New Grower GUTTATION.. how do I stop it??

[p.l.u.r]

Plants usually eliminate water as vapor during transpiration through the stomata - Gutation takes place through structures called 'hydathodes' when transpiration is under constraint due to high atmospheric temperatures and excessive air-humidity. Gutation may also occur when the growing medium is saturated for long periods of time.

What are your night temperatures/humidity? Are you growing above a boiler or a warm place?

thanks trifid,
a very informative post, i understand the whole guttation thing now but cant see why its doing it still. im basically at sea level in a horrible little corner of the uk, so humidity and atmospheric pressure cant be the issue, night temps drop no less than 5oC from day temps, 19oC-24oC constant. it starts guttating onced lights is raised after a few mins? air extraction and movement is over sufficient for my cupboard. im going to try thai buddha's idea tonight, if that still fails i will rig it up so it floods and drains through the night, elliminating the possibilty of any root preasure.
i will try to get hydrometer this week and see where im at..

thanks for your input dude, hopefully tonight will be the last night of guttation..

peace..

 

[Trifid]

No worries bro. Yes maybe it's the bubbling frequency that's causing the problem? Might be raising the humidity above the optimum. When you raise the lights (HPS i assume) you might be causing greater volumes of air to warm-up in the cabinet? Just remember that Gutation will only arise when transpiration rates are compromised - it's kinda like a plan B scenario.. Gd luck with solving the problem keep us posted

 

[p.l.u.r]

No worries bro. Yes maybe it's the bubbling frequency that's causing the problem? Might be raising the humidity above the optimum. When you raise the lights (HPS i assume) you might be causing greater volumes of air to warm-up in the cabinet? Gd luck with solving the problem keep us posted

that is it!!!! when the lights are down they evaporating any moisture around the plant, im using 2x 125w cfl. as soon as theyre raised or switched off the plant is becoming too humid, it is still very small and bushy so moisture doesnt have to travel far to surround plant. i now have a couple of solutions..
1. try timer unit on airpump..
2. raise light in dark period so plant has more breathing space..
3. reduce amount of air going into pot to hopefully reduce airborne moisture..
4. flood and drain through night..

im feeling like we are getting somewhere now guys.. thanks:thumbs:

 

[Trifid]

3. 'reduce amount of air going into pot to hopefully reduce airborne moisture..' - Gd idea.. this might be a crucial factor especially if fresh air is moving through the unit continuously at lights out - in this way the concentration of water vapor in the air is more likely to go up with time. This is the result of the boundary layer at the evaporation surface increasing with flow velocity. This will likely reduce the diffusion distance in the stagnant layer.

Evaporation happens faster if there is less exertion on the surface keeping the molecules from launching themselves - A substance that has a larger surface area will evaporate faster, as there are more surface molecules that are able to escape. Buddah Man's advice will likely solve the problem for you if this is the case

 

[astronomy420a]

i had a thought... if the droplets continue, and you say the plants are growing well, but concerned with burning from nutes in droplets just foliar spray with good water to flush droplets off. continued good growth and no burning. i dont have much growing knowledge,but i do have a modicum of logic.

 

[Trifid]

Hey Astro I can see your chain of thought here but I don't think it's likely that the moisture eliminated by Gutation will contain salts/nutes ect.. The 'goodies' will likely be translocated by plant processes shortly after absorbsion - the purpose of Gutation is to aid transpiration and eliminate excess water when transpiration rates are reduced due to humidity fluctuations. Using the foliar spray will likely increase the humidity even further or inhibit air-moisture removal which is something we are trying to avoid here..

 

[Dr.Trich]

Excellent point TBM, water level may be high....and it may help a bit to let that medium drain a bit.

So are we all in agreeance? Treat as if high humidity/over-watering? Does anyone see any evidence to suggest it may be another issue? like ph or something....?

 

[p.l.u.r]

Having the pumps turned off for periods of time will let the medium/netpot drain, pulling air into the root area - hopefully eliminating the problem.
One of the above posts jogged that lil tidbit outta my head. Thanks!

Also how high is your water level?
Except when you have seeds & seedlings, if the roots are in to the rez - might need to drop your water level.

I think water level is currently quite low, there is 3-4 inch gap between netpot and water, roots are well in the res but there is no shortage of air there, hydroton is not really dripping wet when removed from pot. In the netpot moisture levels seem good?
I have pump on timer for tonight, switching off as soon as lights do, ill let you know how it go's..
Im thinking maybe cap around base of plant off, a very simple fix to stop the moisture rising..

thanks again for all your help and ideas, im sure we are getting there now..

Peace..

 

[p.l.u.r]

All sorted guys,

Big thanks to Thai Buddha and trifid for helping me through this. Im still unaware if it is moisture levels or too much air/root pressure.. But TBM's advice on timer unit worked..!
the leaf edges also seem a bit better today leaving me to belive it was the dryed guttation fluid overfeedng leaf tips..
Big thanks again guys, im sure this post will come in handy for many other future hydro growers who encounter GUTTATION..

Peace...love..unity..respect..