Growing in Multiple Tents vs a Single Multi-Chamber Tent
By far and away, the biggest challenge for tent growers is the lack of available square footage. As such, every tent cultivator must make design choices for their garden based on the size constraints of their chosen tent kit.
To create areas for different cannabis growth phases, tent cultivators can set up multiple tents or purchase a single multi-chamber tent. Whether it be overhead cost, pathogen control, or convenience, each of these options has its own perks.
Photoperiodism, Vegetative Growth, and Flowering
Cannabis is a photoperiodic plant species. Therefore, cannabis plants enter different growth phases as directed by the length of available sunlight in a 24-hour period. Indoor growers use photoperiodism to their advantage as they control light cycles to simulate different phases of growth.
Photoperiodism is the primary reason you must keep cannabis in the vegetative growth phase in a separate area from cannabis that is flowering.
Vegetative Growth
Cannabis plants remain in the vegetative growth phase when light cycles are kept somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 hrs. light and 6 hrs. dark. During the vegetative phase, cannabis plants grow steadily larger, but are still rather easy to maintain. Cannabis during the vegetative growth phase can handle heat up to 85° F and humidity levels up to 70%.
The square footage required for growing cannabis during the vegetative stage is always smaller than that of flowering. Not only do plants during the vegetative phase not get as large as flowering plants, but they can also handle hotter and more humid conditions.
Read also:
Flowering Cannabis
Cannabis crops switch to the flowering phase when light cycles are changed to 12 hrs. light and 12 hrs. dark. During flowering, cannabis plants undergo a massive growth spurt where they double or even triple in size. Flowering cannabis plants enjoy temperatures below 80° F and humidity levels below 50%.
The square footage required for flowering cannabis is always much larger than that needed for vegetative growth. Because cannabis plants grow so large during flowering, growers must give them a wide berth on both the top and sides of the canopy.
Too much heat and humidity during flowering can also lead to a host of problems with pathogens. As such, flowering plants require much more careful environmental controls than plants in the vegetative phase.
Growing Cannabis in Multiple Tents vs a Single Multi-Chamber Tent
Both the multiple tent method and single multi-chamber tent method must account for the photoperiodic and environmental demands of cannabis in different phases of growth.
For the multiple tent methods, you setup one tent dedicated to vegetative growth and another dedicated to flowering. If you are trying to stagger as many harvests as possible, you can also look to add a third small tent for propagation.
Multi-chamber tents have dedicated spaces for both vegetative growth and flowering within a single tent structure. The AC Infinity Cloudlab 864D is an example of a multi-chamber tent designed specifically to streamline multiple rounds of cannabis crops. When integrating with other AC Infinity products like inline fans and environmental controls, the Cloudlab 864D makes for a highly-sophisticated home grow operation.
Benefits of Growing in Multiple Tents
The benefits of growing cannabis in multiple tents are tied largely to the ability to keep gardens separate.
Pathogen control: by keeping your vegetative growth garden in a separate tent from your flowering garden, you can more easily control the spread of pathogens. Conversely, if you were to have an outbreak of powdery mildew in a single large grow tent, the odds of them spreading to the other chamber are extremely high.
Light leaks: because grow tents are made of fabric, multi-chamber setups do pose threats with light leaks into different areas. Having separate tents for vegetative growth and flowering eliminates this risk.
Cultivation environment: using different tents for vegetative growth and flowering gives you more control over the cultivation environment. Too much equipment in a single tent makes it hard to keep temps in your flowering garden below 80° F.
Benefits of Growing in a Single Multi-Chamber Tent
The benefits of growing in a single multi-unit tent are tied mostly to the logistical conveniences of only having to setup a single tent structure.
Power and water: if you opt to grow cannabis in multiple tents, you have to consider water and power sources for each tent. On the other hand, by growing in a single multi-chamber tent, you only need to locate these critical resources a singe time. The same applies to deciding where you will exhaust your grow tent.
Cultivation equipment: if you decide to use a number of different grow tents for your operation, you will need to purchase equipment for every tent. Conversely, running your operation in a single tent allows you to split some equipment between chambers.
Grow tent placement: by growing vegetative plants and flowering plants in a single tent, you only need to figure out one room in your home to setup. Contrariwise, people growing in multiple tents often have them scattered around the home.
Summary: Which Option is Best for Me?
When planning their operations, tent growers must consider both vegetative growth and flowering. This process involves carefully assessing the lighting demands and environmental constraints for cannabis plants in each distinct growth phase.
Deciding whether multiple tents or a single multi-chamber tent is better for you depends largely on your budget, as well as your ability to regulate garden environments. For example, if you keep running into problems with pests like spider mites, you should probably consider growing in multiple tents. However, if you cannot afford to buy all the equipment needed for a multi-tent setup, you should likely look to a single multi-chamber tent.
As you continue to learn about tent growing, you can further refine your processes to suit your individual style and needs.
|
AC Infinity is the foremost name in air delivery systems, designing and developing the latest innovations in cooling and ventilation technology. They offer a suite of quiet inline fans that automate the growing progress and track key metrics. Visit acinfinity.com or contact [email protected] to learn more. |
