If you’re new to indoor gardening, you’re probably finding all the information regarding new tents, lights, fans, and climate control equipment quite confusing.
Fortunately, we’re here to help you with your research. Choosing the right tent for your grow is one of the fundamental factors surrounding a successful crop come harvest time.
You need the right size tent for the job, and choosing the wrong size could have disastrous or underwhelming results. The tent forms the foundation for your indoor garden, giving you the parameters to base your lighting and air management around.
This guide unpacks everything you need to know about selecting the right grow tent size for your indoor garden.
Why Do I Need a Grow Tent for Indoor Gardening?
A grow tent forms the framework around which you build your indoor garden. The tent creates a non-porous barrier between the inside growing environment and the outside room.
The tent allows the grower to control the temperature and humidity in the growing space, giving the plants optimal growing conditions for the biggest yields at harvest.
To choose the right tent for your indoor garden, start with the manufacturing brand. Avoid cheap Chinese imports that have light leaks and use toxic-mylar linings that gas-off VOCs. Premium manufacturers use VOC-free mylar liners for safe use in your tents. Shop our grow tents here.
Premium tents also come with light-leak proof construction, heavy-duty zippers that don’t catch, and a durable steel structure with heavy-duty canvas or nylon covers.
How to Choose the Right Size Grow Tent?
After deciding on the best manufacturer, it’s time to start looking at your size options. If you’re growing in a spare bedroom, you need to use a tent that takes up around 60% (or less) of the space in the room. The same applies to any grow space, including closets.
Manufacturing brands produce a range of grow tents in various sizes to suit any growing requirement. From 2-foot footprints to 18-foot footprints, there’s a model out there to suit the smallest or largest growing requirements. Typically, the smaller 2 x 2-foot and 3 x 3-foot tents are suitable for “stealth growing.” The gardener might need to assemble the tent in their room or a dorm where other people are around. Stealth tents make fantastic options for compact growing areas, and it’s all you need for personal crops.
Plant and Growing Requirements
The size of your tent also depends on how many plants you intend to grow in a crop. If you’re growing for personal use, you need a much smaller tent than if you’re growing for a co-op. Consider the floor space you’ll need for the pots and the size of the room.
It’s a good idea to get some string out and mock-up the growing area inside the room to get an idea of the floor space you have available for your tent.
Lifestyle Requirements
Where do you live? Are you living in a dorm, renting an apartment, or do you have a basement in your home you can dedicate to growing?
The size of the area and the lifestyle you lead will play a significant role in choosing the right size tent for your indoor garden. If you live with other people, you don’t want them seeing or smelling your garden. If that’s the case, you need a small stealth tent for a discreet growing area.
The Role of Your Growing Method in Sizing Your Tent
The growing method you use also plays a role in the size of your tent. Are you going to be using pots and soil in organic mediums? OR maybe you plan on using a hydroponic system with drip trays or a flood table and reservoir? Both systems have different size requirements, so make sure you get enough floor space for your setup. Whether you’re growing in soil or hydroponically, the growing style you use also makes a difference in the size of your tent. Two popular (LST) Low-stress training methods are the Screen of Green (SCROG) and Sea of Green (SOG).
SOG – Sea of Green
This method is ideal for auto-flowering plants that grow straight from seed to flower in one session. Typically, expert growers recommend one plant for every two square feet of growing space. The SOG aims to use as much of the floor space as possible without the need to change the plants or lights halfway through the plant cycle.
SCROG – Screen of Green
This method involves growing larger clones and using more space for a larger plant and bigger harvest. Typically, growers recommend one plant for every four square feet of space. SCROG growers may also use advanced growing methods, like super cropping, that limit plant height but push the plant out sideways instead to enhance crop yield.
Common Grow Tent Sizes for Your Indoor Garden
There are dozens of grow tent manufacturing brands, and each of them has a product line-up. Most manufacturers stick to a standard set of tent sizes to choose from. Some will offer you custom tent sizes upon request, but it’s usually a very expensive option.
Some of the more common tent sizes found across all manufacturers include the following.
2-feet x 2-feet – Ideal for the smallest stealth grows in cabinets and closets.
3-feet x 3-feet – A good step up for larger stealth grows.
2-feet X 4-feet – The ideal setup for beginners growing for personal use.
4-feet X 4-feet – Ideal for beginners that want to share their harvest with a roommate.
4-feet X 8-feet – Great for beginners that want to share their harvest with several friends.
4-feet X 10-feet – Suitable for small co-op grows.
5-feet X 5-feet – A larger size for bigger rooms and co-op grows.
10-feet X 10-feet – Suitable for up to five large plants and large harvests.
Some manufacturers have options on tent sizing going all the way up to 18-feet. However, the two to four-foot range is usually the favored choice for beginners, and the more popular options, especially for stealth growing. Follow the tips in this guide to ensure you get the right tent size for your beginner indoor garden.
