Re: Seed cards
Posted: May 25th, 2010, 10:41 pm
" All plants have small open pores in their leaves through which gases such as oxygen, and CO2 pass. Water vapor is also emitted through these pores as plants do not use all of the water that they soak up. The accumulation of water vapor is called humidity and relative humidity is the term that describes the quantity of water vapor present in the air. Air temperature affects the amount of water vapor in the air and it is this relationship between air temperature and the quantity of water vapor present that gives us the term relative; for example: the quantity of vapor present is relative to the current air temperature! It is possible to measure the humidity of air with an instrument called a hygrometer.
It is important to know what the humidity is in a greenhouse as most plants grow best between a certain range of relative humidity. The best range or humidity for green house plants is between 45 and 60 percent. Knowing your relative humidity also enables you to control your greenhouse growing environment as humidity that is too high (above 80%) encourages the growth of mould both on plants and within your greenhouse. Plant moulds will destroy plants and will cause rot to occur in any wooden structures within your sunspace (which can be very detrimental if you have a wood frame greenhouse or sunroom or if you have wood shelving or a wood green house bench). Moulds are also usually a great concern as they cause disease.
It is more common for greenhouses to have a problem with high humidity rather than low humidity. If you have a high humidity problem in your green house some remedies are: to increase circulation by installing a fan, water earlier in the day to help prevent evening humidity problems (as moulds grow at night time), water only when the plants need it, buy an air-to-air heat exchanger which exchanges warm moist air with cool and dry air, or put in a ventilation system by which moist air can escape(your vents). If the humidity in your greenhouse or sunroom is too low it is much easier to fix than a high humidity problem. The easiest and best solution is to water more often."
It is important to know what the humidity is in a greenhouse as most plants grow best between a certain range of relative humidity. The best range or humidity for green house plants is between 45 and 60 percent. Knowing your relative humidity also enables you to control your greenhouse growing environment as humidity that is too high (above 80%) encourages the growth of mould both on plants and within your greenhouse. Plant moulds will destroy plants and will cause rot to occur in any wooden structures within your sunspace (which can be very detrimental if you have a wood frame greenhouse or sunroom or if you have wood shelving or a wood green house bench). Moulds are also usually a great concern as they cause disease.
It is more common for greenhouses to have a problem with high humidity rather than low humidity. If you have a high humidity problem in your green house some remedies are: to increase circulation by installing a fan, water earlier in the day to help prevent evening humidity problems (as moulds grow at night time), water only when the plants need it, buy an air-to-air heat exchanger which exchanges warm moist air with cool and dry air, or put in a ventilation system by which moist air can escape(your vents). If the humidity in your greenhouse or sunroom is too low it is much easier to fix than a high humidity problem. The easiest and best solution is to water more often."