Professor Lee,
I’ve had minimal success as a grower. I first tried, just to see if I could, with a couple of small plants on my sunny back porch. I didn’t have to do much except water and fertilize them and in the end I reaped seven ounces of sweet bud. This whet my appetite and I decided to up my game. That’s when my troubles started. I set up a new garden in a small closet with a mid-range MH lamp. Things started off well but the lamp made the small space very hot. To keep my plants from drying out I had to water them more and more. As a result the closet got really humid and before too long a white fungus started eating away at my plants. I didn’t see it at first because of the dense foliage.
I’ve lost that whole first crop and have to start over. I cleaned everything from top to bottom with bleach/water and would like to know what to do to avoid the heat/fungus problems before I try again.
Please Help.
Closet Case,
Dear Closet Case,
Your plants did well on your back porch because they received lots of fresh air and intense rays from the sun. The fresh air discouraged fungus and the sun had an easier time penetrating the un-pruned foliage. When you moved to the closet the excessive heat and humidity created the perfect breeding ground for fungus among the dense foliage. You did well to clean the closet with a bleach/water solution before trying to grow again. It’s important to keep things as clean and sanitized as possible. If you can’t find a more suitable place than the closet you will have to make a couple of important improvements to solve your problem.
First, concentrate on increasing the ventilation and circulation. Ventilating the hot humid air from the garden will make for happier healthier plants. The cooler less humid environment will require less watering and therefore be dramatically less humid as well. If you can’t vent the air from the garden try using a light source that doesn’t generate as much heat like fluorescents or LED’s. A simple circulation fan will actively move the foliage around helping to discourage pests and fungi. It will also have the benefit of encouraging stronger branches that in turn grow bigger buds. Just remember not to blow the air directly onto the plants. Instead direct the airflow just above the plants otherwise you might dry them out, a condition known as windburn. Secondly, you need to thin out that foliage. Un-pruned plants have poor air circulation. This restricted airflow creates a breeding ground for insects and fungi. Also, your MH lamp isn’t as strong as the sun so its light won’t penetrate as deeply into the foliage. It is fundamental to prune off any lower growth that is below the prime budding area. This growth will just drain energy from the plants that could otherwise go into making bigger fatter upper buds and colas.
Keep trying and send me an update.
Professor Lee