How much direct Air do you Guys put on your Plants?

So I'm sure we all know that wind lets a plant grow a stronger, more rigid and overall supportive plant structure.

Concerning indoor, I'm sure we all use fans. lets say for continuity that fans blowing on plants = *wind*.



My question is:

What do you guys find optimum as far as intensity and duration of fans directly on your plants? And when do you begin putting fans directly on your plants?


I'm not sure when the *wind* stops benefiting - and starts to detriment your stress level. Above all else I'm afraid of a hermie from too much *wind*, or a weak plant from too little *wind*.


I looked it up and couldn't find anything on the direct air circulation/stress topic...



Just dialing in my understanding. Sorry for the strange question.

i have my fan on them all the time when they are seedling/clones all the way through the veg stage they get a full belting of the fan and then in flower i lift the fan up for the buds
I end up with stalks like this

I honestly think growing in a small space and using a 12" oscillating fan is too much, even on the lowest setting(i.e. the space i'm going in...it seems to hurt the lower leaves a bit)...i'm going to pickup some smaller fans at some point to replace this larger one

I have 17 fans running (lot of lights) and try to have the plants twitch occasionally. A nonstop hard wind will flutter the leaf to destruction from motion and drying. Oscillating fans are used for this intermittant breeze.
I suppose the correct steady breeze would work, but I cannot find the perfect velocity. The oscillating fan works thoughout a wide range, very forgiving.

Room air exchange fans are large, plant fans are tiny, I use a combo.

Just my two cents from an old cheap bastard. I don't like a hard fan wind on the plants when they are in an enclosed area with lights too much because of the intense drying affect on the leaves. I do like as much wind on them as possible and keeping them healthy so since I had 2 oscillating fans which were really too big for the space I use a blocker on the front. Doing this allows me through different size "plates in front of the fan it creates many different air currents in the room and doesn't damage the leaves nearly as much. The cheap bastard is I cut out the bottoms of old pots to make these, they wire right onto the cage of the fan and you are done.
KIS keep it simple

i have mine hung from the ceiling and they stop oscillating after about 6 months they are never off even in the dark, i think if i walked outside and there was no wind that it would be wierd to me so i leave them on, i do as phaeton does, i want them to twitch and move not shake the shit outta them.. lol some bitches like that not mine.. =) i feel if air is always moving my leaves im less prone to get mold/ mildew its everywhere here i live in grape country and you see the places hidden/shaded from wind/sun are more pron to develop powery mildew, i did this my first few runs here and learned if your not sealed up lots and lots and lots of air movement will help EVERYONE

Phaeton what u runnin a 80x80 room.. Lol??

A fan for every light . Oscillating of course. 24/7 after root till finish.

canefan said:

Just my two cents from an old cheap bastard. I don't like a hard fan wind on the plants when they are in an enclosed area with lights too much because of the intense drying affect on the leaves. I do like as much wind on them as possible and keeping them healthy so since I had 2 oscillating fans which were really too big for the space I use a blocker on the front. Doing this allows me through different size "plates in front of the fan it creates many different air currents in the room and doesn't damage the leaves nearly as much. The cheap bastard is I cut out the bottoms of old pots to make these, they wire right onto the cage of the fan and you are done.
KIS keep it simple

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Great reply, you other folks had some great stuff in line with this... Thanks!


Good comparison with dancing leaves vs. shaking leaves... Gives me a different perspective.


I'm in quite a small tent... 2x2x5... Having fun with optimizing a small grow, but the drawback is I haven't found any oscillating fans that can fit in such a small space.

So my fans are 6 inch stationary clip on fans... I know oscillating would be the solution but you work with what you have .

+reppin everyone instead of quoting

This is an old light fixture shot. Nine of the fourteen lights show.
The upper left has the edges of two 500 CFM duct fans used for the HID's.
Twin window fans are under the tables blowing up between table edges.
Box fans channel air from above the lights back to the downstairs(winter only).
Centrifugal fans blow into the positive intake.
Six inch desk fans wiggle the plants.
And the monster 6500 CFM fan evacuates the vent room.

Seventeen fans and my remote senders still shows some spots three degrees off from other spots. Working on that.

And it is -27 degrees F outside, right now, and its getting colder. The temperature gradient inside the house is 45 degrees floor to ceiling when the fans are not running. These fans are not a personal preference, they are necessary.

hey guys i'm new to this and i'm having a hard time figuring out how to post a question but my question is. how do i get my pc fans to work again, they just randomly stopped and i tried connecting them to a different power cord, only one of them worked, any ideas?

Sr. Verde said:

So I'm sure we all know that wind lets a plant grow a stronger, more rigid and overall supportive plant structure.

Concerning indoor, I'm sure we all use fans. lets say for continuity that fans blowing on plants = *wind*.



My question is:

What do you guys find optimum as far as intensity and duration of fans directly on your plants? And when do you begin putting fans directly on your plants?


I'm not sure when the *wind* stops benefiting - and starts to detriment your stress level. Above all else I'm afraid of a hermie from too much *wind*, or a weak plant from too little *wind*.


I looked it up and couldn't find anything on the direct air circulation/stress topic...



Just dialing in my understanding. Sorry for the strange question.

Click to expand...

I too am also using a fan that doesn't oscilate, but I found a quick fix for any excessive breeze for the low budget gardners. QUICK FIX- Put something that is sturdy directly in front of your fan to block some of the air flow, this got me a comfortable looking breeze on my plants and I am now happy Good luck!

I have one that oscillates on full power right on the plants but kind of a weak fan and another that oscillates l/r and up and down to move are around. Also aimed sweeping across the plants. The plants twitch but don't get blown over. My room is 8x8ish and it stays pretty warm. Seems to work good like that. Keep in mind that a low humidity and air movement will lend itself to more trichomes production. That fuzz you see early, the plants use them to hold moisture in like a little barrier. Anyways....

Once you read a book on the understandings of 'Stomata' all will be revealed ...!

Well I for one cannot resist any vague and mysterious prophecy foretold such as the one posted above.

Too much wind can cause the boundary layer of your leaves(layer of humid air that surrounds all leaves) to be smaller than ideal causing the stomata to transpire more moisture than what is desired or necessary.

Lol thanks. I was gonna look that up.

when my air flow is just right leaves sway and shake a bit when I have the fan too close the leaves dry out too fast and seedlings get bent to the side ,

I like a small oscillating fan for the 4x4 with a 6in vortex for exhaust with three flaps open with screens for passive intake keeps temp from 67 to about 76 and humidity from 40% to 50% max

this prevents PM from thriving and bugs cuz they both love warm moisture and organic environments

good luck all remember plants like fresh air just like we do

Ok I have a quick question my fan is like 6in away from one of my lights an it sways a little bit. Is this ok or should I do something different?

Marteen said:

Ok I have a quick question my fan is like 6in away from one of my lights an it sways a little bit. Is this ok or should I do something different?

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Red neck light mover?