What are the optimum humidity levels for indoor cannabis growing?
Humidity is an important topic for cannabis growers. But why is humidity so important for cannabis plants, and what are the ideal humidity levels to maintain in your grow room?
To better understand why humidity is important to plants, it helps to think about how plants absorb air from the environment. Remember, all plants respire carbon dioxide from the environment through their leaves. In doing so, they naturally lose some of the water retained in their foliage.
Dry air causes plants to lose more water when respiring than moist air, and hence, drives down the overall moisture content in the plant more quickly. Once the environment becomes too dry, plants lose more water than they are able to regain via their roots.
Why Humidity Matters To YOU?
In all stages of cannabis growth your plants will have a constant need to intake water, and the amount of water they need fluctuates with the humidity in your grow room. When the humidity is high, cannabis plants use their leaves to absorb moisture from the air which causes them to drink less water from their roots. Conversely, when the humidity is low, they will pull more water in through their roots.
Since humidity changes how much water your plants drink, and the water you give your plants have nutrients in them, being in control of humidity gives you increased control over your plant’s nutrient intake.
Clones
At first your marijuana cuttings will have very small roots so they are not able to take in much water yet. At this stage, you want them to evaporate a very small amount of water. Cutting will only evaporate a small amount of water when the humidity is high, and require fewer roots. Another way to reduce the amount of evaporation is chopping the bigger leaves halfway from the cutting. A humidity of 70% is exactly what you want when putting the cuttings in your marijuana factory.
Your cuttings will begin growing roots in a clone box when the temperature is around 71.5 degrees Fahrenheit in a very humid environment and fluorescent lighting. I suggest the cuttings go beneath a 600-watt HPS lamp in an environment with 30% humidity for good results. For as long as the 2nd or 3rd week of blooming the roots are going to grow the size of the actual plant. The roots must be durable for proper water and nutrient absorption.
VEGETATION PERIOD
Humidity levels can be lowered by 5% each week (acceptable range: 40–70%)
Temperatures may be increased slightly if desired.
Temperatures with lights on: 71–82 F° (lights off: 8–9 F° lower)
As the roots are now more developed, they’re able to perform most of the needed water uptake with evaporation through the leaves now cooling the plants.
Humidity Level during the Flowering Stage
During the flowering stage you really don’t want to have high humidity levels or else you’ll increase a risks of mold developing.
Basically here you’ll want to stay in the 40%-50% humidity bracket.
Late Flowering Period: This period lasts anywhere between six and 12 weeks and when plants mature. During this time careful temperature and humidity monitoring are necessary. It is recommended that humidity levels are lowered between 30 and 40 percent to improve the yield, flavor, and appearance of the plant. Temperatures can range between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
THE BEST HUMIDIFIER FOR PLANTS : [UPDATED 2020 BUYER’S GUIDE]
Eco Farm Electric Ultrasonic Humidifier for Grow Room
Since its primarily intended for your plants, the Eco Farm Humidifier gives you just the right amount of quietness thanks to its quiet care technology design. With this feature, noise levels drop as low as 25% in comparison to other evaporative humidifiers on the market. It also boasts a pretty good moisture management level with the ability to efficiently regulate humidity at a steady range between 40% to 60% based on your preferences.
Eco Farm Industrial Ultrasonic Humidifier
This is my top pick for the best plant humidifier you can buy. It has a 24-hour run time, which is twice as long as my budget humidifier pick. It comes apart easily for cleaning and maintenance and also includes a filter to remove minerals and salts from the water before evaporation.
However, choose the right humidifier for plants according to their needs and your personal preferences. But always be careful to give the best to your indoor plants.