Using a Grow Tent? YOU NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS

Whether this is your first time growing in a grow tent, or first time growing at all, there are some things you should know before jumping into it.

Searching for the right tent can be overwhelming – all varying in size, brand, quality, and price, so we’ve broken down all the key factors you need to consider when choosing and growing in a grow tent.

Grow Room Size

Size is one of the first things growers like to consider before purchasing a tent, which begs the question: How much space do you have to work with?

This will be the limiting factor. Once you’ve measured your grow room and narrowed down what sizes you can work with, you can start to get an idea of what type of tent you should get.

Other things to consider with grow tent size is your lighting, number of plants, pot size, equipment, and your ability to work inside your garden once it’s filled out.

Tent Quality

It’s important to invest in a quality grow tent, but that’s easier said than done. When narrowing down your options, do a bit of research on these products. Look at reviews and check with the growmies to see what’s tried-and-true and what’s a scam.

You want to consider the material the tent is made of, as well as the reflective material used on the inside. Zippers are a common part of grow tents that commonly get over-used and worn out which can cause light leaks (big no-no in flower), so you want to make sure the product your buying is made with solid material and has proven to hold up over time.

In the event you do find light leaks, you can easily cover them with some gorilla tape or duct tape on the outside of the tent, or foil tape inside the tent. Quality tents are going to be housing your precious crops for at least a grow and hopefully many more, so it’s worth the extra money to make sure your cannabis has a happy home grow after grow.

Environmental Control

When you’re growing your crops, keeping your environment dialed in is key, so when we’re using a grow tent you need to factor in the equipment and space used for humidity and temperature control as well as ventilation.

Depending on your climate and set-up, you may have to fit a humidifier, dehumidifier, portable AC, heater, ducting, and more in or around your tent, so keep this in mind when investing in a grow tent.

That being said, you’re going to always want at least a couple of fans moving air around inside the tent, clip-on oscillating fans are very popular amongst indoor growers.

Ventilation

Proper ventilation is important to maintain throughout your grow for a plethora of reasons. Cannabis likes new fresh air to be moving around it all the time, stagnant air causes microclimates that form beneath the canopy and becomes breeding grounds for pests, mold, and mildew.

In order to manage this, you’re going to need to pull all that stale air out and suck new air in. We recommend TerraBloom inline fans to accomplish just that. A helpful tool to add to your fan is a speed controller – this will help you maintain the perfect conditions inside your tent and control positive and negative air pressure.

Once you’ve got your inline fan going you may notice the walls of your tent bulging inward or out – that’s positive and negative pressure.

Negative air pressure (when the walls of the tent are bulging inward) has shown to be very beneficial to cannabis growers – it can help control temperature/humidity to combat mold and mildew and maintain proper Co2 levels in your garden as well as increase yields.

For the growmies trying to keep your indoor garden low-key, you may consider investing in a carbon filter. Depending on the size and brand, carbon filters can eliminate almost all of the odors emitting from your marijuana, because as much as you might love the scent of your precious flowers, your neighbors might not… So, if you’re planning on using a grow tent with a carbon filter in place, make sure you’ve bought a tent that can adequately support one.

Upkeep

When it comes to growing indoors, you need to keep your grow area clean and well-kept. Clearing any debris, decaying plant material, and spills is essential in preventative management of pests, mold, and mildew, so when you’re growing in a tent, keep in mind you’ll need to be able to work throughout the garden and be able to reach any messes made or tend to hard-to-reach areas.

A lot of indoor grows utilize things like flood trays, pot-raisers, drainage trays, and other products to manage runoff.

Some advanced growers may implement things like automatic watering/drainage systems as well.

All these factors are important to keep in mind when buying and using a grow tent. Now that you know what to look for, it’ll be much easier to narrow down the search for your perfect grow tent. Always do your research before you buy – check reviews on multiple sites, run it by the growmies and make sure you know what you’re investing in.

Quality will take you and your cannabis a long way!

Ryan Pulis

Ryan Pulis is a cannabis enthusiast with exceptional knowledge and experience of marijuana, it’s benefits and the art of growing. Based in the marvelous state of Massachusetts, he’s pursuing a degree in the medical field whilst growing cannabis and further expanding his knowledge of the science of horticulture, the human body and marijuana. Having assisted in multiple grow operations and managing grows of his own, Ryan brings a unique perspective to the table.