Questions and answers ON COMPLETE INDOOR GROWING KITS
Your Ethnic World team has created this article to help you get started with indoor growing! Don't hesitate to ask us for more advice, we're here to help!
1) What do you need to start growing indoors?
Growing indoors isn't very difficult. You can start with a few products and then consider buying more equipment to optimise plant growth. To start growing indoors, you need to recreate the outdoor environment where plants grow naturally, inside 4 walls.
The essential products are
1. A growing room or chamber
2. A LED lamp for light
3. Air recirculation
4. Substrate with pots
5. Water, nutrient solution.
Then there are a few additional products to optimise growth management. For example, a timer connected to the light can automate switching on and off. Similarly, a room controller can be used to automate air recirculation and maintain the right temperature and humidity.
2. How many watts are needed to grow indoors?
For a good harvest, we recommend using at least 400 watts (Sodium) or ~300 watts (LED) per square metre. However, you can use even less, up to 25% less. It's important to bear in mind that the less light a plant receives in a complete growing kit, the less it will grow and the lower your yields will be. If, on the other hand, you want to put in more watts, you need to pay attention to the temperature and humidity of the growing room. This is possible, but requires advanced management.
3. How much does an indoor system cost?
The price obviously depends on the size of the kit and therefore the number of plants you want to grow, as well as the lighting system. Growing kits with LED lights are the most expensive of all. But with an LED light, you'll save money on your electricity bill, it lasts much longer than an ordinary HPS or CFL light and heats up very little, so you'll spend less money trying to cool the grow room.
4. How many hours of indoor lighting?
The number of hours of light depends on the stage of the crop. In general, there are two growing phases for hemp: the vegetative phase and the flowering phase:
Vegetative phase : at least 18 hours of light per day.
Flowering phase : 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness.
5. How many plants can fit into one square metre indoors?
The number of plants you can fit in a square metre depends on the technique you use to grow the plants. Let's say that, without using any special growing techniques such as ‘green screen’ or ‘topping’, etc., you can fit between 9 and 16 plants in pots of 6 or 4 litres respectively.
6. Which LEDs should I use for autoflowering?
Any LED light that has an AGRO (full) spectrum or that has a channel for the flowering phase, such as Lumatek LED panels, is perfectly suitable.
7. How many hours of light are needed for autoflowering?
Autoflowering plants need 18 to 20 hours of light a day. Many people tend to give 18 hours instead of 20 to save on the electricity bill.
8. What is the best substrate to have in the grow kit?
The substrate changes depending on the type of indoor growing you want to undertake. A hydroponics kit will contain expanded clay or rockwool as a substrate. For a first experiment, we recommend using conventional pots + a good potting soil, such as Biobizz All Mix or PRO-XL Sublime Mix.
9. What size pot should I use for indoor growing?
If you are starting with a seed or a sprout, we recommend transferring it from the germination pot to the final pot for the entire cycle. For conventional cultivation (without using special techniques), we recommend not using pots smaller than 4 litres, so a pot of 4 to 6.5 litres or more is sufficient (depending on the number of plants).
10. How long does it take to get a good harvest?
The average is about 13/14 weeks, but there are some plants, such as those with rapid autoflowering, that can grow in 45 days, obviously these are plants that remain short and small.
Your Ethnic World SA team will be happy to answer any questions you may have before you buy! We'll be delighted to help you get started with indoor growing!
