Humidity confusion...

fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
My ladies are now into their 5 week of flower and look to be doing well. Ive always aimed for 40%rh in flower and try to get as close to this as possible. At the minute my lights on temp is 25c-28c / Rh 55%-60% and lights out 20c-22c / Rh 45%-55%. I have 5" intake and 8" extraction fans exchanging the air and a 12" oscillating fan blowing across the tops of the canopy .The grow space is approx 1.5m2 and not completely sealed so not sure that a dehumidifier would pull it down. My main concern is the dreaded bud rot as the strain im running is critical kush and the buds are starting to build up even though ive read that this strain is supposed to be resistant to common molds etc.. After doing a bit of googling however im now even more confused as to wether my humidity is ok or not? Many say to stay in the 40`s where as others say as long as good air circulation is in place 60 is fine? Obviously this depends on other factors but im guessing strain plays a big part ?

So am i ok where it sits at the minute or am i asking for trouble in weeks to come? Ive read that a slight;y higher rh can help in flower and that the main reason for aiming for 40 and lowering the temps is more about resin production.

As always thanks for any advice :)
 

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
air circulation is important. temp, and humidity also important. its nearly impossible to change humidity in an open system with air exchange.

if 20C is your lowest temperature and 60% is your highest humidity you are perfectly fine. keep that oscilating fan going and maybe get another clip fan for under your canopy.

mold likes 3 things:
1) high humidity
2) cool temps (below 21C)
3) poor air circulation

20C and 60% RH is actually within good VPD range for a cannabis plant.

make sure the temps don't drop, keep good air circulation, and do the best you can to control humidity, but like i said, not much u can do in an open system.

don't spray anything on your buds. keep them dry.
 

Dr.J20

Well-Known Member
you can chase RH perfection, but like Antithesit says, its likely not going to be that big of a threat. Good genetics, strong environment and culture, you should be fine with 55%.

be easy,

:peace:
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
I think getting rh down in flower is more about mold control. Mj loves high humidity, but so does mold and other fungal disease.
 

Ford20

Member
Do your fans go off when the lights go out or do you circulate air for a while after lights out? Do you have a digital hi-low hygrometer? What’s your peek humidity after lights go off? Your RH is a bit high in my opinion but I would mostly be worried about spikes during the dark period.
 

fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the replies :) Im gonna get another fan in there asap for under the canopy . All fans run 24/7 . Humidity drops after lights out , today i was checking hourly and it sat for most of the day at 21c 45% rh. Currently sat at 26.7c 52%rh . So following advice im happy with that :)
 

fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
So monitoring over the last 24 hours im getting min/max lights on 25c/48rh & 26.8/58rh , then soon as lights go out the temp slowly drops to 20-21c/55rh then gradually throughout lights out the humidity drops to mid 40`s then back up when the lights come back on.
 

Ecompost

Well-Known Member
Now you know this, but dont have a system to control it, what will you do?

The rot to which you refer is a root pathogen manifesting in the bud sites to us visibly, but ultimately this is less about the air moisture content "you" have to deal with, and much more about good irrigation and soil temps. We can not dismiss air humidity if we want to grow an "aesthetically human perfect plant", but i suspect you might control your own irrigation and manage soil temps on a low budget, but controlling what God is doing to the air takes dollars and design?

What you can do cheaply...
if you dont have a way to measure soil/ media moisture/ temps, then get something. These tools are cheap and can tell you data which is useful.
Soil/ media moisture/ temps are far more critical than the air around your plant imo.

You must keep you media temps from peaking for consecutive days, esp around the critical growth markers.
How much DO2 your media can hold is directly related to the temps. The higher the temps the lower the DO2, the lower the DO2 the less respiration can occur, the less mineralisation follows, the less access to minerals fundamental to plant heath, the higher the risk of pathogens and pests.
So keep your media temps under 25C, ideally you want to aim for 18-21C for happy roots.

Moisture - No soil moisture, less microbes in active states. moist is not wet, nor is it damp :-) Over drying media causes the colonies of microbes to begin to act differently, secreting different compounds in to the soil system to insure their own survival. As ever, the trouble makers are the hardest living bastards, so these can live at the extremes for longer, waiting for the drop in mineral access to open the opportunity for the infection cycle to initiate within our plants. This is evolution and is fundamentally hinged to system balance, esp where things are unstable. Good soil moisture maintains diverse populations of microbes, preventing one type dominating and putting your plant at risk

here is where we join the dots between media temps and DO2 availability, and moisture %. Good DO2, eg above 6ppms plus microbial and plant root respiration, eg (breathing the same as us) its microbes taking in the O2 from the DO2 and breathing out CO2, this combines with H2O to form Carbonic Acid, it is this carbonic acid responsible for mineralisation, eg taking the Zinc or Manganese from the media and offering it to the plant, where it is used to initiate multiple reactions, including up regulating plant health, ergo making it less susceptible to pathogens and or general attack, stress etc..

40%-60% is a good range. having a tool to measure this is a good idea for new growers,, after a while this irrigation stuff becomes almost second nature and you can relax on the tools and rely on your instinct. Otherwise to really own it on day one, you must do the measuring, then the complex maths, and this aint easy in a dynamic system. How much moisture is being used by your plant and its surroundings is based on a great many vectors, calculating this is hard work and a constant job as it is dynamic. However, if you seek a human perfect plant vision, you ought to learn how nature balances energy in dynamic systems, since this will be part of the tool kit needed to make "human measured perfection" repeatable.

