As many of you know, there are numerous factors that go into creating an ideal environment for your indoor hydroponic grow room.  Temperature is one of the most important factors to control within an indoor grow.  This can also be one of the most difficult grow factors to control especially in the cool winter months and during hot summers.  When growing in a small area lights and ballasts will raise the temperatures to a dangerous high in no time.  Most gardeners don’t know that controlling the temperature in very specific ways can help them achieve a superior crop.

First of all, it is important to have a minimum and maximum thermometer.  Without this tool it will be impossible for a gardener to know the exact fluctuations between nighttime and daytime temperatures.  It is essential that there isn’t more than a 10-15 degree F difference between the two different temperatures.  If your temperatures fluctuate more than this desired amount you will risk stressing or shocking your plants.  Daytime temperature should remain around 70-75F.  If temperatures drift higher than 95F, not only will the plant’s enzyme production be shut down, photosynthesis will stop due to the stomas in the leaves closing in order to conserve water.

If you are enriching your air with CO2 an ideal temperature range is 80-85F.  This temperature range promotes the exchange of gases between the plants and the environment.  Also it can speed up the process of photosynthesis.   A plant in an environment at 86F will perform carbon extraction from CO2 twice as fast than a plant in a 68F environment.

Another reason to control your grow room’s temperature is because biological processes are sped up exponentially with certain temperatures.  Spider mites can reproduce up to 10 times faster with every degree that the temperature rises.   The same principle can be applied to fungi, molds, mildew, and bacteria, which can spread more rapidly when temperatures in the grow room exceed 90F.  Higher daytime temperatures coupled with low nighttime temperatures will cause condensation to form on the leaves.  This condensation promotes mold, mildew and other biological processes that can harm your plants.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, Ca.  For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055.

Source: Hydroponics.com