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Managing The Growing Environment Of Plants
When trying to optimise growth in fruiting and flowering plants, it is all too easy to focus on the wrong growth factors. The obvious point at which most gardeners start is with the nutrients, feeds and additives that they are giving their plants. It does seem logical that many growth issues would stem from incorrect feeding, but more often than not it is the actual growing environment that has the greater impact on growth rates.
There are a range of environmental factors that affect plant growth and that need to be carefully managed if your plants are to perform to their best. In order to be able to effectively control these environmental factors your growing space must be enclosed - so the following advice only really applies to people growing in greenhouses or indoor grow rooms.
Factor 1. Air Temperature.
Most fruiting and flowering plants are capable of producing fruit and flowers in a wide temperature range, but the quantity and size of those fruits and flowers diminishes rapidly in extremes of either hot or cold temperatures. Each plant will have a relatively narrow band of temperature in which it will perform to its optimum capability. The ideal temperature for your plants really depends upon what type of plant you are trying to grow, obviously a tropical plant will thrive at a much higher temperature than a non-tropical plant thanks to the natural environment in which they have developed. In practical terms though, it would be virtually impossible to maintain this exact optimum so it is better to aim for a optimum temperature range. Typically you will want aim to keep your daytime/lights-on temperatures between 22C-30C and night time temperatures no lower than 18C.
Air temperatures can be regulated in a number of ways. The most common method is to force air exchange in the growing area by extracting hot stale air out and drawing in cooler fresh air from outside the grow room. This is more than adequate as long as the outside temperature is lower than you grow room temperature. You can also take measures to reduce the heat produced in your grow room by keeping electrical items outside of the growing area or by installing air cooled grow lights (the main source of excess heat).
Conversely, in cooler conditions a heater can be used to prevent conditions becoming too cold which can slow growth rates and affect plant performance.
Factor 2. Humidity
Effective humidity management is essential if you really want the best performance from your plants. High humidity is required in propagation and vegetative growth stages to prevent over transpiration (water travelling through the plant and evaporating from the leaves too quickly).Ideally humidity in the propagation and vegetative stages should be around 70-80% RH (Relative humidity), whilst in fruiting/flowering stages it should be around 35-50%. The effect of a grow room extraction system used to reduce heat will normally reduce humidity in the grow room and at this point you may have to artificially raise humidity levels using a humidifier.
Factor 3. CO2
Plants require CO2 for photosynthesis. The normal level of CO2 in the atmosphere is more than adequate to support photosynthesis, but the replacement of stale grow room air with fresh CO2 rich air is essential to maintain levels. Some expert indoor growers who have optimised their complete growing set-up can achieve additional performance by enriching the grow room atmosphere with CO2. The impact of CO2 enrichment can be significant, but it is very expensive to install, so therefore it is advisable to optimise other grow room environmental factors before looking at implementing a CO2 system.
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