Any plant has a short part in its over cycle that is the peak risk zone for late blight. For cannabis you need to aim to have the best conditions leading up to flower, eg 1 week before, and then try to maintain good environmentals up to day 21 of bloom, after which risk substantially drops. Within this wider time frame, there is a much shallower amount of time where the true risk lays, but this is pheno dependent and impossible for anyone to say unless you have dedicated serious time and observation to any strain. This is what is meant by knowing your strains. Just because you are seeing it in week 7 dont mean it occurred then
 
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fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
Ok, thanks for all the replies :)

So ive been monitoring my temps/rh for the last few days and checked the digital thermometer/hygrometer and my minimum and maximum temps read :

Min temp 16.7C
Max temp 28.7C
Min RH 43%
Max RH 61%

The temp drops occasionally just after lights out to 16-17C for around 45min until the radiator i have in there warms the space back up, after 45 min the temp is back up to at least 18-19C and then increases to an average of 20-22c til lights are back on .
My average RH is between 50-55RH increasing occasionally to around 58 for a while after watering . Oscillating fan still blowing 24/7.

So do you think im good to continue to the end of flower with these temps/rh now the buds are fattening up ?
 

fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
Update with more accurate temps rh readings...

Ok so ive been monitoring my temps and humidity for the last week or so and the temps and rh below are average figures.
The max temp is 28c Lowest temp 18c
Max Rh 62% Lowest Rh 40%
Im into week 6 since flipping and have my fans still on 24/7 (8" exhaust , 5" Intake & 12" oscillating.
With this environment am i risking fungus and moulds?

light out 6AM

6:00 28c 61%
7:00 22c 58%
8:00 21c 55%
9:00 21c 53%
10:00 21c 51%
11:00 23c 48%
12:00 24c 45%
13:00 24c 44%
14:00 23c 45%
15:00 22c 46%
16:00 22c 47%
17:00 21c 50%

light on 6pm

18:00 24c 53%
19:00 25c 55%
20:00 26c 56%
21:00 26c 56%
22:00 25c 55%
23:00 25c 55%
00:00 25c 56%
01:00 26c 57%
02:00 26c 57%
03:00 26c 57%
04:00 27c 58%
05:00 27c 59%

TIA :)
 

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
Update with more accurate temps rh readings...

Ok so ive been monitoring my temps and humidity for the last week or so and the temps and rh below are average figures.
The max temp is 28c Lowest temp 18c
Max Rh 62% Lowest Rh 40%
Im into week 6 since flipping and have my fans still on 24/7 (8" exhaust , 5" Intake & 12" oscillating.
With this environment am i risking fungus and moulds?

light out 6AM

6:00 28c 61%
7:00 22c 58%
8:00 21c 55%
9:00 21c 53%
10:00 21c 51%
11:00 23c 48%
12:00 24c 45%
13:00 24c 44%
14:00 23c 45%
15:00 22c 46%
16:00 22c 47%
17:00 21c 50%

light on 6pm

18:00 24c 53%
19:00 25c 55%
20:00 26c 56%
21:00 26c 56%
22:00 25c 55%
23:00 25c 55%
00:00 25c 56%
01:00 26c 57%
02:00 26c 57%
03:00 26c 57%
04:00 27c 58%
05:00 27c 59%

TIA :)
I would be not be worried about mold or mildew with those temps. Especially with all your air circulation. As long as your fans keep running you’ll be fine.
 

Ecompost

Well-Known Member
Update with more accurate temps rh readings...

Ok so ive been monitoring my temps and humidity for the last week or so and the temps and rh below are average figures.
The max temp is 28c Lowest temp 18c
Max Rh 62% Lowest Rh 40%
Im into week 6 since flipping and have my fans still on 24/7 (8" exhaust , 5" Intake & 12" oscillating.
With this environment am i risking fungus and moulds?

light out 6AM

6:00 28c 61%
7:00 22c 58%
8:00 21c 55%
9:00 21c 53%
10:00 21c 51%
11:00 23c 48%
12:00 24c 45%
13:00 24c 44%
14:00 23c 45%
15:00 22c 46%
16:00 22c 47%
17:00 21c 50%

light on 6pm

18:00 24c 53%
19:00 25c 55%
20:00 26c 56%
21:00 26c 56%
22:00 25c 55%
23:00 25c 55%
00:00 25c 56%
01:00 26c 57%
02:00 26c 57%
03:00 26c 57%
04:00 27c 58%
05:00 27c 59%

TIA :)
you are reading temps minus the UV dont forget. UV does not register in air, but it will register on your plant and any hard surface. So what says 27 is just air temps minus the UV which means your plant canopy is likely over 30C which means your RH% is on the low side for sure and you may need extra CO2 to use the light you may be pumping in.
Dont forget, RH% is directly related to Temps and CO2 available. Changes in one of the three vectors must result in changes in the other two in order to remain in the perfect growing zone and so maintain hydraulic capacity and or use the power you are paying for efficiently.
If people want to grow with lights, they ought to understand the costs, otherwise California is burning for nothing.
 
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Xs121

Well-Known Member
you are reading temps minus the UV dont forget. UV does not register in air, but it will register on your plant and any hard surface. So what says 27 is just air temps minus the UV which means your plant canopy is likely over 30C which means your RH% is on the low side for sure and you may need extra CO2 to use the light you may be pumping in.
Dont forget, RH% is directly related to Temps and CO2 available. Changes in one of the three vectors must result in changes in the other two in order to remain in the perfect growing zone and so maintain hydraulic capacity and or use the power you are paying for efficiently.
If people want to grow with lights, they ought to understand the costs, otherwise California is burning for nothing.
That's why I use that laser guided thermometer to monitor any hotspot on my canopy. The difference between my regular thermometer and hot spots ranges from 3F-6F
 
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