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The Expando is a Grow Tent Accessory which when attached creates More Space for Better Results and Prevents the walls of the Tent from sucking inwards.

It gives more space for growth and light and the space increase airflow meaning there are less hotspots.

The result of this is less risk of mould and plant damage.

Check out this short video to see how this is done...

Plants have successfully been grown hydroponically on the International Space Station and now long-term plans progress at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA scientists are collaborating with a team from the University of Arizona  to discover suitable methods to support and sustain pioneering astronauts who will be working deep in space.

NASA researchers believe that among the many challenges facing human exploration a regular supply of fresh and good quality food is certainly one of them! An ongoing solution to this will be the use of Hydroponics systems to allow the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. Dr Ray Wheeler, the lead scientist at Kennedy Advanced Life Support Research says that "We're working with a team of scientists, engineers and small businesses at the University of Arizona to develop a closed-loop system. The approach uses plants to scrub carbon dioxide, while providing food and oxygen."

The system being used is called a Biogenerative Life Support System. The prototype pictured above uses an inflatable greenhouse and supports the growth of plants. This growth then provides nutrition, water recycling, waste recycling  and refreshes the volume of oxygen in the surrounding air. As Wheeler correctly noted, astronauts exhale carbon dioxide (as does any living human), then through the process of photosynthesis the plants inhale this and generate oxygen as a result. A continuous flow of water runs across the roots of the plants and nutrients are consistently added to the water. This could be water brought along on the exploration mission or water discovered close to a landing site.

NASA are progressing further with their Veggie hydroponics system and are using the 'cut-and-come-again' technique for their Red Romain lettuces.

This arrangement is where the larger leaves are harvested whilst the smaller leaves are allowed to continue growing. This can be repeated several times meaning that a new plant does not need to be seeded after each harvest. It also reduces waste because if the plant was allowed to grow for the full amount of time it may not be possible to eat all of the leaves before they spoil.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough cut some of the leaves for a mid-afternoon snack from the chamber where six plants are being grown simultaneously. Kimbrough has taken the role of the on-orbit gardener, a part time role as much of the setup is automated. Qualified gardeners at the Kennedy Space Center have provided support by keeping a close eye on the plants.

We mentioned in an article last year entitled What is Hydroponics that fresh food had been grown in outer space and NASA reports that this is set to become an ongoing thing!

The crew on the International Space Station spent several weeks cultivating red romaine lettuce and ate this for the first time on August 10th 2015 in the orbiting laboratory.

The plant experiment, entitled Veg-01, was used to study the performance of plant growth in space and the rooting pillows which contained the seeds. According to NASA It was also used by astronauts as a recreational activity during the mission.

The collapsible unit used included a flat panel LED light bank with red, blue and green LED's. The three colours facilitated plant growth and allowed for observation by the crew. According to Dr. Ray Wheeler of NASA the concept of growth using LED lighting was created by NASA in the late 1990's.

Wheeler stated that "blue and red wavelengths are the minimum needed to get good plant growth.The green LEDs help to enhance the human visual perception of the plants, but they don't put out as much light as the reds and blues"

The principles of vertical agriculture are being considered for the future. This is similar to the system that is currently used on Earth for much of our fruit and vegetable production. It is effectively a stack of shelves for plant growth using electric lighting and nutrients that are added to the water supply.

The psychological benefits of hydroponics are being investigated by NASA's Human Research Program. Alexandra Whitmire, a Behavioural Health and Perfomance scientist, mentions that "Future spaceflight missions could involve four to six crew members living in a confined space for an extended period of time, with limited communication. We recognize it will be important to provide training that will be effective and equip the crew with adequate countermeasures during their mission." Her team are researching the positive effects of plant life and hydroponics on the crew's behavioural conditions, performance and communication.

Also working on the project is Dr. Gioia Massa who adds that "the farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits. I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario."

The whole concept of this is fascinating and the last statement from Dr Massa certainly has relevance to those of us on Earth who do not have space to grow outdoors!

We are following and watching these developments and will keep you updated!

Watch the video below and keep your eyes peeled for the latest developments....

Provide a stable environment to protect your plants against sudden temperature drops or low night temperatures with ECOHEAT.

Can Fan RKLS plastic tube fan, is a speed controlled backward centrifugal extractor, using a resistant, maintenance free plastic housing.

It is equipped with a rotating switch that divides the maximum airflow of the extractor into four different levels of performance and there is no need for additional electronic speed controllers or transformers.  The speed change is performed using only the switch attached to the fan.

The Swiss made motor has an integrated thermal switch.

See the Can Fan range by clicking here

When designing your indoor grow space grab as much information as possible before arming yourself with the physical tools to put it into practice. This will make it it so much easier to choose what size grow tent to buy, how much reflective material is required and the most suitable lighting for the task at hand. Adding this to the correct sized fan and filter will also mean you can ensure that all the required components all coordinate well together.

An ongoing and pressing challenge for agriculture is to grow more food with enhanced quality and efficiency. Sustainability is also a crucial factor and Hydroponics is certainly proving to be a good way forward.