Top Tips to Add Tech into your Grow Room

BY STONEY TARK

How you maintain your grow room environment is the difference maker in how your plants will grow during both the vegetative and flowering stages.

Many growers are oblivious to what new gadgets are available for their grow rooms, let alone the benefits of each one. Technology is one thing, yet understanding all the fundamentals to run a successful indoor garden is an entirely different ball game. Below are five tips on what to consider when looking to upgrade your indoor garden.

1. Carbon Dioxide

Plants utilize carbon in many different forms, however, CO 2 is essential to their performance and growth. The function of photosynthesis is based on plants using CO 2 and feeding through tiny stomata, which are located on the surface of the leaf tissue. When levels are low, the metabolism of the plant will begin to slow down and adapt to the nutrients and lighting available.

Outdoors, the CO 2 count is around 400 ppm, and while cannabis plants can comfortably absorb levels of up to 1500 ppm, it is not always possible when venting air from an outdoor source into the grow room. Investing in CO 2 tanks will ensure that you are meeting plant requirements, as well as providing peak levels of 1500 ppm. You should also consider that the temperature of the grow room should be above 30°C (86°F) for the plants to fully-utilize the available CO 2.

The state of CO 2 as a gas is heavy, so oscillating fans will keep the air circulating around the tops and bottoms of your plants. This is very important, as it will remove any stagnant air and allow the stomata on the leaf to feed. It is crucial that the leaf transpire while the temperatures are above 24°C (75°F), so making sure your temperature and humidity are in accordance will play a huge role in the integrity of photosynthesis, and increase fruits and vegetables by up to 200 percent.

Many problems can arise inside a grow room if the water contains too much acidity or alkaline, just as if the nutrient solution is too strong or too weak

2. Temperature and Humidity

Replicating the outdoors in your grow room can be challenging, however, once you have dialed in your temperature and humidity, your plants will be under the impression they are at a specific point of a particular season. From springtime until the beginning of summer, outdoor conditions will be mostly warm and wet, with humidity levels increasing to 75 percent and above.

Between summer and winter, the environment will decrease humidity levels by nearly half to about 30 percent. Temperatures will also drop significantly, allowing fruits, flowers, and vegetables to become ripe and ready to harvest. Bearing this in mind, how you maintain your grow room environment is the difference maker in how your plants will grow during both the vegetative and flowering stages. It can also determine how secure your garden is from threats of plant disease such as powdery mildew, Botrytis and an infestation of unwanted insects.

The rule when growing indoors is to replicate the following conditions: when in the growing stage, (more than 12 hours of light) there should be a temperature of 24°C (75°F). Humidity levels should be 75 percent, which means that the water content available in the air is close to 2 /3.

3. Fans, Carbon Filters, and Air Flow

There has never been a set rule of when to turn off the lights, carbon filters and fans inside the grow room. Many growers have different methods; however, most believe “lights-off” merely means everything goes off. This is not good practice. At night, your precious plants will be converting light energy they worked so hard to store throughout the day. Even though the lights will be off, keeping consistent air flow is essential.

Apart from the grow lights, I personally keep everything on permanently. This ensures that air within the grow room throughout the night is still being replaced at a rate that is equal to the daytime. Stomata on the surface of the leaf will only open 60 minutes after the lighting period has begun, so for this instance of the darkness period, a supply of CO 2 is not necessary.

There are many benefits to keeping the air flowing during dark periods. In addition to cleaning the air around the tops and bottoms of the plants, mold and mildew will not be able to attach themselves to the surface of the leaves. Constant airflow will also strengthen the plants and deter insects, which thrive in high humidity.

4. pH and EC

Perhaps you are new to growing hydroponically and have not come across pH or E.C before. When growing in water, testing the amounts of potential hydrogen and electric conductivity available determines the uptake of nutrients to the plant roots. A significant part of growing hydroponically will also indicate if your water source is hard or soft. You will also be able to determine what mineral content there may be in reverse osmosis water.

pH will determine the level of acidity or alkalinity present in your water source. When growing organically, there is a sweet spot of 6 pH; however, when growing hydroponically, the sweet spot can fluctuate between 5.8-6.8, aiming to average 6.3 pH. There are many variables to consider that even a bottle of the most expensive pH will not solve, such as polluted water, the available lighting, nutrients, CO 2, as well as what life stage the plant is in.

Many problems can arise inside a grow room if the water contains too much acidity or alkaline, just as if the nutrient solution is too strong or too weak. Using pens to regulate pH and EC is an excellent way to make sure you are working clinically, and will help you observe the changes in the plant’s metabolism and food needs.

5. Hydroponic Systems

The attraction to switch to hydroponics can sometimes become too tempting, especially after working with dirt and enduring the backbreaking work of filling pots. To top it off, hearing how commercial farmers achieve yields that are almost 300 percent more than the yields of organic growers, the two styles of growing can quickly become unequivocal.

Knowing which hydroponic system to invest in must be wellresearched, depending on which fruit or vegetable you shall be growing, also to what scale you want to produce. Considering the use of hydroponic nutrients may also play a factor. For this reason, N.F.T systems and dripper systems are the most popular choice amongst commercial farmers growing largescale tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, kale, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Deep Water Culture will use the most amount of nutrients. In the cannabis industry, this system is the most often used for growing huge plants. There are, however, multiple formats of hydroponic systems which will require specific medium from Rockwool, hydroton, perlite, vermiculite, and coco. It is recommended to research before investing, as one system may be better-suited for a variety of factors, including logistics, production, and usability.

BIO

Stoney Tark is a freelance writer with over 15 years experience in the canna industry. Specializing in plant science, tutorials, howto-guides, top tips, microbiology, breeding, and all fundamentals cannabis-based. Living in Amsterdam and the resident writer for Soft Secrets, as well as Hightimes and Garden Culture Magazine.