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Imitating natural conditions

W

wordwiz

Using hydroponics to grow a couple of tomato and cucumber plants has been fun and has produced some decent results so far, though I haven't been able to pick anything to eat. I wonder if not imitating natural conditions is having an effect.

One thing is that during the fruiting and ripening season, we have decent amounts of dew deposited on the plants almost every evening. This moisture is absorbed through the leaves as opposed to having to go through the root system and up to the leaves. Might this have a bearing?

I've become a huge fan of bottom watering seedlings but last year, because the lights in my small grow chamber were rather close to the plants and the top dried out quickly, I also sprayed them - lightly - at least every other day. They grew very nicely.

I have to believe that mimicking nature is a priority. Your experiences?

Mike
 
what kind of temps during lights on and off also what is the humidty in there it should be around 40% and temps need to be around 78 ..... do you check PH and TDS ??? do you have a fan blowing in there??? i have found temps and humidty also and PH,TDS and fresh air all have a big part in your room ... i think you need to step back and look at the whole thing and maybe figure out what is going on in the room... your plants dont need dew on them could cause mold .... just my thoughts on this... :)
 
Redeyes,

Don't know the temp during lights off as I'm dead as a dog. But during daytime, they seem to hover around 72-76 degrees. No way to check the humidity but it doesn't feel as dry as the air in the room. What that converts to is anyone's guess! The pH stays pretty much in the 6.0-6.2 range and the ppm is about 2100.

Normal, outdoor conditions in summer in Cincy:

Daytime temps: 87 degrees
Nightime temps: 65 degrees
Humidity Level: 45-80 percent depending on the the weather
No fans which is something I probably need to correct

But getting back to my initial observation - in summer, in Cincy, when one gets up in the morning, windshields have a nice coating of moisture on them and walking through the grass without picking up one's feet will result in wet shoes. On plants such as tobacco, it is easy to see a ring of moisture, perhaps 1/4" deep and 1/4" wide around the plant - there is that much dew. But the plants don't get moldy and by 8:30-9:00 am, depending on the temps, the leaves are completely dry.

Do you grow plants in an indoor environment and if so, how do you do it? Do you bottom water or water from the top? Are they in an enclosed area?

Happy New Year,

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Redeyes,

Don't know the temp during lights off as I'm dead as a dog. But during daytime, they seem to hover around 72-76 degrees. No way to check the humidity but it doesn't feel as dry as the air in the room. What that converts to is anyone's guess! The pH stays pretty much in the 6.0-6.2 range and the ppm is about 2100.

Normal, outdoor conditions in summer in Cincy:

Daytime temps: 87 degrees
Nightime temps: 65 degrees
Humidity Level: 45-80 percent depending on the the weather
No fans which is something I probably need to correct

But getting back to my initial observation - in summer, in Cincy, when one gets up in the morning, windshields have a nice coating of moisture on them and walking through the grass without picking up one's feet will result in wet shoes. On plants such as tobacco, it is easy to see a ring of moisture, perhaps 1/4" deep and 1/4" wide around the plant - there is that much dew. But the plants don't get moldy and by 8:30-9:00 am, depending on the temps, the leaves are completely dry.

Do you grow plants in an indoor environment and if so, how do you do it? Do you bottom water or water from the top? Are they in an enclosed area?

Happy New Year,

Mike
Click to expand...


as of right now i am feeding them from the top... i have never had dew on my plants and if i did in my enclosed room i would be worried for long term plants like what you have in there...you have seen my stuff i have posted up... also you said your ppm is at 2100 and that is a tds reading seems kinda high man i think keep that around 1400-1600 but if the plants can handle more.. the plants will let you know if your doing a good job or not...
 
Redeyes,

Not dew per se, but misting the leaves every couple of days. Yeah, if I had dew in my room, I would be concerned also, as it is insulated and the windows covered with plastic!

Just trying to find what others have found that works. For 50+ years, I have grown (or helped) plants outside in dirt. Trying to grow indoors, whether in soil or water is completely new to me and this old dog is trying to learn new tricks, or old ones!

Happy New Year!

Mike
 
I have records for a long time and relative humidity has no effect on chiles that I can measure.

RH varies fron 20% in winter to 85% in summer.

If plants take air through their leaves, they take moisture through their leaves.....you don't need condensation.
 
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