What Makes An Indoor Setup
The key to an indoor setup is figuring out a way to control every aspect of the plant's environment to optimize growth and yield while maximizing the use of the space.
What a Plant Needs to Survive Indoors
When it comes to choosing an indoor area to start a grow in, there are a few essential things that need to be considered to ensure the area can provide everything a grow space needs.
Temperature and Humidity: Cannabis plants are comfortable in the same indoor temperatures and humidity that people like, so typically, most indoor areas do not have to worry much about this. However, if you are planning to grow in an uninsulated area, such as a garage, basement, or attic, you will need to figure out a way to keep the grow setup close to room temperature throughout the entire grow cycle.
Fresh Air(flow): Ideally, you want the grow space to be able to pull in fresh air from the outside, but pulling air from another indoor space that has a window will work as well. For example, if you are growing in a closet that is pulling air from a room with an open window, that is enough for the plants to breathe. Fresh air is only half the equation, though, as a light breeze towards the plant is equally as important. Often times, this is as simple as positioning an intake fan towards the plant or adding a clip-on fan to a grow setup.
Size: The size of the grow space, especially the height, will dictate a plant’s maximum yield. Ideally, you want at least 4 feet of height for a small grow to thrive and 6 feet of height to maximize a plant’s potential. Remember that around 2 feet of space is always taken up by the pot and grow light (as most grow lights need a minimum of 1 foot clearance to not burn a plant).
Light: Speaking of lights, the size of your light will need to match the grow space in size, and every light type also has their pros and cons, as well as distance required away from your plants. It is important to understand the basics of each type of grow light available to make a better decision on what light is the best option for your grow situation.
Enclosure: While it is always possible to grow a plant in an open indoor space enclosing the grow provides a plethora of benefits. From reflecting the blinding grow lights during the day cycle to ensuring no light leaks during the night cycle, enclosing the plant allows for more control. With a smaller enclosed space, air movement is easier to control and smells are easier to contain.
Smell: Cannabis only has a faint smell until it starts to flower, but once it is in the flowering cycle, the distinct odor can easily spread throughout an entire house, so if that is going to be an issue, you will need to either mitigate the smell by exhausting the grow space air outdoors or by completely scrubbing it from the air with a carbon filter, both of which will require more initial planning and setup.
Electricity: This one is a little trickier to figure out because you will not only need to access the electrical box but also know which fuse is linked to the wall outlet(s) you want to use. After that, you will need to add up all the electrical draw from everything plugged into the outlet and then see if that is near or exceeds the wattage limit for your AC outlet.
Indoor Grow Seasons
While it is always possible to grow year round indoors with the right tools, depending on your location some seasons are much more suited for indoor growing then others. For me, I have always been the type of person that tries to put in as little effort as needed, so when it comes to growing indoors I will always choose the most opportune time to do so to cut down on the work and costs involved. This means that I generally skip growing indoors during the summer months due to not wanting to deal with heating issues which, for my grow space, is the most costly (electricity wise) to cure. This also means that in winter months, when the grow space gets too cold, I will switch to a grow light that generates more heat to cut down on the cost of having to run a portable heater.
Did this guide help? This article was taken directly from The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Growing Cannabis book, so if you like the advice above you'll love the rest of the book, which includes a lot of exclusive content not found anywhere else. You can find both the e-book and paperback copy on Amazon, and it's free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription!