Aug
Starting your own indoor garden is not an easy task. You may be looking to start your own indoor garden after seeing a great example of it online, at a friend’s home or in a magazine.
There is one thing you should know before firing into indoor gardening, It is not as easy as it looks.
This may sound obvious but there are a high number of new growers that are excited for a short period of time before giving into anger and stress that could come if you are ill prepared for this type of growing.
Below is a list of important aspects you need to have an understanding of before starting this method of growing crops.
Expenditure
A large amount of equipment and instruments are required to have a well-functioning grow room. This equipment includes fans, air conditioning, lighting, the hydroponic system you choose and building material to get it all started.
This short list is not the only thing that will cost you either. A large amount of electricity and water is needed for the grow room meaning an increase utility bills.
Research how much more electricity you will be using and how much that will cost you before you go ahead and grow indoors. Obviously the larger your indoor grow room is, the more money it will cost for equipment and bills.
Required Time
Everyone that thinks of starting their own indoor growing overlooks how much time is required to maintain a clean healthy grow room and crops. New hydroponic growers should be expected to spend 2/3 hours per day on their indoor growing plants.
This time is spent doing daily checking all of the equipment, removing dead or dying plants and matter, maintaining the temperature and humidity levels, making sure the acidity levels are not too high or low, checking for diseases or harmful pests, planting new cuttings and harvesting crops.
As you can see, this list is some of the things you are expected to do on a daily basis. Some of these tasks can take multiple hours and even days to complete. Before starting you indoor hydroponic grow room, think about how much time you will have to spare on this large project.
Knowledge of Plants and Hydroponic Growing
First time growers can’t jump into the time consuming hobby without any solid education on gardening, hydroponics and plants. With a good understanding of plant physiology, you may be able to prevent many of the dangerous things that could harm your plant life within your hydroponic grow room.
Diseases, pests and a lack of or too much nutrients are some of the many things that risk your plants health. Knowing which plants require certain acidity levels can help with growth and overall yield along with and understanding of what the plant’s demands are when it comes to light cycles.
If you plan on having multiple sets of growing plants all different types and at different stages in their growth you must have multiple grow rooms with their own light cycles.
Sound and Security
Among the obvious factors you should take into consideration lie the less obvious.
Sound and security can also be a factor when it comes to indoor gardening. With the large amount of equipment that is necessary for a hydroponic grow room can come an increase of noise and heat within the indoor area you are growing in.
With grow rooms operating 24 hours a day, noise and light is generated even throughout the night. This can draw more attention to your home in comparison with your neighbours.
There could be an increased risk of damage or even burglary to you home due to the light and noise produced. If this is a concern of yours when starting your grow room, try your best to remove any signs of your indoor garden. Purchasing filters, mufflers and other devices will lower the noticeability of your indoor garden from the outside.
Make sure you fully understand what it takes to undergo your own indoor hydroponic gardening project. If you don’t take these factors into consideration before purchasing and starting your grow room, you may find yourself quitting after a short time.
