Hydroponics Beginner Guide - Grow Box Guide - Indoor Gardening Basics

By Albert Farajian

What are hydroponics?

Hydroponics is a form of gardening that uses water, nutrients, and lighting. Basically, there are 3 phases included when growing with hydroponics and a few components.

First, you will need what is called a grow box or a hydroponic system. The grow box, or hydroponic system acts as an ecosystem to your indoor garden. Although you can place the grow box outdoors, the system is concealed from outside weather, therefore, it is always considered to be indoor gardening.


The components needed are the outer shell, the lighting system, the hydroponic bucket (to hold plants), and a ballast. The outer shell is a cover and ecosystem so that the lighting is not wasted and is focused on the plants themselves. The lighting acts as sunlight to your plants in the grow box. The hydroponic bucket is your main source of hydroponic activity. This bucked needs only water and nutrients.

How hydroponic systems are operated.

There are 3 phases in hydroponic gardening.

The first phase is the mother/clone area. This is where your first 3 plants are placed. You must grow these plants in soil and place them in this area. This area has it's own lighting conditions in the grow box. What you need to do is take cuttlings from your mother plant and place them in the clone area. Your clones will develop and turn into tiny plants. The mother can be reused over and over again.

The 2nd phase is the vegetative stage. This is where your tiny plants become baby sized plants. They sit in this area for a short time until that are mature enough so that the roots are at least long enough to be put in the flowering stage. This area also has it's own lighting system. The grow box has 3 different areas for growth - mother/clone, vegetative, and flowering stage.

The 3rd and final stage is the flowering stage. The baby plants (with roots dangling) are put in the flowering area. This area of the grow box also has it's own lighting. The plants sit in this area for about a month until they are fully grown. Although a month sounds a bit fast, you will soon discover using hydroponics grows your plants much faster than traditional gardening.


And finally, your plants grow to maturity and you can harvest them. After harvesting, you should have other plants in the vegetative stage that can be placed in the flowering stage.

Recommended lighting for your plants.

The lighting is one of the important aspects of any grow box. In the older days, people used powerful lights that sucked up power, used too much energy, and gave off too much heat. Now, the best type of lighting is HPS. This is high pressure sodium. The reason for this is that HPS lighting is just as powerful and gives off very little heat, and uses very little energy. A full 6 foot grow box system should only take as much energy as a refrigerator or living room television. Grow boxes today typically use a 400w or 600w HPS lamp. This ensures low power usage and gives off a very small amount of heat.

Reputable hydroponic retailers.

Serious growers should buy grow boxes, NOT grow tents. Grow tents are much less effective than an actual grow box. If you are serious about growing, then you definitely need a high quality grow box that does the job.

The biggest and most reputable online retailer for these grow boxes is a company called Dealzer.com. Dealzer's website is seperated into 3 sections:

Commercial hydroponics, professional hydroponics, and discount hydroponics. The average user usually buys from the professional category. Professional grow boxes are usually used to make money. People grow veggies, plants, and herbs and then sell the products. Commercial systems are used for large distribution. Discount systems are mostly for personal growth and are sometimes also used for retail.

Dealzer, being the largest grow box retailer, has over 50 models. The best of the grow boxes are listed on their home page. The super closet deluxe is their best selling model. If you are unsure what you want, buy the deluxe. You won't go wrong with it.

Dealzer operates 7 days a week, has live chat, and has a toll free phone number; 888-HYDRO-81.

If you are going to buy a Grow Box it is important to buy from a reputable company. Dealzer.com is highly recommended and has won awards on their systems for the past decade. A 3 years warranty and telephone support are included with every order. www.Dealzer.com

The King of Organic Hydroponics Grow Box Systems

Article Source: Hydroponics Beginner Guide - Grow Box Guide - Indoor Gardening Basics

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