Basic Growbox Maintenance

It's hard to reduce a grow cycle to a single set of bullet points, but in the average hydroponics project, there are some basic things you'll be looking at in terms of grow box maintenance. Here are some of the most common and basic issues with maintaining hydroponic systems during crop development.

Lighting

Growers will want to make sure that they have the right light/dark cycles in place. This may mean setting lights according to automated timers, or manually adjusting lighting at different times of the day and night.

Nutrient Packages

It's essential to look at whether plants are getting the right levels of calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other types of nutrients. Nutrient provision can also change throughout the crop cycle, for example, growers sometimes give plants different materials during vegetative and flowering phases.

PH Value

pH value is of also critically important hydroponics. Too much of an acid or too much of a base can throw plants off and extremes can lead to crop failure.

Keep looking at pH value in your grow box and use available solutions to make sure pH stays in the normal range.

Directing Plant Growth

Another part of basic grow box maintenance is helping plants to grow in the right directions inside a grow box. Providing plants with a trellis or other helpful installation may be necessary. For vertical plants, it's important to make sure that no obstacles are impeding plant growth.

Temperature and Humidity

Temperature and humidity are also both important factors in hydroponics. Just a little bit of a switch in either of these conditions can cause big changes in plant development. For example, with more sensitive plants, higher humidity is sometimes recommended - growers have to work to understand how these issues factor into the environment that they are providing for plants.

Air and Water Handling

It's also important to make sure that all air and water handling equipment works properly, and that it has a proper capability to circulate the air and the water in a hydroponics environment. Pumps have to have the right amount of power to get water to and from a hydroponic reservoir. Air vents and fans have to make sure air does not become stagnant, which can hurt plants.

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