These days, one of the best options for growing plants indoors is to use grow tents. They make the perfect pairing with grow lights, with their reflective mylar fabric that enhances these lights’ growth-inducing capabilities. It’s a combination that provides plants the perfect indoor setting for growth.
Grow tent or hydroponic grow tent is perfect for those who want to grow their own vegetables and fruits indoors. They are also popular among those who want to start a greenhouse or garden but don’t have the space or money for one. Hydroponic gardens use water instead of soil to grow plants. This means that you don’t have to add any of the typical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides to your plants. With that said, are they worth it?
Why Use a Grow Tent?
Despite expert backing, some still wonder if opting for the grow-tent method is even worth it. Your plants will still end up growing without them, right? That’s certainly true. However, grow tents provide advantages typical methods don’t.
Here are a few reasons you could find grow tents necessary:
It allows you to grow plants all year round.
Depending on where you live, the conditions might not always allow for outdoor gardening. If you have a grow tent set up, Mother Nature becomes less of a factor in your gardening goals.
With a grow tent, weather conditions become less of an influence on your gardening decisions, particularly concerning what you should and shouldn’t plant. It allows you to set atmospheric conditions independent of the conditions going on outside.
It lets you grow plants in any location.
Spaces you thought were off-limits to your favorite produce can now become the ideal growth patches thanks to grow tents. If you think it wouldn’t be possible to plant in your closet, a grow tent could change your stance on that.
A major factor contributing to the grow tent’s location-friendliness is its lightweight design and easy assembly. Thus, the tool isn’t a struggle to move and carry around. What’s more, you can assemble it on the spot with little to no issues.
Grow tents are also condition-preserving, which means they retain the odors, soil quality, and other characteristics that contribute to plant growth inside the tent. If you think the inside of the tent smells weird, don’t worry because that’s one of the tent’s positive qualities.
It acts as a pest repellent.
While refraining from using pesticides in your garden is a good thing, it can sometimes result in pests ruining your plants. Grow tents were made for the exact purpose of solving this dilemma because they can deter pests even when you don’t use chemicals.
The water- and light-resistant qualities of a grow tent also contribute to its pest-deterrent characteristic. They barely have any open spaces for these menaces to enter through.
You see more of this quality when you place grow tents inside the house. If pests can’t infiltrate the inside of the tent when it’s outside, how much less when it’s inside?
It provides excellent growing conditions.
Customized conditions are exactly why people opt for grow tents over other indoor gardening methods. Nearly all aspects of gardening fall within your control, allowing you to create conditions that cater specifically to your chosen plants.
With a grow tent, the most critical factors contributing to plant growth (humidity, temperature, and lighting) become easier to control. This would be nearly impossible to do in outdoor gardens. Having this kind of control gives you the power to shape tent conditions in accordance with what helps your plants thrive.
Downsides of Using Grow Tents
Now that we’ve tackled the good, it’s time to sift through the not-so-pleasant things that come with using grow tents. Before you actually decide to purchase one, it’s imperative that you weigh its pros and cons and their relation to your specific circumstance. Here are some of a grow tent’s downsides:
It lacks durability.
Grow tents are far from being the sturdiest contraptions. That’s because the strength of their fabric is limited only to what’s ideal for farming, which means it really isn’t strong to begin with. This translates to a lack of durability, which can result in tears and collapses over time.
It lacks space.
Another issue that grow-tent users face is limited space. Optimal conditions for plant growth can only be achieved up to a mid-size space. This takes away the freedom to plant whatever you want inside the tent.
A little garden should be fine, but a plantation is another story. At most, you can plant a small garden inside the tent and still be able to grow them effectively.
Since space is limited, the types of plants you can grow in your tent are also limited. You won’t be able to go for anything too big unless you prune it.
Should You Use a Grow Tent or Not?
If you’re looking to create a small indoor garden, a grow tent would be an excellent option for facilitating plant growth and development. It offers an environment independent of the one outside it, ensuring the removal of external conditions as a factor in your gardening goals.
That said, there’s something about the beauty of outdoor gardening that can’t be replaced, regardless of the degree of instability that comes with it. Not to mention, experiencing the ups and downs of gardening is what truly makes success in the venture more fulfilling.
