Does too much CO2 kill vegatation?

[Calaveras Kid]

Ask google and you get a million different answers.. including many that say plants need Oxygen at night to survive. Yes.. pure oxygen can kill a human.. but don't divers breathe it??


We are trying to keep greenhouses warm and non vented infrared propane heaters (with a thermostat) are not allowed by the management because the C02 will build up and kill all the plants. I suspect this is bullcrap and I have no simple way to prove it to the boss. I am planning on growing something in a 100% co2 environment someday to prove it to myself.

If 100% CO2 kills plants then my dreams of terraforming mars with hemp are a non starter.

Thanks for your thoughts.. We have a Modine Hot Dawg Heater in one greenhouse.. it is the bomb but pricey

 

[KingJoe83]

Co2 I'm pretty sure you can grow using co2 but you will still need light proper environment I would assume .

Again this my guess and I'm sure I have heard it being done.

I know that once you have too much light in a certain space co2 is needed or lights can be over kill. Bout all o got for ya bud .

 

[Calaveras Kid]

Co2 I’m pretty sure you can grow using co2 but you will still need light proper environment I would assume .

Again this my guess and I’m sure I have heard it being done.

I know that once you have too much light in a certain space co2 is needed or lights can be over kill. Bout all o got for ya bud .

We have propane CO2 generators with the 600$ switch that floods with CO2 only in tyhe daytime.. I get that plants sleep and don't respirate at night so there is no need to waste propane.. The switch maintains a safe level of CO2 for humans.. It would not be wise to sella product that kills folks. I am suprised the government lets people sell CO2 generators

The root of my question at this point is that will a non vented propane burner kills plants ina greenhouse.. Terraforming mars is just a bonus.

 

[Calaveras Kid]

Plants Suffering from Propane

Plants Suffering from Propane
wolflover(z7 OK)December 13, 2005
I first moved my plants into the greenhouse on October 22. They TRHIVED for the next seven weeks, blooming beautifully and never dropping leaves, until last week when I first used my propane heaters. Prior to that I had been using electric heaters to heat the greenhouse. I try to keep the temperature above 50*. Most plants I grow are tropicals.

Last week we had very low temps in this area and I had to start up my propane heaters. These are non vented, Pro Com propane heaters. Within just a couple of days, the leaves of my plants started yellowing badly and they have now dropped many if not all of their leaves, and all the blooms have died and fallen off. The temps in the greenhouse during this cold spell never dropped lower than 45* and were usually no lower than 50*. I truly believe it is the propane that is causing this yellowing and leaf drop on my plants.

Does anyone have any suggestions of something I could do to prevent this from happening again? Should I have these heaters vented even though they are non vented heaters? Do you think the heaters might be faulty? Sometimes the smell is very strong in the greenhouse when I first open the door, and I can actually smell it when I walk up to the greenhouse some days. (My heaters in my home are hooked up to this same propane supply and I am used to the smell). Last winter I used these heaters almost exclusively to heat my greenhouse and my plants really suffered all winter. Then, I thought it was due to not having shade cloth on during the winter months and it being wayyy too bright in the greenhouse. This year I have shade cloth on the greenhouse and my plants were thriving until I first turned on the propane heaters last week.

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. It's been painful to watch my plants drop all their leaves and blooms. Thank you for your help.

 

[Calaveras Kid]

Well I cam here and asked.. and then searched what I asked.. and walla! Non vented propane heaters are a non starter for greenhouses

I am certainly sorry to hear about your plight. I know very little about tropicals, but I have been doing a tremendous amount of research about growing tomatoes in a greenhouse. To me, the problem that you describe sounds like it is a problem which is a direct result of not having your heater vented to the outside.

I know that you said that it is a non-vented type, but you must remember that in a greenhouse you are typically talking about a lot smaller sq. ft. area of heated space than what you would have in a dwelling. And I know that so-called non-vented heaters can cause severe problems (up to and including death) in small or poorly vented homes. The oxygen in a small greenhouse (especially in a well sealed one) is quickly depleated by a flame and can result in the propane not burning cleanly and completely. The end result is a gas (or gasses) that are highly toxic to humans and to lots of plants.

 

[Calaveras Kid]

I couls put a hood with a vent fan over one??

The vented heaters go up from about 300$ non vented to 600$ each vented

 

[420islife]

Propane produces carbon monoxide not dioxide in pretty sure man which is lethal to every living thing

 

[KingJoe83]

We have propane CO2 generators with the 600$ switch that floods with CO2 only in tyhe daytime.. I get that plants sleep and don't respirate at night so there is no need to waste propane.. The switch maintains a safe level of CO2 for humans.. It would not be wise to sella product that kills folks. I am suprised the government lets people sell CO2 generators

The root of my question at this point is that will a non vented propane burner kills plants ina greenhouse.. Terraforming mars is just a bonus.

they dont care it be like a secretive way of letting us purge eachother lol

 

[Bigjake8]

Ok I got more questions now I wanna know to

How much is to much with propane is it the carbon monoxide that's the problem or is it the gas itself

Would a kerosene heat work instead

 

[Scientific]

Propane produces carbon monoxide not dioxide in pretty sure man which is lethal to every living thing

You will get some CO, but if the burner is operating properly you should be be getting mostly CO2.

Here's the Chem 101 reaction: 1 C3H8 + 10 02 --> 3 CO2 + 4 H20

 

[Scientific]

We have propane CO2 generators with the 600$ switch that floods with CO2 only in tyhe daytime.. I get that plants sleep and don't respirate at night so there is no need to waste propane.. The switch maintains a safe level of CO2 for humans.. It would not be wise to sella product that kills folks. I am suprised the government lets people sell CO2 generators

The root of my question at this point is that will a non vented propane burner kills plants ina greenhouse.. Terraforming mars is just a bonus.

Plant's don't "sleep," and they do continue to metabolize at night, using oxygen to stay alive just like we do (which is sometimes called "the dark cycle").

Trying to grow plants in a pure CO2 would not work for that reason, and some others come to mind, for instance CO2 readily combines with water to form carbonic acid, so you'd start getting an environment kind of like the surface of Venus. And yes, you would also get carbon monoxide as well. Altogether you'd get a humid, toxic environment that's not healthy for plants or humans

No disrespect, but frankly this all sounds pretty goofy!

 

[Calaveras Kid]

Plant's don't "sleep," and they do continue to metabolize at night, using oxygen to stay alive just like we do (which is sometimes called "the dark cycle").

Trying to grow plants in a pure CO2 would not work for that reason, and some others come to mind, for instance CO2 readily combines with water to form carbonic acid, so you'd start getting an environment kind of like the surface of Venus. And yes, you would also get carbon monoxide as well. Altogether you'd get a humid, toxic environment that's not healthy for plants or humans

No disrespect, but frankly this all sounds pretty goofy!

Finally some knowledge.. I certainly thank you for the answer.. Botany is not my specialty and I never knew Plants need oxygen to survive.. It just seemed counterinutive to me that plants would need both oxygen and CO2.. as far as I know we need know CO2 for metabolic purposes

I hear some goofy science from the youngsters here.. but usually it pans out and there is some truth to their wive's tales..

Looks like they are winning this one.

I still can't believe we can't bio engineer some sort of plant life that would grow on Mars and start making oxygen.. Hell let's bottle up our greenhouse gases and release them there.


Ha! LOL.. ask google if plants need oxygen to survive

Plants do need oxygen to survive. They respire (take in oxygen, give off carbon dioxide) the same way that animals do. The difference is that during the day, plants also perform photosynthesis, in which they take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.