First Grow In Over 20 Years! Northern Lights Under 600W LED

[Homer Simpson]

Yeah, the gang want to rename me happy birdie, but they don't do name changes anymore lol so it was the only thing I could do.

Yes, I was going to say you don't seem angry at all, lol....

 

[MrSauga]

hiya Homer,
I live in Ontario as well. On my forced air furnace I have a humidifier built in. They are not expensive and if you are handy with tools you should have no problem installing it yourself. Set the dial to around 50% so you stay comfortable and your plants will be happier. It will also save you a few dollars on your heating bill because moist air is more comfortable than dry cold air and you can probably drop your thermostat down a degree or two. Check out HouseDepot or MONA if that tickles your fancy.

 

[Homer Simpson]

hiya Homer,
I live in Ontario as well. On my forced air furnace I have a humidifier built in. They are not expensive and if you are handy with tools you should have no problem installing it yourself. Set the dial to around 50% so you stay comfortable and your plants will be happier. It will also save you a few dollars on your heating bill because moist air is more comfortable than dry cold air and you can probably drop your thermostat down a degree or two. Check out HouseDepot or MONA if that tickles your fancy.

Hi Sauga.
I appreciate the suggestion and actually my last house had a humidifier built into the ductwork right after the furnace but I am thinking of moving in the next year and I really don’t want to put the money into a house I’m not keeping. Besides as I said in another post I’m really trying to do this grow with a minimum investment. I always have some project or interest on the go and it is so easy to go out and constantly be buying things for them so I have really put my foot down and am determined to do this as cheaply as possible. I’m not broke I just hate spending money I don’t have to, LOL.

Besides, I think I am going to have much more product than I need so if I get a slightly reduced harvest because of humidity I think I will still be okay. But I am going to try some cheaper solutions like the wet towel and fan method and maybe even a misting room humidifier. I appreciate the suggestion but those units are a couple hundred dollars at least and I’m just not willing to spend the money unless I really have to before eliminating all other options and seeing what kind of results I get with a lower humidity and if they are acceptable. Again though thanks for the suggestion and I will keep it in reserve if all else fails.

 

[Gazoo]

I understand your situation is what it is

So with that said the best bang for your buck is going to be in humidity control

Here is very good explanation I just found from a ten year old help thread

"Humidity:
The plant regulates its water loss and intakes atmospheric gases through the stomata, which are small openings concentrated on the undersides of the leaves. When the plant is trying to conserve water, and closes the stomata, it cannot breathe, and its metabolic systems start to shut down.

What this all means is that when you are running BRIGHT and WARM, you must also add MOISTURE to keep the stomata open, and at temperatures above about 85 degrees, CO2 to ensure that CO2 is not the limiting factor in the plant's metabolism.

When your conditions are COLD, and the plant is transpiring slowly, avoid overwatering, as moisture use/loss slows, and if you want to keep your plants fairly healthy even in low temps, you may want to decrease light intensity as well, because even though they may be able to photosynthesize under bright light, the chemical reactions that take place within the plant happen much more slowly. Below 65 degrees or so the plants become nearly dormant, and may be held in that state only under correct conditions. "

 

[Homer Simpson]

I understand your situation is what it is

So with that said the best bang for your buck is going to be in humidity control

Here is very good explanation I just found from a ten year old help thread

"Humidity:
The plant regulates its water loss and intakes atmospheric gases through the stomata, which are small openings concentrated on the undersides of the leaves. When the plant is trying to conserve water, and closes the stomata, it cannot breathe, and its metabolic systems start to shut down.

What this all means is that when you are running BRIGHT and WARM, you must also add MOISTURE to keep the stomata open, and at temperatures above about 85 degrees, CO2 to ensure that CO2 is not the limiting factor in the plant's metabolism.

When your conditions are COLD, and the plant is transpiring slowly, avoid overwatering, as moisture use/loss slows, and if you want to keep your plants fairly healthy even in low temps, you may want to decrease light intensity as well, because even though they may be able to photosynthesize under bright light, the chemical reactions that take place within the plant happen much more slowly. Below 65 degrees or so the plants become nearly dormant, and may be held in that state only under correct conditions. "

Thank you very much Gazoo, that was excellent timing because I was just about to put up a post asking what the result was from low humidity. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I’m getting the feeling people think this humidity thing is a pretty big issue, LOL.

I really appreciate all the input and since everyone seems to agree I am going to try and increase my humidity levels. I am going to try the cheapest solutions first so tomorrow I am going to build a frame to hang some towels on and I will set up a fan to blow on it. If that doesn’t work I will look into getting a mist humidifier. I didn’t see a lot of growth today and maybe that is my problem?

I actually think the fan and towel system may work fairly well because I remember having a humidifier in the house when I was young and all it consisted of was a drum covered in fabric that rotated slowly into a tray of water with a fan blowing on it which is exactly the same concept.

 

[AngryBird]

Ok, if you have a pot, that could be place on the heater, safely, that is you humidifier for you.
@MrSauga ...come sit next to me, plenty of room and you need to tell me your dog's name, so I can call him.
Sometimes, they don't grow, above soil. Just because they are growing under(roots) or gather energy to go boom! And shoot up in just few days.

 

[Homer Simpson]

Ok, if you have a pot, that could be place on the heater, safely, that is you humidifier for you.
@MrSauga ...come sit next to me, plenty of room and you need to tell me your dog's name, so I can call him.
Sometimes, they don't grow, above soil. Just because they are growing under(roots) or gather energy to go boom! And shoot up in just few days.

Thank you AngryBird, I am going to use your suggestion of a pot of water and take it one step further as I have made a towel rack over my water with a fan blowing on it. Hopefully, that will do the trick. I took a photo of the humidity and I will check it in a few hours. Very curious what the effect will be if any!

