Growing plants in a grow tent requires considerable care and attention to the indoor conditions, especially in keeping the optimal humidity of the room constant. To control humidity in grow tents, gardeners can use a variety of tools.
Maintaining the optimal humidity level for optimal plant growth can be achieved by following the rules described in this article.
Contents
- 1 What is the humidity inside a grow tent?
- 2 How temperature and humidity are related? How much humidity in a grow room is too much?
- 3 The optimal humidity levels for plant growth
- 4 High humidity is bad for plants to thrive
- 5 Why are growing tents better under lower humidity?
- 6 Designing a smart tent for humidity control
- 7 Frequently Asked Questions
- 8 Conclusion
What is the humidity inside a grow tent?
Excess humidity levels in your grow room may make your plants unhealthy. It is a well-known fact that keeping excellent humidity levels is key to cultivating indoor plants.
Slower growth, bud rot, fungal growth, mildew, and mold growth could result from high moisture levels – the conditions which make it difficult for your plants to survive. It is advised that growers avoid humidity levels above 70% in a grow tent.
The plants growing in a grow tent tend to naturally uptake carbon dioxide and release oxygen regularly.
In case of poor ventilation, the accumulation of oxygen will cause your plants to become saturated with oxygen and incapable of breathing properly. This will create moisture from excess water vapor which eventually makes plants sensitive to humidity leading to some abnormalities.
The ratio of a current absolute humidity to the maximum relative humidity is defined as relative humidity in your grow tent.
Considering moisture as water vapor present in a grow tent, its level can have a significant impact on plant health.
When the temperature in your grow tent rises, it retains water vapor. High relative humidity results from water vapor moving through the air more quickly generating heat.
There is a correlation between temperature and humidity. Despite not having a direct impact on other factors, humidity impacts the moisture content of the air.
Air may store more vapor when temperatures are higher. Temperatures rise significantly as the relative humidity of the air decreases.
Temperature can change, but humidity must be managed. A thermometer and hygrometer should always be kept indoors.
The seeds thrive at 70℉, whereas plant clones and seedlings prefer temperatures between 75 and 78℉. The temperature between 80 and 75℉ is ideal for flowering plants.
Moisture levels differ depending on whether you want to grow a particular plant.
Therefore, there are no quantifiable values or fixed “Rh percents” to indicate appropriate or higher humidity levels.
However, the humidity in the growing area is typically lower than 60%. A crop can suffer harm at humidity levels higher than 60%.
The optimal humidity levels for plant growth
Throughout a plant’s life, different humidity levels are ideal for growth. For seedlings or cloned plants to produce roots, they typically need 70% to 75% moisture.
If you feed your plants, you must have access to enough water and fertilizers. Growers employ growth tubes, which are containers used by house plants to store moisture.
Vegetables require 50% to 70% humidity to absorb more water.
For flowering plants to grow in a favorable environment, the humidity level must range from 30% to 60%. It typically takes 45% to 50% humidity to create a pleasant environment for growing in a tent.
High humidity is bad for plants to thrive
Mold may develop in a grow tent with higher humidity exposing the plants to suffering consequences. For plants to survive, there must be enough oxygen to keep the grow tent dry.
Another consequence of higher humidity is the blockage of the stomata preventing the plants from proper breathing.
Plants can also be exposed to bud rot and botrytis. We must lower the humidity level to guarantee proper airflow within the growth tents. The plant must also reduce its ability to take up nutrients from the soil.
Why are growing tents better under lower humidity?
In a grow tent, low humidity enhances ventilation. Air circulation helps plants remain hydrated, enhances photosynthesis, and maintains a healthy root system.
The heat that is bad for plants is absorbed by the roots. It might be devastating for your crops if there isn’t any air circulation.
To lessen the chance of mold and mildew, the developing tent should remain dry. The moisture should always be monitored.
While white mold won’t bother you much, rust fungus can be devastating. Plant leaves will rot from rust fungi consequently damaging them.
Designing a smart tent for humidity control
Many farmers cultivating plants in a grow tent are not aware of the importance of optimal humidity levels or often end up doing the wrong methods such as using air conditioning fans or humidification machines.
The best humidity level for growing plants may vary depending on the plant’s development stages. Younger plants need most water and air to undergo proper progression which is achieved through constant humidity.
The humidity levels vary by the plant type too. But the common technique is to control the amount of water vapor inside and the amount evaporating in a growth medium.
Detecting the problems with humidity
The higher or lower temperature levels in a grow tent are the direct influencers for detecting the effect of humidity on growing plants.
If you detect plants in poor drainage having less moisture that possibly means low humidity levels.
This is observable by slower growth, and crisper, curly leaves.
If instead you observe the leaves and stems becoming wilted due to overwatering, that possibly means high humidity solved by adjusting to low moisture.
Apply a dehumidifier
If your grow tent humidity is relatively high, the use of a dehumidifier might help to bring the moisture levels to optimal condition.
In the case of a large grow tent, large commercial dehumidifiers may be needed to achieve the result.
If rather the grow tent area has a high humidity level, it is advised to use an air conditioning system connected to the drain.
Use an air conditioner
An air conditioner can be a good tool if your grow tent tends to have excess moisture with ranging temperatures.
If the temperature inside the grow tent becomes cold, the short use of an air conditioner might help to bring the moisture levels of the air up.
Conversely, in warm temperatures, constant use might help to replace the hot air with lower moisture levels.
Get rid of stagnant water
It can be the case when a gardener leaves the water on the surface after flowering affecting the moisture levels in grow room.
In the presence of stagnant water when the water reservoir remains closed, some oxygen molecules can be reabsorbed leading to germination.
One piece of advice is to ventilate the grow room with fresh air to avoid pests with the above suggestions.
Try using absorbent soil
The choice of soil is an important factor for the proper growth of plants.
If you want to reduce the moisture of the growing tent, try using sandy soil which will keep the water underneath the plant as it should be.
This way water losses can be avoided too.
In addition, try using lime and baking soda to maintain the good condition soil.
Balance your plant density
Natural carbon dioxide emissions from plants cause your grow tent’s temperature to rise, and in turn, results in excess moisture in the air.
When the plants in your grow tent are dense and large, some plants might have difficulty getting enough air and carbon dioxide.
This problem is solved as straightforward as removing some plants from grow tent or at least the ones with large leaves.
Add more fans in the ventilation system
If the problem with high humidity in a grow tent persists, try applying more fans to your ventilation system.
Exhaust fans improve the air circulation inside your grow tent.
Alternatively, venting a vent fan or leaving the window span open might help to get rid of excessive humidity inside.
Don’t water your plants excessively
When you overwater plants, more water is produced, which can raise the humidity within your grow tent above the recommended level.
Additionally, moist soils increase the humidity in a propagating tray by adding more water.
Therefore, this type of habit should be avoided for the sake of balanced humidity levels in a grow tent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you keep humidity steady in a grow tent?
How do I lower the humidity in my tent?
What is the ideal humidity in a grow tent?
Do fans lower humidity in grow tent?
Conclusion
It is not difficult to control humidity levels in your grow tent when following the simple precautions above. The moisture and humidity levels should always be monitored to prevent the plants from diseases and slower growth.
Even though ideal humidity levels can be hard to achieve, extremely low or high humidity can harm your plants in the absence of the right preventive measures.
