subject: Indoor Grow Closets [print this page] Do you live somewhere that it rains more often than not? Do you love fresh fruits and vegetables? Why not consider an indoor grow box or closet. Why pay all the high prices at the local grocery store when you can grow your own amazing veggies at home. Most people think that hydroponics is a relatively new concept, but in fact the concept has been around since 1627. It was published in a book by Francis Bacon called "Sylva Sylvarum". It wasn't until 1842 that researchers figured out a list of nine essential nutrients that plants needed to grow without soil. With research and design, the indoor grow closet has evolved into something truly worth while.
So what is a indoor grow closet? It is a device used for growing plants indoors and they are usually designed to be self-contained and small enough to fit in a closet or in a small corner of the basement. They are automated systems that keep a flow of water constantly supplying the roots of the plants with a nutrient rich solution. Generally they have a couple of vents, one fresh air vent to bring in air and an exhaust vent to remove stale hot air. Some really high end systems may even have air conditioning to keep running temperatures down as well as help put more CO2 back into the system to boost the plants growth rate. These types of grow boxes are usually used by people who don't have enough room for an outdoor garden or they live in a small condo and still want to grow their own fresh veggies. Indoor grow closets can be used year around no matter what the weather decides to do, even in the dead of winter you can still grow some sweet fresh tomatoes. A good closet grow box should include a sturdy cabinet type of box, high intensity lighting, ventilation, a hydroponics system, CO2 generator, odor eliminator, and a temperature monitor. These are the essential components needed for your indoor grow cabinet to really work well.
Indoor grow closets can also help you save water, on average they will use 1/20th the water you would use on a regular soil garden. Outdoor gardens are beautiful and fun to nurture, but they can have an negative effect on the water quality of your local water supply, run off form your garden may contain harmful pesticides and chemicals that could damage the local Eco-system. Another fundamental component of an indoor hydroponic grow closets are the lights. the best lights for growth are Metal Halide for the growth stages and High Pressure Sodium for the growth and flowering stage. The one main drawback to these types of lights is the cost to run them, they draw a lot of power which means higher electricity bills. Some high end indoor grow closets may contain lights mounted on a track with a motor to move the lights back and forth so the plants get the maximum exposure to the lights for greatest growth results.
