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HOW
TO SET UP A GROW ROOM |
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What
is the best garden for you? |
| What
items do you really need and why? |
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| Often
when considering setting up an indoor garden
for the first time the wide array of equipment
and different methods associated with the
equipment can be a little overwhelming,
you thought all you needed was a light source
and a plant? The truth is it can be as simple
as a light and a plant, or at the other
extreme computer controlled hermetically
sealed CO2 enriched Garden of Eden. |
| In
this article we will try to give an insight
into the basic requirements of your indoor
garden, items that you really can’t
do without. |
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| First and
foremost, you must give thought to what you intend
to achieve with this garden, some point of reference
from which you can make the important decisions
about choosing the right equipment, it’s
going to come down to a couple of vital decisions. |
1. |
How much
space you want to use. |
2. |
Your budget, how much
you have to spend. |
| The space you have
available along with your budget will decide a
couple of the most important aspects of your garden.
The right size light and how much air extraction
you might need. |
| Without doubt the most
popular and incidentally most versatile form of
light is HPS (high pressure sodium) HID (high
intensity discharge) lighting, HPS lights are
available in, 250 watt, 400 watt, 600 watt and
1000watts, the decision as to which light is best
for you needs is dictated by the area you are
using. |
| Your budget will decide
what shade or reflector you use, from a simple
powder coated trapezoidal shape shade to the more
expensive alloy gull wing shades that spread the
light more evenly. |
| SOG
Standard Shade Information (Trapezoidal):
Usually of light metal construction with
a reflector white powder coated finish, this shade
will direct light towards the plants but has a
couple of minor flaws, the heavier construction
creates a heat sink which emits light energy as
heat, this heat energy increases the air temperature
as well as stressing the plant. |
| Adjusta
Wing Information: Gull wing shape
Adjusta-wing shades are made of light alloy, the
fully adjustable wing configuration allows a more
even spread of light, while the weight considerable
lighter (1/3 to 1/5 of shades of a comparable
size) means less light energy converted to heat.
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| Lamp
or Bulb:
The lamp should be the same wattage as
the ballast, running a 400w lamp in a 600w ballast
is not a good idea. |
| Ballast:
The ballast is an electrical box which handles
the ignition and constant running of the lamp.
The ballast is essential and should be remotely
attached to the lamp holder allowing the ballast
to be placed outside the grow room. |
| Lamp
holder: This device attaches the
lamp to the lamp holder also attaching the lamp
to the shade. |
| Shade
or Reflector:
This is usually a relatively large metal
construction the prupose of which is to direct
light emitting from the top portion of the lamp
back towards the plants below. |
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Chart of Light
Area Generation |
250w |
Less than 1 Square Metre |
400w |
1 Square Metres |
600w |
1.2 Square Metres |
1000/1100w |
2 Square Metres |
| Once you have decided
what size area you are going to use and have decided
on the best lamp for that area you need to investigate
air extraction, obviously the more air you extract
the better for your plants in terms of air temperature
and humidity. Few areas of the garden are as overlooked
as proper air extraction and the benefits it provides.
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| You should also consider
treating the air from your room as this will decide
the right type of fan. If you intend to use a
carbon filter or OdorSok, or for that matter are
using ducting to move air from your room you should
be using a centrifugal fan, this fan is the only
choice as it builds pressure allowing the fan
to move large volumes of air even with filters
and/or ducting, other types of fans such as Axial
and Mixed flow will still make plenty of noise
but will not move air effectively. |
| Choosing the right
fan and filter combination will be a result of
how much air you need to move in order to achieve
total air exchange for this you need to calculate
the volume of air on the room. i.e. 1x1x2 = 2cm,
1cm = 1,000 litres of air. |
| Next you need to factor
in the amount of light being used, the wattage
of lights used will affect the temperature inside
the room, more light may mean a longer filter
or even a larger fan. The rule of thumb when buying
either a light or fan/filter is always buy the
best or largest your setup calls for and that
your budget will allow, money spared on lights
and/or fans is money wasted. |
| So to recap at this
point, you should know what area you have to work
with (measure the area, do not rely on best guess)
you will have selected the size light best suited
to the area you are to use and a fan + filter
to handle air movement and odour control, the
basics of the garden are now in place and attention
can be given to the rest of the garden. |
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| There are a few items
that no good gardener should be without in order
to be sure plants are operating at the maximum
potential strict control should be maintained
over plant feeding. Both the CF (conductivity
factor or level of plant food) and pH (the acidity
of the water containing plant food) should be
measured and possibly adjusted every time nutrient
solution is made. |
| When feeding plants
it’s important to use clean water and high
quality nutrients, keep in mind that it’s
impossible to dissolve the full range of nutrients
a plant might want during different stages of
growth, the timely addition of additives to enhance
growth can really make the difference. |
| A CF meter uses a small
electrical charge to calculate the level of nutrient
salts in water, this allows for precise control
of plant feeding, without a meter to measure CF
you are only guessing, not precise or controlled.