Also hopefully I am getting some root growth and I will get a big spurt like you predict.

The Humidator 3000!!

 

[Homer Simpson]

I have some preliminary results for the Humidator 3000. I was surprised how well it worked so my hat is off to those that suggested hanging a towel because in less than an hour the humidity had gone from 32% to 40% but as I feared as soon as the furnace kicked in it would sink right back down to the low 30’s.

Since I haven’t gotten much growth in the last few days and everyone seems to agree the culprit is most likely the humidity I have figured a way to boost the humidity without the furnace knocking it down every time it kicks in. I have blocked off the furnace registered to the room and I am going to heat that room with a small electric heater I have that is thermostatically controlled.

I’m really amazed at how much heat my LEDs throw off so I don’t think it will even be on much during the day but at night it will keep the room warm enough. I have had the heating vent blocked off for close to an hour and I am at 45% so I think I can probably go to 60% which will be my target. Thanks for all the help guys, and ladies.

I added a second bowl and towel and since the concept works if required to get to 60% I can always make it wider and add more towels and a box fan if I have to.

 

[AngryBird]

I am glad it worked.

 

[Homer Simpson]

I am glad it worked.

Thank you and thanks for the help.

 

[TriangleCheese]

Cool setup Homer

I wouldn't worry too much about the RH. In veg. it is good to have some high values but you won't need that much in flowering. %40-50 is fine in my experience. In veg. nothing can go wrong because of low RH. It just may take a little longer to achieve a similar growth in an room with controlled RH. Just focus on your root system and training methods and this should turn out fantastic. Your work will pay off for sure. Wish you good luck

 

[TryingHigh]

I have the same humidity problem. My humidity runs between 30 and 40%. You've all inspired me to run a mist-er in my tent. (luckily tent - a bit easier to adjust) . will need to put it in tonight. Good setup. In to learn/watch (and see pics) too.

 

[TriangleCheese]

I have the same humidity problem. My humidity runs between 30 and 40%. You've all inspired me to run a mist-er in my tent. (luckily tent - a bit easier to adjust) . will need to put it in tonight. Good setup. In to learn/watch (and see pics) too.

If your setup is limited %45 will be fine and should be achievable. Keep in mind that plants will preserve the RH when they get bigger in flowering. So it is only an issue for grow phase. Not a major issue though. They might just grow slower.

 

[Homer Simpson]

Cool setup Homer

I wouldn't worry too much about the RH. In veg. it is good to have some high values but you won't need that much in flowering. %40-50 is fine in my experience. In veg. nothing can go wrong because of low RH. It just may take a little longer to achieve a similar growth in an room with controlled RH. Just focus on your root system and training methods and this should turn out fantastic. Your work will pay off for sure. Wish you good luck

Hey TriangleCheese.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. Things are looking good with the towel method because now my humidity is around 55%! I am really shocked at how well that worked. Hopefully as you say it will help with my growth rate a bit. Thanks again.

 

[Gazoo]

Hey TriangleCheese.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. Things are looking good with the towel method because now my humidity is around 55%! I am really shocked at how well that worked. Hopefully as you say it will help with my growth rate a bit. Thanks again.

Cool Happy to hear its working, You basically built my swamp cooler

 

[Homer Simpson]

Cool Happy to hear its working, You basically built my swamp cooler

Yes, it seems to be working very well and thank you for the encouragement to do something about my humidity; that 10-year-old post you dug up really did the trick!

 

[MrSauga]

@MrSauga ...come sit next to me, plenty of room and you need to tell me your dog's name, so I can call him.

OK Birdie, thanks for the seat, and thanks for thinking of me. Homer looks like he's got things going in the right direction with all the help everyone has contributed, so the rest for us is easy. Pics Homer, lots of pics. We are funny that way.
And Ms. Birdie, my dog's name is Brodie. I'll get a pic up of him on my Journal so as not to disturb Homer's thread.

 

[Homer Simpson]

OK Birdie, thanks for the seat, and thanks for thinking of me. Homer looks like he's got things going in the right direction with all the help everyone has contributed, so the rest for us is easy. Pics Homer, lots of pics. We are funny that way.
And Ms. Birdie, my dog's name is Brodie. I'll get a pic up of him on my Journal so as not to disturb Homer's thread.

Yes, Mr. Sauga it looks like I am going in the right direction with everybody’s help and thanks again to all. I actually thought maybe I was overdoing it with the pics but since you say bring them on here are some more.

Got my humidity about where I want it now.

I started germinating these 11 days ago and they have been in soil for eight days. Do they look about the right size for that age?

This one has fallen over because I think it had too much stretch from my lights being too far away. Them manufacturer actually suggests 36" to 40" for a plant this age. I now have them at about 21" from the tops and they seem ok. Any suggestions?? To far or too close. They are 600W LEDs.

 

[MrSauga]

They look fine for size other than the stretch..I would go easy on the water as well. You want those roots to get strong and start searching for water.
Try propping that one up a bit. I see some use a straw split down the middle to hold them there but you want to get it upright. Lights should be 18-24 inches so 21 should be OK. You could go to 20 if you like and it's not hot.

 

[Jazz Cabbage]

You're better off with matt white than mylar, but aluminium foil is even better, *if* you crinkle it up first and then spread it smooth. Something that just came to mind that would be a good idea for either foil or mylar, is to go to an art supply store and purchase some matt spray. Spray it on the mylar then instead of it being like a mirror it will reflect a diffuse light, which is what you want.

When photographers want to light shadows with a gobo, they don't use a mirror, they use a white reflector. Even the reflective umbrellas for flash that are lined in metallic coatings are highly textured.