Growbox (from the English grow box, which means “a box for growing”) is nothing more than a specially equipped small-sized room in which plants are grown. Small size and convenient operation allow the green box to be a winning and attractive option, which is preferred by urban residents who have chosen to grow plants as a hobby, while not having the conditions and opportunities for arranging and maintaining a greenhouse or conservatory. The options for the execution and installation of growboxes in residential premises are very diverse, allowing any city dweller to cultivate any kind of plant.
For this, you just need to know how to make a grow box with your own hands. The versatility of the technology allows you to grow plants year-round. Even if you have a summer residence, you can’t dream about it, and only growboxes provide an opportunity to enjoy your favorite pastime and do not limit the time of any experiments in the field of crop production.
The story of the appearance of growboxes
To the question "When did the first growboxes appear?" There is no single answer. It is believed that around the end of the 50s of the twentieth century, when indoor plant cultivation was developed under light sources of the LDS type. But only the emerging high-pressure sodium arc lamps led to the rapid development and spread of growbox technologies. The first serious results were among American and Western European scientists in the mid-seventies of the last century. It was a breakthrough in the home cultivation of vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops, exotic and plants, necessary for medicine, as well as rare species listed in the Red Book of World Flora.
Growbox technologies are now widely distributed throughout the world. They are used by botanical gardens, enterprises of the agricultural sector, greenhouses, medical production. A huge number of crop lovers also mastered these devices. Let's try to understand why exactly this technology of plant cultivation has received such popularity and recognition.
Self-creation
You can make a grow box with your own hands, many materials are suitable for construction, including used wardrobes, refrigerators , system units. The design can be assembled from sheets of chipboard, which is most simple.
The dimensions of the “box” depend on the plants that you choose to plant in it. In this regard, growboxes can be of three types:
- Small (from half a square meter to 1 meter) - for small plants, any cacti, they are also great for germinating and accelerated forcing of decorative, fruit and vegetable seedlings.
- Medium sizes (from 1 to 1.5 m 2 ) - very roomy boxes for growing at home medical plants, vegetable and fruit crops, and even small bushes. They are also used for germination and forcing out large volumes of vegetable, fruit and decorative seedlings.
- Large (from one and a half square meters to infinity, but in reality they are limited to three meters) - in boxes of such sizes it is permissible to keep at home almost any exotic plants and even shrubs up to small trees, which in such large boxes can successfully and year-round grow and bear fruit .
Growbox assembly steps
To build a do-it-yourself growbox, it is important to adhere to the technology at all stages. And the first step is the choice of material. It is necessary to carefully calculate all sizes and, in accordance with the specified parameters, purchase materials (for example, chipboard sheets), from which a box with a door with hinges will be assembled, allowing for actions in the structure itself. To build a grow box with your own hands, drawings are simply necessary, you will need them at the planning stage. Next, following these drawings, proceed to create your greenhouse. From the inside, it is necessarily pasted over with foil (necessarily the matte side out). It is better to use whole pieces of foil.
Next, you need to make electrical, ventilation wiring in the box and, most importantly, install the lighting. If you do not have special skills in these areas, then in order to build a grow box with your own hands, you will definitely need instructions.
Engaging in hydroponic home cultivation and plant breeding is not only a pleasure and practical benefit, but also art, and even science. It affects the need to take into account and maintain at the proper level such parameters as humidity, temperature, ventilation, lighting, while they are individual for each individual culture. We will get acquainted with the basics of arranging such a greenhouse, necessary in order to make a green box with your own hands.
Ventilation
Growing room ventilation can be forced or natural. For some crops, with the right capacity, you can get by with a few holes drilled in the housing, while others may require special equipment. If the growbox is small, then for example a computer cooler is well suited for use. Also, to create a good atmosphere, a fan is installed, it is responsible for air exchange and drives away excess heat from the lamp. Since the blades, as a rule, are very noisy, craftsmen who create a grow box with their own hands suspend the fan on special belts, which reduces the level of influence of this factor.
Temperature and humidity
Indicators of humidity and temperature in the cavity of the growbox are also selected individually. It should be remembered that with increased humidity, plants are prone to rot, and at high temperatures they can burn out. To maintain an optimal environment, two instruments must be installed inside: a thermometer for temperature control and a hygrometer for humidity control.
Lighting
A properly equipped grower cannot do without proper lighting. To do this, you need one or more fluorescent lamps (their number depends on the size of the room). The lighting element is placed on the wall of the body (above) or on an impromptu ceiling.
The lamp power and the distance from it to the plant are calculated very carefully so that the plantings do not die from excessively intense lighting. If twisting of leaves or their drying is observed, it is necessary to replace the working lamp with a lighting device of lower power or fix it as far as possible. If thin shoots appear, long internodes, paled greenery are noticed, then this indicates insufficient lighting. Even if the lamps are selected and placed correctly, it is not necessary to illuminate the plants constantly.
Even if you keep the grow box on the balcony, create a periodic artificial “night” for your plants. To do this, the lamps must be equipped with a connected timer, adjusted in the desired time mode, which depends on the type of crop grown.