't realize how much moisture each plant produces. Most plants have a substantial amount of water in them and produce moisture as they grow.

A small residential dehumidifier can provide adequate moisture for a small grow setup. The best way to measure humidity with a larger setup is to purchase a handheld sensor that measures the level of moisture in the air.

Watering System for Indoor Grow Setup

Irrigation gets less attention when growing plants indoors than other aspects like lighting and nutrients. There are many benefits to irrigation in plant cultivation, but people tend to overlook them because it can be done with a hand pump.

Plants can be watered in two ways. One is by hand - watering the plants manually, while the other is drip irrigation. A drip irrigation system delivers water slowly and precisely to a plant's roots. In spite of its name, drip irrigation can also be applied as a spray.

Soil

Indoor grow spaces require different types of soil, and not every soil is suitable for an indoor setup. Plants grow best in particular types of soil. You'll need to choose the soil based on the type of plant and the weather conditions, and grow location. But there are some essential factors that all grow room soils have in common.

Let's examine them:

• Texture- Light, loose soil is most suitable for indoor plants. Light soil textures promote root growth because the soil can ensure more oxygen reaches the plant for optimal health and growth.
• Drainage ability- When you grow plants indoors, the soil needs to drain excess water efficiently. Water shouldn't be trapped around the plant when you water it. If the soil drains poorly, you might get sick plants or even poor crops.
• Water retention- Both drainage and water retention are important. Water retention is the soil's capacity to hold water. The ideal soil is able to retain water and drain efficiently.
• pH value- The pH scale measures acidity and alkaline levels within an object. Several plants can only thrive in a narrow pH range, so being aware of the pH scale is crucial.
• Nutrients- You need nutrients in the grow room soil in order for your plants to flourish. Nearly all soils available for purchase already contain a certain amount of nutrients. However, be aware that these beneficial nutrients typically last between 3 and 4 weeks. You should expect the nutrients in commercial soils to be consumed as soon as your plants start to bloom. At this point, you should add nutrients to the soil.

Complete Indoor Grow Setups for Different Spaces

While there are many different ways you can go about building an indoor grow setup, the truth is that it all depends on the scale of your operation. A good indicator of how much you'll be able to grow is by looking at the available space for your indoor grow setup. Here are some tips for starting on a grow system based on the size of your grow space.

Indoor Grow Setup for Small Space

For growers that don't have a lot of space to dedicate, constructing or purchasing a grow box or tent can be a great option. Most small grow boxes start from 24" x 24" sizes and are perfect for getting equipped with LED lights while not requiring a complex filtration system. An intake fan should suffice. In addition to providing better air circulation, it will provide some indicators for maintaining a healthy environment for the plants. We also recommend getting a thermometer and hydrometer to keep track of the climate inside of your grow tent. 

Indoor Grow Setup for Big Space

Growers that are able to dedicate space for their grow setup will naturally be able to have a larger grow system. If you've got a lot of space in your garage or a room in your house, consider getting a larger grow box with some beneficial features.

Most bigger grow boxes tend to start from a 4×4' build. These setups are designed to be fully capable of growing vegetables and plants year-round. In addition to the hydrometer and thermometer, you'll need to install climate metering and proper air filtration into your setup. We recommend using LED strips for light automation as well.

Wrap Up!

An indoor grow setup is easier to set up than many people believe. Despite the fact that you will have to invest both time and money into your grow setup, obtaining the necessary materials is relatively cheap and straightforward.

There are several key elements you'll need to consider when building an indoor grow setup. These elements always start with choosing a space you're comfortable with for growing. This step is followed by creating an environment that promotes plant growth. You can enhance your grow setup by implementing air filtration, LED lights, climate metering devices, etc.