New Grower First time grow.

[Devon11]

@davisgirl thanks for the input. I am always reading other journals for advice (the only way I've learned anything lol) but haven't come across this exact issue. Hopefully wes will have something to add.
Also been following your grow. Keep up the good work!

 

[wes]

I water outside the tent when the plants are small. That gives me the opportunity to examine them from all sides to check for any issues and rotate them around to promote even growth. Once they start to get around the size yours are now, I put trays under them and water inside the tent.

I get these trays at dollar tree for $1 each. They are plastic, about 2 inches deep, and nicely reflective. They will hold a 5 or 7 gallon nursery pot or grow bag well. I only water til a little runoff; you don’t want a bunch of water laying and the grow bags will reabsorb the water pretty quickly. I also rotate the plants 90 degrees every time I water to promote even growth on all sides. But I can only fit 4 in a 3x3 tent. Your tent is gonna get REALLY crowded with more than 4 plants.

 

[Devon11]

Wes thanks for the quick reply. So you will leave what little runoff in the trays? Or do you clean them every watering to remove excess watering? I'm also looking for tips on how to lower humidity. Mine sits at around 75 percent

 

[wes]

Yes, I leave the little runoff in the trays. But you don’t want too much runoff, especially with a humidity issue. The plants should be able to re-soak that water within a few hours. Honestly I really can’t give you advice on humidity. I don’t own a thermometer or humidistat and honestly believe way too many growers obsess about it. I stick my head in the tent and finger in the soil and that’s how I do it. I have been growing a long time. The best advice I can give you is proper ventilation. Have a small fan blowing lightly across the canopy and and exhaust fan going all the time and that should alleviate all but the most severe humidity issues. Your plant needs a constant supply of fresh air to keep it supplied with CO2.

 

[Devon11]

Thanks again for the reply. My tent is 4x4 but is defanitly to crowded as it is lol. Should have stuck to just the 4 plants. Also I have a fan aimed at the canopy at all times as well as a 440 cfm fan running with carbon. I also keep all vents open and am running a small heater as it isn't too warm in my basement. But the plants look fine so maybe I shouldn't be concerning myself with the high humidity. I'll defanitly be looking for some of those trays.

 

[davisgirl]

If high humidity is a problem, you will definitely want to turn the air in the tent. Do you have an extraction fan? Turn it up. Also a fan for ventilation. Don’t leave the runoff in the trays. If those things don’t help, you’ll need to invest in a dehumidifier. In flower, bud rot becomes an issue and who wants to make it through a grow and lose them right before harvest.

Here is a VPD chart. The orange zone is ideal:

I think the numbers for flowering are lower, but here, 75% humidity is ideal if your temps are between 77 and 84. Not too bad really.

 

[Devon11]

I have lots of air moving around in the tent. And have all exhaust ports simply left open. But I dont really want to exchange air with the room because that will bring my temp down to much. Tent is about 22 C but the outside room is only about 15 C.

 

[wes]

I wouldn’t go with more than 4 plants in the future. As the plants start to fill in the open spaces, you might want to cull some of the lowest and weakest branches to make more room for the budding sites. But don’t do anything drastic yet. Wait to see just how crowded it gets. If you look at my tent from yesterday’s pics, mine is pretty crowded but still manageable. It’s definitely pushing the limits though. That crowded, airflow and humidity can become a real serious issue. Your exhaust fan is exchanging air with the room the tent is in vía negative pressure.

 

[davisgirl]

I have lots of air moving around in the tent. And have all exhaust ports simply left open. But I dont really want to exchange air with the room because that will bring my temp down to much. Tent is about 22 C but the outside room is only about 15 C.

Ah, gotcha. I totally get it. Well then you’re doing the best you can do with what you have. Can’t be helped. Might want to consider a dehumidifier come closer to flower though.

I’ll be up against the same type of issues in the near future. My tent is in a bedroom temporarily but it is eventually destined to be in the basement. Thank goodness those lights put out plenty of heat LOL.

 

[Need4Weed]

I use oil drip pans! You know, the things you use to catch the oil when you drain it out of your engine! It's high enough to not worry about overflow and if your like me, you add the run off into your next feed bucket, (with a air stone added).