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| pH while a measure
of acidity also controls how nutrients are available
to the plant, at different pH different nutrients
become available to the plant, this means that
the wrong pH means the nutrients can become locked
out from the plant, a pH meter, pH tape or a pH
test kit are essential to ensure your plants make
the most of the food you are giving them. |
| With the feeding portion
of the project under control it’s time to
move onto the final aspect of the garden, the
environmental controls, the physical aspect of
the plants, you need to provide for the plants
the conditions that exist in nature on a yearly
cycle but shortened to complete many cycles each
year, so we need to fool the plants by recreating
the seasons. |
| You should use and
oscillating fan to provide wind for your plants,
as well as helping build strong stems and leaves
the wind also means the air around the plant does
not become depleted of vital CO2. |
| Mylar or Panda Film
should be applied to the walls, this will reflect
more light towards the lower parts of the plant
meaning useful growth even in the lowest parts
of the plant. |
| During the winter the
cold weather can seriously hamper your plants
efforts to grow, especially when watering; to
get around this heating cables can be wrapped
around the containers meaning the root zone is
kept nice and warm allowing rapid growth. |
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| A thermometer will
help you maintain a good average temperature by
letting you know if your room is becoming too
warm or too cold, a digital thermometer will store
the minimum and maximum temperatures as well as
the relative humidity, letting you know if your
extraction system is up to the task or if tweaking
the airflow is required. |
| Add extra horsepower
to your setup by attaching a Spreader to any one
of our lamp holders and your light setup becomes
even more efficient and lamps may be placed an
unprecedented 20-30 cm from growing plants to
produce awesome light levels, increased area coverage
and deep foliage penetration without burning or
overheating the crop. |
| It creates
a super wide ultra even light distribution pattern
by efficiently reflecting excess light from the
central hot spot towards grow room extremities.
The Spreader reduces heat intensity by reflection
but also acts as an efficient cooling fin in situations
where there is reasonable airflow around the lamp.
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Planning
and execution are the keys to a cost effective
productive garden, the unforeseen will happen,
work put into designing and stocking your garden
will mean your best chances of success. |
| Below are a couple
of product lists for setting up a grow room approximately
1 metre square in size. One list for those on
a budget and another for those that can afford
to set up a grow room that will really provide
some good indoor harvests, once you have decided
on a grow room setup you will need to choose from
the many lighting kitsets we have to offer and
what type of growing method you are going to use,
Hydroponics or Soil? Then how are you going to
apply that method, an NFT system, an S-Quad. |
| We’ll
cover these topics in more detail in the next
Switched on Gardener flyer. Until then you’ll
find some basic information provided below our
recommendations |
Grow
Room Reccomendations Based on 1 Square Metre
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| Room: |
Budget: |
Reccomended: |
| Spreader |
N/A |
Small Silver Pro Spreader |
| Extractor fan |
150mm Axial |
150mm Centrifugal |
| Carbon Filter |
150mm OdorSok |
150mm x 580mm Canister |
| Ducting |
150mm x 3 Metres |
150mm x 6m Insul-Ducting |
| Wall Reflection |
4 x 2m Panda Film |
7.5 Metres Mylar |
| Oscillating fan |
15cm Oscillating fan |
40cm Oscillating fan |
| Heating cable |
1 x 15w Cable (4 Metres) |
1x 15w Cable (4 Metres) |
| Thermometer |
Plastic Temperature Gauge |
Digital Temperature/Humidty |
| Measurement |
40ml Cup & 1 Litre
Jug |
40ml Cup & 1 Litre
Jug |
| Magnifying Glass |
N/A |
20 x Jewelers Eye Loupe |
| Spray Bottle |
500ml Bottle |
500ml Bottle |
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