Indoor Gardening with a Grow Box

Last Updated on March 20, 2021 by Showrooms Online

Indoor gardening with a grow box is easy. A simple arrangement needs only a grow chamber and a full spectrum light. Start plants like tomatoes early indoors or grow herbs all winter.

Grow Box Features

Grow boxes or grow chambers have a tubular metal frame with heavy vinyl walls. They can be placed horizontally or vertically depending on the space available. Vertical is a nice compact arrangement but depending on the stacking of the shelves will likely require more than one grow light.

A close inspection of this grow chamber shows the tubular frame and the vinyl covering has adjustable “windows” to regulate a bit of fresh airflow for moisture control. My own preference is to leave the front flap loose. This does the job and makes it easy to sneak a peek at how the plants are doing.

That dark pad in the bottom of the grow chamber is a low wattage heater. The heater remains on full time and warms the growing medium to speed up the germination of the seeds. The pad heater of 20 watts is just barely warm to the touch and does not present a safety hazard. It does make a remarkable difference in the wait time to see seedlings poking through the surface. The pad can be left on if the grow box is in a cool room or turned off to avoid plants growing too quickly. I have not seen much difference either way and have most often forgotten about it.

Full Spectrum Lighting

Grow lights are designed to be full spectrum so that the light is close to the natural light of the sun.

“A grow light is an artificial light to help plants grow. Grow lights either attempt to provide a light spectrum similar to that of the sun, or to provide a spectrum that is more tailored to the needs of the plants being cultivated.” Grow light

The interior of the box is a reflective coating so the light is more evenly and effectively distributed to the plants. The light tube itself needs to be on an adjustable hanging arrangement so that the distance to the plants can be controlled as the plants grow larger. My last crop of tomatoes looked really healthy but grew too spindly because the light was too high. Virtually all the tomato seedlings died when they faced the wind and rain of the real world. The lights will also benefit from a timer. Most plants need about 12 hours of sunshine and they do not really care if it is night or day outside. Too little light or too much light both create problems.

So, indoor gardening with a grow box requires a bit of knowledge but not a lot. The initial failures do not have a lot of time involved, so you can learn as you go. You also acquire gardening knowledge that you can put to work outside to great advantage.

Indoor Gardening

In Progress!

The first leaves you see are not really leaves.

Cotyledons are the first leaves produced by plants. Cotyledons are not considered true leaves and are sometimes referred to as “seed leaves,” because they are actually part of the seed or embryo of the plant.