Thanks in advance for any advice you supremely knowledgeable folks can offer.....
I have to bring four robust outdoor plants indoors during budding because outdoor humidity where we live is just too high and results in too much bud rot.
So...
I'm creating a grow room in an old, un-insulated outbuilding where I've cleaned up one end so I have a 5x8 corner for growing under one HPS 1000w light- to be run 12 hrs on/12 off. The ceiling height is about 16' at the peak (interior of this building is unfinished)(light is set on rafters so it'll be an appropriate distance from the plants). I'm using four large old mirrors we had as light reflectors around two sides of the plants and a silver colored tarp for the third side. The last side is open to the rest of the interior- which is about 25'x16' and is not in any way air tight (as I said it's an old building).
Two questions:
1. Ventilation: Is it a bad idea not to use an exhaust fan in this grow area? I have an oscillating fan I will use in the grow area and I'm thinking that should be enough for a few reasons. First, I've tested temperatures in there with the HPS light blazing and it does not get above 85 degrees on a sunny day (we live on the Pacific NW coast where summer temps rarely exceed 70 degrees). Grow area humidity was in the mid-40's. Second, I will be leaving a screened window (covered to eliminate light but allow air flow) open approximately 8 feet from the grow area and will place the fan so it will be pulling in fresh air from the window side of the building. Third, the grow area is open to the rest of the decidedly not air-tight building. It seems to me the air exchange in the growing area should be okay but since I've not done this before I could use your thoughts on this. The most I've considered doing is putting a screened, light-tight air vent on a wall near the peak of the ceiling to let rising hot air out of the building.
2. Light leaks: How hard core should I be in eliminating every last bit of light leakage? With all I've done so far it's pretty darn dark in there during the day. But there are some very small spaces in the building where the roof meets the walls that lets in very, very faint indirect light. Will even the slightest amount of light let in mess up the plants' 12/12hr rhythm? I'm thinking moonlight apparently doesn't affect outdoor plants form budding up just fine so why would the tinyest amount of light make any difference. But please set me straight if I'm not thinking about this correctly.
Thanks again for any help you can offer. By the way, my plant growing is for personal medicinal and occasional recreational use only- my goals for growing are definitely more on the hobby side of things. If my plants don't produce the absolute maximum quantities of bud many people appear to be going for, that's okay by me. I'm interested in growing healthy plants that provide me with some product, as I said, for personal use. Plus it's fun!
I have to bring four robust outdoor plants indoors during budding because outdoor humidity where we live is just too high and results in too much bud rot.
So...
I'm creating a grow room in an old, un-insulated outbuilding where I've cleaned up one end so I have a 5x8 corner for growing under one HPS 1000w light- to be run 12 hrs on/12 off. The ceiling height is about 16' at the peak (interior of this building is unfinished)(light is set on rafters so it'll be an appropriate distance from the plants). I'm using four large old mirrors we had as light reflectors around two sides of the plants and a silver colored tarp for the third side. The last side is open to the rest of the interior- which is about 25'x16' and is not in any way air tight (as I said it's an old building).
Two questions:
1. Ventilation: Is it a bad idea not to use an exhaust fan in this grow area? I have an oscillating fan I will use in the grow area and I'm thinking that should be enough for a few reasons. First, I've tested temperatures in there with the HPS light blazing and it does not get above 85 degrees on a sunny day (we live on the Pacific NW coast where summer temps rarely exceed 70 degrees). Grow area humidity was in the mid-40's. Second, I will be leaving a screened window (covered to eliminate light but allow air flow) open approximately 8 feet from the grow area and will place the fan so it will be pulling in fresh air from the window side of the building. Third, the grow area is open to the rest of the decidedly not air-tight building. It seems to me the air exchange in the growing area should be okay but since I've not done this before I could use your thoughts on this. The most I've considered doing is putting a screened, light-tight air vent on a wall near the peak of the ceiling to let rising hot air out of the building.
2. Light leaks: How hard core should I be in eliminating every last bit of light leakage? With all I've done so far it's pretty darn dark in there during the day. But there are some very small spaces in the building where the roof meets the walls that lets in very, very faint indirect light. Will even the slightest amount of light let in mess up the plants' 12/12hr rhythm? I'm thinking moonlight apparently doesn't affect outdoor plants form budding up just fine so why would the tinyest amount of light make any difference. But please set me straight if I'm not thinking about this correctly.
Thanks again for any help you can offer. By the way, my plant growing is for personal medicinal and occasional recreational use only- my goals for growing are definitely more on the hobby side of things. If my plants don't produce the absolute maximum quantities of bud many people appear to be going for, that's okay by me. I'm interested in growing healthy plants that provide me with some product, as I said, for personal use. Plus it's fun!
