A grow box is a partially or completely enclosed system for raising plants indoors or in small areas. Grow boxes are used for a number of reasons, including lack of available outdoor space or the desire to grow vegetables, herbs or flowers during cold weather months. They can also help protect plants against pests or disease.
Grow boxes may be soil-based or hydroponic. The most sophisticated examples are totally enclosed, and contain a built-in grow light, intake and exhaust fan system for ventilation,
hydroponics
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plan ...
system that waters the plants with nutrient-rich solution, and an odor control filter. Some advanced grow box units even include air conditioning to keep running temperatures down, as well as to boost the plant's growth rate. These advanced elements allow the gardener to maintain optimal temperature, light patterns, nutrition levels, and other conditions for the chosen plants.
Key growlight options include fluorescent bulbs, which offer relatively limited light output;
high-intensity discharge lamp
High-intensity discharge lamps (HID lamps) are a type of electrical gas-discharge lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tu ...
s such as
sodium-vapor lamp
A sodium-vapor lamp is a gas-discharge lamp that uses sodium in an excited state to produce light at a characteristic wavelength near 589 nm.
Two varieties of such lamps exist: low pressure and high pressure. Low-pressure sodium lamps are ...
s and
metal-halide lamp
A metal-halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides (compounds of metals with bromine or iodine). It is a type of high-intensity discharge (HID) ga ...
s; and
light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s bulbs, which are becoming more energy-efficient.
In different sizes and degrees of complexity, grow boxes are also referred to as grow cabinets and lightproof cabinets. A full-room version of a grow box is a
growroom
A growroom (or grow room) or growth chamber is a room of any size where plants are grown under controlled conditions. The reasons for utilizing a growroom are countless. Some seek to avoid the criminal repercussions of growing illicit cultivar ...
.
Components
Grow cabinets have many different pieces of equipment that improve plant growth and yields. The system will usually allow its owner to control all conditions inside the cabinet to make them perfect for growth. Below is a chart of different pieces of equipment on many commercially-built cabinets.
See also
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Aeroponics
Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in the air or mist environment without soil or an aggregate medium. The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of ''aer'' ("air") and ''ponos'' ("labour"). It is a subset of hydroponics, ...
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Growbag
A growbag is a planter filled with a growing medium and used for growing plants, usually tomatoes or other salad crops. Originally made of plastic, modern bags are also made from jute or fabric. The growing medium is usually based on a soilless ...
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Growroom
A growroom (or grow room) or growth chamber is a room of any size where plants are grown under controlled conditions. The reasons for utilizing a growroom are countless. Some seek to avoid the criminal repercussions of growing illicit cultivar ...
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Ultrasonic Hydroponic Fogger In a hydroponic system ultrasonic hydroponic foggers are used to create a fine mist, the individual particle size of which is typically of about 5 µm in diameter. These fine particles are capable of carrying nutrients from the standing water ...
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Hydroponic dosers
Hydroponic dosers are used by indoor, hydroponic farmers to automate the task of dispensing pH solution and/or nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake ...
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Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plan ...
*
Pot farming
Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in wikt:container, containers instead of planting them in the ground. A container in gardening is a small, enclosed and usually ...
References
External links
Barak, P. 2002. Essential Elements for Plant Growth: Hydroponics.* Hershey, D.R. 1994. Solution culture hydroponics: history and inexpensive equipment. ''American Biology Teacher'' 56:111-118.
*
ttp://www.usu.edu/cpl/research_hydroponics.htm Utah State University Hydroponics
Hydroponics at McMurdo Station Antarctica*
ttp://www.epa.gov/Ozone/mbr/casestudies/volume3/hydropn3.html Hydroponics and Soilless Cultures on Artificial Substrates as an Alternative to Methyl Bromide Soil Fumigation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grow Box
Hydroponics
Gardening
Urban agriculture