Our readers mostly grow cannabis but whether you’re growing peppers, tomatoes, or any other high-light plant indoors, it’s a good idea to have a dedicated space for it. Tent, fans, thermometer, ratchets, and, of course, the lamp are key components for a successful grow space.

In this article we’ll focus on “accessories” but you’ll also need a pot, medium (eg. coco coir), and nutrients, and possibly a watering can to manage and maintain your plants. These items are, however, a topic for another article.

Items you’ll need for your indoor grow :

In a large scale grow or depending on your cliggrow tentemate, you might also need an AC and a humidifier. Additional items that could be helpful are air filters and CO2.

Tent or mylar walls

A tent or at least a somewhat enclosed space with mylar walls helps contain the grow project. With a closed tent humidity, temperature, smell (to some extent), and noise is contained and regulated.

The biggest benefit of a tent is arguably that with its reflective mylar walls it reflects light onto the plants. Generally speaking, the more light (or photons) a plant receives, the faster it will grow. By using a tent instead of an open space, 10-25% more light is delivered to the plants.

Fan(s)

Fans have one job: circulate air. Without air circulation mold builds up. A grow space is a humid environment and the more humidity there is there easier mold takes hold. The higher number of plants and the denser canopy, the more circulation is necessary.

Another reason air circulation is needed is to extract warm air and add cold air from outside the tent.

The number of fans required is somewhat related to how many plants you grow and the climate outside the grow tent/space. In a small space with a single plant and not too warm environment, one single small USB fan could be enough.

But in a 2×2′ (60×60 cm) tent with two or more plants, it’s a good idea to have at least two fans; one fixed to the bottom of the tent to pull in air from outside and the other fan fixed to the top opening of the tent to blow warm air out.

In a 3×3′ (90×90 cm) tent with four or more plants, an additional fan that pushes air from the bottom of the tent and up is likely needed.

Thermometer/hygrometer

As you might guess, a thermometer is needed to check the temperature inside the tent. A hygrometer is a thermometer with a humidity meter.

Aim for around 25C / 70F and around 50% humidity. Increase/decrease the number of fans or open the tent to control the climate.

Ratchet(s)

Easiest way to hang your items, such as your grow light or fans is by hooking them up with a ratchet and fixing the other end to the top of the tent.

They are cheap and easy to adjust, which makes it easy to move the grow light up and down depending on your plants’ intensity requirements.

Grow light

The main event of the grow space: the grow light. We prefer LED lamps but if you’re an HPS guy, that’s cool with us.

We talk more in depth about LED grow lights in our other articles but in short, the more watts it consumes, the more light it emits. The more light a lamp emits, the more and quicker your plants will grow.

At a minimum, you should estimate 50W of draw power per plant to get good results. It’s also important the lamp has at least as big a coverage area as your plants occupy. Check the provided light footprint map or PPFD chart by the manufacturer to understand how well the lamp performs.

The distance between lamp and plant will vary depending on which lamp you use. The lamp with high light output needs to be hung at a greater distance from the plants than a lamp with low light output. A typical high-power grow light should be hung around 24-30” (200-400 PPFD) from the plants in veg and around 12-14” (600 PPFD) from the plants during flowering.