Maintaining the environment of your plant is key to successful growth, poor environment leads to poor quality and low yields. Maintaining conditions within optimal limits is one of the biggest challenges for producers, as the climate in Bulgaria is variable. However, the colder months are ideal for growing, as it is much easier to add heat than to cool your growing room (without the cost of full air consoles). The guide below will help you understand the perfect conditions and offer you the most optimal products to help you achieve them.


Plants and air temperature


Plants like to keep their air moderate. When the weather is colder, it can be difficult to keep the air around your plants in a golden environment between 23C-25C (25C is the absolute maximum temperature you want at the tops of the plant, without adding CO2)

23C-25C is the ideal temperature only during the period of switching on the lights. During the dark period, a few degrees of temperature drop is desirable to simulate natural conditions, although ideally the temperature should not be below 18C and should never go below 15C.

Obviously, the growing lamp generates quite a bit of heat. Although this can cause fever problems in the summer months, it is actually a very useful side effect in the winter.

For most manufacturers, simply adding a fan speed regulator to reduce the amount of hot air that is exchanged to cold air during growth is enough to keep the air within the right range. As long as enough air is exchanged to refresh CO2 levels and maintain moderate humidity, then this approach can be a great solution for maintaining a temperature in the 23C-25C range during lighting. If you want to monitor the temperature, as well as its minimum and maximum values, when you are not there, we strongly recommend that you get a digital thermo-hygro meter from here.


When the lights go out

Temperature during the dark period is something that many manufacturers do not consider. Maintaining the correct temperature during the period of switching off the lights is just as important as the correct determination of the temperatures when the lights are switched on. As mentioned earlier, although it is good to have a temperature drop of a few degrees during the period of switching off the lights, it is important not to allow the temperature to be below 18C and it is absolutely vital that temperatures NEVER be below 15C.

Plants feel the temperature even in the dark. The drop in temperature during the period of switching off the lights actually helps the plants to react better to the photoperiod. A drop of a few degrees when the lights go out will help the plants bloom faster when they turn 12/12, and promote stronger flowering / after.


It's cold, winter must come, I think I will stop growing now ...



Plants use temperature to sense when winter is coming. Plants also need certain temperatures for the biological act of life and growth. Plant growth decreases significantly below 18C and plants can "stand" (stop growing completely) below 15C. It may take only one or two cold (below 15C) periods to turn off the light for the plant to decide that winter is coming. This starts a process in which the plant completes flower production, completes the ripening process and then prepares to die or give way by spring.

If the plants "stand" this way, it can take up to 2-3 weeks for them to return to normal flower production. Usually they will never recover what they lost during the stall period. As I am sure you can imagine, two wasted weeks of an 8-week period of flowering or fruiting will have a huge detrimental effect on the size of the final crop.


Keep them cozy

 So that your plants do not "stagnate" or slow down during this critical period, it is a good idea to have a method of keeping the air warm in the growing space, even in the dark. Fortunately, there are a few easy ways to do this and you don't need to take out a loan.

In the first place are ordinary fan or convector stoves. They are designed to take up very little space, making them ideal for placement in a growbox or other growing space. They come in a number of capacities to suit the size of your tent / rearing area and how much heating will be needed. These devices will certainly keep you cool without having to rearrange your entire groovebox.

For extra control and larger rooms, you could add an oil cooler with or without a thermostat. Since with most oil radiators they can be adjusted to exactly what temperature to heat, it is extremely convenient to find the golden mean between 23 and 25C.

If the temperature rises too much during the light period, you can always connect the heater to a timer like this and synchronize it to heat only during the dark period.

Unfortunately, with hydroponic systems, it's not just the air temperature that matters - it's your nutrient solution!

If you have a tank in your hydroponic system, it is best to keep the nutrient solution around 18 ° C. Not only can cold air cause slow plant growth, but the temperature of the solution may also be to blame. Again, anything below 18C can start to cause problems. Everything is below 15C and there is a certain risk of delay.

Fortunately, there are heaters made just for this purpose. You could buy them here.


Add extra light

 

One of the easiest things we always recommend is to add another light bulb to your room. Adding another light source will give you extra warmth, which can help keep your temperature higher during cold periods. Winter is the perfect time to adjust your lighting and achieve maximum yield, as you do not have to worry that your temperature is unbearable due to the external heat, as in summer. This is the perfect opportunity to increase both your quality and your yields. Find the perfect lamp in our store!


Protect the root mass




Keeping your root mass warm is a known way that you can easily help keep your plants happier during the cold. Your roots act as an engine for your plant and you want them to be in optimal conditions at all times. As we all know, the heat rises, which means that the bottom of your groovebox is the coldest area of ​​the room, but there are a few things that can help. The first thing that would be beneficial is to invest in a nutrient heater. This will maintain an ideal temperature, which in turn will increase the absorption of nutrients throughout your plant and increase yields.

Another simple thing you can do is lift the pots off the floor, just slightly to insulate the bottom of the pot. You could use a layer of polystyrene to raise it to an inch or two (if the system allows), this slight adjustment would make a huge difference in the temperature of the roots, keeping them a little warmer.


Eliminate cold places


 


Another fantastic way to make the air circulate in your room is to reduce the likelihood of cold spots. Circulation is one of the most important factors in indoor cultivation throughout the growing season. However, if you do not have enough fans or are located impractically, this will be evident in the winter! Get the perfect fan from here!

We hope that these little tips and products that can save your winter harvest have been useful! If you are still struggling, do not hesitate to contact us and we can help you determine where you can improve your groovebox to maximize your cold yields!


Happy breeding !!