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Growing Plants in Grow Tents
Grow tents can undoubtedly make your life easier when it comes to growing plants. However, you are susceptible to making a few common mistakes. Only when you avoid this can you grow the plants easily in the grow tent. We will share with you a list of mistakes that you need to avoid while doing the same.
1. Overheating of plants
Every type of light produces a bit of heat. Even though LEDs produce little heat, they certainly do. That is why, when you’re growing plants in the grow tent, they are susceptible to overheating. It is especially true when the lights are placed very close to the plants. If the plants get heated, they will become dry and cease to grow. That is why you have to try to prevent the overheating of the plants.
To do so, you have to follow a few tips:
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Always keep the lights away from the plants.
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Check the plants from time to time. The outline of the leaves should not turn brown.
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Keep the hydration levels of the soil appropriate.
When you follow these three tips, you will be able to avoid this mistake.
2. Buying a tent of the wrong size
Many people think that the size of the tent does not matter when growing plants indoors. However, this is a mistake. When you attempt to buy a tent, you can get 2′ x 2,’ and you can also get 10′ x 20′. Choosing a tent of the wrong size is one of the most common mistakes you can make.
To avoid this mistake, the tips that you have to follow include:
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First, you have to list the type of plants you want to grow inside the tent and the technique you want to use to grow them.
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After that, you have to look at the space available to set up the tent.
Once you look at both of these factors, it becomes easy for you to avoid this mistake.
3. Providing excessive nutrients
We are constantly under the fear that the plants in the grow tent might suffer from low nutrition. That is why we often end up providing excessive nutrients to the plants. However, this is a grave mistake, and it can prove to be fatal for the plants as well. To avoid this, it is a good idea to create a proper feeding schedule for the plants. We are referring to fertilizers, compost, and so on. That way, overnutrition can be avoided.
4. Choosing a substandard tent
Not only the size of the tent but also the quality of the tent matter. If the tent is not of good quality, it won’t insulate the plants from the weather outside. In that case, you won’t be able to grow them easily. A much better alternative is to look at the tent’s material and the kind of insulation on offer. You have to look at the combination of ventilation points and the ventilation gadgets you can use inside the tent. Only when you look at both of these things will you create the right kind of ambiance for the plants. Merely looking out for the cheapest grow tent and then choosing one is undoubtedly a mistake.
5. Going with minimal lighting
Lighting inside the grow tent is crucial, and it will help you control the process of photosynthesis. Most people these days go for LED lighting. LED lighting is not only eco-friendly, but it requires little electricity as well. However, if the lumen output of LED lighting is slow, you won’t be able to trigger the process of photosynthesis. Opting for too little light inside the grow tent is one of the most common mistakes.
It is always a good idea to consider a few factors while choosing the light, like:
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The surface area of the tent
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Number of plants
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Light positioning
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And so on
Once you consider these few factors and choose the LED lighting for the grow tent, it becomes easy to choose the appropriate lighting for the tent. Less lighting means that photosynthesis will not take place, and appropriate lighting will ensure that the growth of the plants is accelerated.
6. Not monitoring the conditions inside
Merely setting up the tent and installing the accessories inside is not the way to grow the plants inside the grow tent. There are a few precautionary steps that you need to take as well.
These include:
Humidity
You have to always check the humidity inside the tent from time to time. You can either opt for automated humidity sensors inside the tent or use one that measures the humidity when you trigger it. The exact humidity level you need inside the tent will depend on the type of plants you are growing. If the humidity is low, you need to increase humidity in the grow tent by hydrating the soil more often, keeping a water feature inside the tent, etc.
Temperature
Secondly, you have to monitor the temperature inside the grow tent periodically as well. It will help you avoid the problem of overheating, which we have highlighted above. Simultaneously, it will help you avoid the tent becoming too cold as well. Only the right temperature will help the plants grow. You need to monitor these two aspects inside the tent periodically. Only once you do that will the plants grow appropriately.
7. Not considering the light spectrum
Not all lights are equal when it comes to the grow tent. Did you know that you can buy different lights, referring to various aspects of the light? If you end up choosing a light that belongs to the wrong end of the spectrum, it can hamper the growth of the plants rather than aid them.
For example, the vegetative stages of the plants often need a blue spectrum. During this stage, if you use the red lights, the growth of the plants will be hampered. That is why, rather than using any lights, look at the growth stage and the type of plant and, after that, choose the light of the spectrum range suitable for that stage.
As you can see, it is very easy to make the mistakes that we have highlighted above. If it weren’t for this article, you might have already made a few of those mistakes while setting up your first grow tent. All you need to do is go through the mistakes highlighted above and take steps to avoid them. Once you do so, you can aid the growth of your plants inside the grow tent.
