Growbox in a panel building
Almost one third of the population of the Czech Republic lives in apartment blocks, which is approximately 2.7 million people. We do not know how many grow boxes there are in apartment flats, but based on the above statistics we have concluded that the following practical tips and information may be useful to many of our customers and readers.
Whether you live in a classic apartment block or perhaps a brick apartment building, even a small flat will, thanks to modern grow tents, allow you to harvest herbs, fruit or vegetables several times a year! Of course, this also applies to ornamental and indoor flowers, but today we will focus mainly on how to care for a home indoor garden economically and efficiently, and how to adapt it best with regard to neighbours and electricity consumption...
Choose a dark and cool corner
The basic prerequisite is choosing the right place where you will put the homebox so that it does not get in the way of you or other members of the household, and above all so that the plants have optimal conditions for healthy development. Therefore, choose a place that does not receive direct sunlight during the day. Discharge lamps, most commonly used as a source of artificial lighting inside a grow tent, generate a considerable amount of heat on their own. In addition, the tent is often black, which, as is well known, attracts light directly, but even if it were not, you certainly do not want it to be passively heated from outside as well, which is doubly true in summer. In winter, by contrast, apartment units are often overheated, which exposes the plants inside the grow box to the same risk. A clever solution, if the conditions allow, is to place the grow box in a pantry, storage room, wardrobe or even a cellar, provided it is maintained and there is not too much humidity in it. However, it is not a problem to place a grow tent even in the kitchen... For example, the Homebox Vista models, with their white finish, overall construction and attractive design, are made to find their irreplaceable place right in the kitchen! If you also have an unused corner of the room, a white tent with a triangular shape, which you can see in the picture, fits it perfectly.
HOMEBOX® Vista Triangle
Light source
As we mentioned a little above, inside grow tents we most often encounter halogen or sodium discharge lamps. However, it is definitely worth investing in more modern sources of artificial lighting for indoor growing, such as energy-saving lamps or popular LEDs. You may pay a little more for them than for ordinary discharge lamps, but the reward will be not only savings on electricity costs, but, more importantly, better yields and a higher-quality harvest thanks to the full light spectrum that simulates natural sunlight for the plants. And that is why you are doing this, after all, isn’t it? If it makes sense to you, we also warmly recommend CMH / LEC lighting, which combines the advantages of high-pressure discharge lamps and LED technology.
Discretion above all
A sufficiently quiet fan supported by a quality odour, or carbon filter, ideally together with silenced ducting, forms a combination with which you can be completely at ease in the flat, allow the same for the other residents of the building, and harvest several times a year with ease. You will surely agree that there is no need to unnecessarily attract neighbours with the scent of your fresh herbs, and the discreet operation of silenced fans will ensure good neighbourly relations as well as peace and comfort in the household. In every flat you will also appreciate odour neutralisers for fresh air, and it does not have to be only for your harvest.
And one final tip. Did you know that with the help of an air ioniser you can easily create a literally mountain environment in an apartment block?
We hope that this article has helped you avoid unnecessary complications when indoor gardening in small and large flats, and if you would like to ask us anything, do not hesitate to write to us at the well-known address info@higarden.cz.
- Grow tents (grow boxes)
- Homebox Vista
- Lighting
- Ventilation
- Grow box sets