Small Grow Tents

What counts as a small grow tent

A small grow tent is not a formal size class. On this page it means a footprint under about 1.2 x 1.2m, and that band comes in three shapes. All-in-one grow boxes sit around 45 x 45cm with the hardware built in. Short propagation tents run roughly 0.7–0.9m wide and stay under a metre tall, which suits trays of cuttings. Compact upright tents at 0.8 x 0.8m or 1.0 x 1.0m behave like a full tent while using less floor.

Fitting one into a real space

Height is the measurement that usually catches people out. A 1.8m tent still needs clearance above the canvas for a light and hangers, so a wardrobe with a shelf almost never works until the shelf comes out. The door needs space too: most tents open across the full front face, and you have to stand in front of them.

Ventilation does not go away on a small tent, it just shrinks. A 100mm inline fan covers most of this range; the smallest boxes can run on a clip-on fan and a passive intake. Watch heat as well — less air volume means the tent runs hotter per litre of air, so the light wattage has to match the box.

Where to go next

When this footprint is too tight, compare the whole grow tent range. When you are raising cuttings rather than growing plants to full size, look at the clone and propagation tents.