Keeping control of your hydroponic system during the summer can be a problem. Temperatures rise, humidity drops and nutrients evaporate! But fear not, there are some simple ways to keep your plants healthy and achieve high yields.
Let's take a look at some tips for growing hydroponically in the summer.
Cool down the nutrient solution
The temperature of the nutrient solution should be around an optimum value of 15°C - 23°C. At this temperature, dissolved oxygen levels and overall growth are high.
A nutrient solution chiller is the quick and easy way to make sure you stay within this temperature range. It is much more difficult to grow in summer without one.
Prevent Pythium
When temperatures rise, Pythium can quickly take hold. To avoid this, use Idrolab Total Care from the start of your cultivation. Just a small dose eliminates 99.99% of root rot problems. It controls fungal bacterial infestations, algae and biofilm formation and affects the proper reproduction of pests.
Increases oxygenation
As the temperature of the nutrient solution increases, the dissolved oxygen decreases. With less oxygen, nutrient uptake slows down and plants become vulnerable to root diseases.
When your nutrient solution is warm and exposed to light, algae can quickly take hold. Once you have algae, your oxygen level drops even further. If the solution temperature exceeds 21°C, add extra oxygen with more porous stones or better performing air pumps.
Refill and change solution often
Plants drink more in high temperatures and in summer. As plants drink more water, they often leave nutrients behind, making the nutrient solution stronger. If you are not careful, you can overload the plants (hover fert) and in extreme cases, burn the plants. In short, you need to keep an eye on your nutrient strength. Keep your tank full of fresh water, keep an eye on EC and change your tank more often.
Use the right additives
Fertilisers include some that come to our aid during warmer, low humidity periods. For example, Vitalink Chill is a biological stimulator developed to help plants not only cope but also thrive in warm conditions.
Check that the lights do not heat up the water solution
All black tanks and Oxypots absorb heat. Any solution in them will quickly be heated by your grow lights. To avoid this, cover your tank or Oxypots with a reflective film (white or silver side facing upwards). This will reflect the light and the heat emitted by the lamp.
Change the lighting layout
Your lighting systems are the biggest source of heat in your grow room or grow box. To control the temperature, focus on the lights. If you don't already, turn your lights on at night when it is coldest. This means that they can be turned off during the day when you are most likely to have heat problems. Next, raise the lights a few cm so that there is a larger gap between the plants and your lamp. If you can, keep the lamp's power supply (ballast) out of your grow room or grow tent.
Use an air-cooled reflector for your grow lamp, these are called Cooltube reflectors. Air is forced through these sealed reflectors to remove the heat. In summer they are a lifesaver for people using discharge lamps.
Increases air exchange and movement
Just make sure your fan is powerful enough to draw enough air into your growing area. Some growers switch to a larger fan in the summer, then switch again in the winter. By using an air extractor with a potentiometer you won't go wrong. They extract more air quietly and are cheaper to run. That's all you could wish for from an extractor fan. Remember that your grow room can only be as fresh as the outside air you draw in. In some cases it may be necessary to install an air conditioning system as the only solution.
It is always a good idea to point a fan at the lights to stop the heat build-up under the lamp (hotspots).
Add CO2
If you are growing indoors in a controlled environment, add more CO2 to help the plants cope better with the heat. How does it help? Through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is where plants use light + CO2 + water to create energy. If they have light and water, but not enough CO2, they will get stressed. Also, as the air temperature rises, the plant stomata (the pores in the leaves that absorb CO2) start to close in an attempt to conserve water. When this happens, their ability to absorb CO2 decreases.
By adding more CO2, even with partially closed stomata, photosynthesis can continue and stress is reduced. The easiest and most natural way to add CO2 is with Natural Exhale. Simply activate them, hang them up and leave them like that. It is worth remembering that if you are extracting more air to keep temperatures down, it is not worth adding more CO2 as you will be extracting it directly. In this case you can use slow-release CO2 tablets, which you will administer in a glass at the time when the air extraction is lowest.
