Everything You Need to Know About Grow Boxes
When it comes to indoor cultivation - nothing beats the simplicity of a grow box. These contained systems enable you to create a micro-environment for your plants - so they can grow to the best of their ability. Read along to find out everything there is to know about grow boxes, and how you can benefit from using them.
What is a Grow Box?
First and foremost, a grow box is a self-contained environment for plants. Grow boxes come in many shapes and sizes, and are constructed out of various materials. They are primarily used for indoor plant cultivation; however, they can also be used outdoors to extend the growing season of particular annual crops.
Why Are Grow Boxes Used?
The primary reason why a grow box is the perfect environment for plants is that it’s self-contained. All the hazards of the great outdoors are eliminated, which means your crop will flourish to the best of their ability. When plants don’t have the stress of pests, bacteria, fungi, and other detrimental factors, their flowers and fruits grow bigger and healthier.
Since a grow box is equipped with everything required to grow a plant, your crop will enjoy a microclimate that’s fine-tuned to their specific needs. This means you can automate the lighting (HID or LED) to come on certain hours, which is especially important for photoperiodic plants.
Internal fans are also used within grow boxes to optimize the overall humidity level and temperature. Certain plants are acclimated to higher levels of heat, whereas others are more attuned towards colder climates. This can be said for plants that evolved in more humid climates, such as in the tropics, whereas others are acclimated to dry zones.
By being in control of the temperature, your plants can grow at an optimal rate, which will far exceed plants that are grown in their native habitat.
Leafy Greens Growing in a Grow Box
What Type of Systems Can You Use in a Grow Box?
Grow Boxes empower cultivators with the ability to use hydroponic or soil-based systems for growth. This means that you can place one of the many types of hydroponic systems within a grow box. Let’s take a look at what options you have when growing inside a grow box.
Drain-to-Waste
The drain-to-waste technique allows you to feed your plants a higher-than-usual amount of nutrients. This is possible because, underneath each container, you have an additional container that’s meant to collect the excess nutrient solution. By watering your crops with this nutrient-charged solution, your plants won’t experience detrimental salt-buildup.
Nutrient Film Technique
This method uses a shallow tray, in which your plants are suspended over. A small pump is used to continually push nutrient solution across the root system to provide food, air, and moisture.
Drip System
This method is perfectly suited to grow boxes because it’s incredibly sustainable and promotes accelerated growth. Containers, such as pots or buckets, are filled with a hydroponic medium - such as perlite, vermiculite, coco-coir, expanded clay, or mineral wool.
Small drippers are attached to timers, pumps, and pressure compensators to ensure that the perfect amount of solution is emitted on to each plant.
Aeroponics
Aeroponics can be used within grow boxes as well - and they provide next-level growth that’s a sight to behold once the aeroponic system is perfectly dialed in. This method suspends plants above pressurized misters that emit nutrient solution that’s been previously aerated.
What Else Are Grow Boxes Good For?
Grow boxes are incredibly flexible grow spaces that allow you to create the ideal environment for your plant’s needs - as well as your needs. This means that you can place a carbon filter within the grow box to eliminate any odor that your plants may produce. Certain crops are known to produce a pungent scent; therefore, a heavy-duty carbon filter should be placed within a grow box to ensure you don’t offend your neighbors.
Grow boxes are also easily placed into a multitude of places. Depending on their size and material, they can be placed in the attic, basement, closet, bedroom, shed, or even on a patio. The beauty of grow boxes lies in their flexibility to go nearly anywhere - which empowers you to grow your plants when or wherever you choose.
Grow boxes can also accommodate any type of light that you choose to use. HID, fluorescent, or LED grow light systems can all be hung within a grow box. By making it easy for you to install a grow light system of your choice, you’ll produce a bountiful harvest of flowers and produce.
As you can see - grow boxes allow you to grow anywhere
What Are The Different Types and Brands of Grow Boxes?
Now that you understand what a grow box is and why they are used, let’s take a look at the types of products and brands that you can find when searching for grow boxes.
Canvas Grow Boxes
Canvas grow boxes are constructed out of heavy-duty canvas material, such as 210-Denier canvas. These grow boxes, or grow tents, are easily constructed. The outer body is erected by the use of poles, and the inner body is covered with reflective Mylar to increase the overall light intensity.
Canvas grow boxes come in various sizes, from small to large, to fit your every need. Options, such as Secret Jardin, Mammoth, Gorilla Grow, Probox, Budbox, and Unit Farm, offer a plethora of canvas grow tents at different sizes and price points.
This example from Secret Jardin shows the ample space and various locations to outfit your grow box with a multitude of accessories
Metallic Grow Boxes
Metallic grow boxes are incredibly sturdy in construction but are far heavier compared to their canvas counterparts. However, metallic grow boxes are ideal for those that need to mask their closet as a growing space, or for those that require tamper-proof barriers.
Companies, such as Homebox and G-Tools, offer a wide range of metallic and heavy-duty grow boxes that come with everything you need to begin cultivating plants indoors. These brands offer products, such as the Bananza SanLight Q4W that’s fully equipped with ventilation, carbon filter, two San Lights, timer, and a warranty that has your back - no matter what.
Ultimately, metallic grow boxes are plug-and-play and are incredibly easy to get started - especially for those new to indoor plant cultivation.
This grow box from Homebox shows how metallic grow boxes can be placed as a piece of furniture.
Are You Ready to Maximize Your Yield With Grow Boxes?
Now that you’ve done your research about everything there is to know about grow boxes - it’s time to choose which grow box is best for you. With so many options, you’ll be pleased to know that you won’t go wrong when choosing products from brands that we’ve previously mentioned. Once you begin, you’ll wonder why you haven’t converted to grow boxes sooner - especially as harvest time comes around.