Optimizing growth limiting factors is necessary to maximize the development and output of any plant; the most obvious ones to concentrate on are light, water, nutrients, temperature, and air. It turns out that while many people focus on fertilizers, water, and temperature correctly, enhancing the air in the grow room might actually have one of the highest returns of all. Growing indoors offers a clear advantage in managing the atmosphere in this case, notably through CO2 enrichment. Continue reading to discover more about the fundamentals, advantages, and various enrichment techniques of CO2. Additionally, if you’re prepared to begin using CO2, grab the coupon code of the week to save on enrichment equipment/supplies!

What is CO2, or carbon dioxide?

Let’s begin with the fundamentals – One carbon atom and two oxygen atoms combine to form the chemical known as carbon dioxide. A naturally occurring gas that makes up roughly 0.03-0.04 percent of our atmosphere is carbon dioxide. It is essential to all life on Earth and is non-toxic, colorless, and odorless. The carbon cycle, as it is known to scientists, describes the continuous movement of carbon on Earth. To perform photosynthesis, or create sugars, proteins, and other compounds, plants need CO2 from the environment. You consume the proteins and sugars found in plants, and while you use them to create energy, you’re currently creating CO2. The cycle continues every time you exhale because some of the food you ate is released as CO2 into the atmosphere where plants can use it to produce sugar and other products.

It’s a little-known truth that, throughout the early history of the Earth, the atmosphere contained far higher concentrations of CO2. Furthermore, the increased CO2 levels and the subsequent warming of the climate allowed for the growth of enormous plants. The mechanism by which plants use CO2, photosynthesis, would take longer with lower CO2 levels, limiting the growth of those plants if they were exposed to present CO2 levels. In contrast, with those prehistoric CO2 levels, modern plants would develop considerably more quickly and in a greater size. To boost the rate of photosynthesis, indoor growers can enrich the air with more carbon dioxide, a practice known as CO2 enrichment.

Carbon Dioxide Use by Plants

Although you may have be aware that plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, do you know why? During photosynthesis, plants absorb water and CO2 and use light to create the majority of the organic molecules they require, including sugars and proteins. Dr. Myers elaborates on the function of CO2 in photosynthesis as follows:

The water molecule (H2O) is split by plants, who then release the oxygen through their stomata. They also combine hydrogen with carbon dioxide (CO2) to create sugar, which your plant uses as fuel. The energy required to break down the sugars creates the amino acids, cellulose, oils, and almost everything else your plant is made of.

What is the ideal CO2 usage rate? The majority of people’s gardens will be fine at the current ambient CO2 levels on Earth, which are around 400 ppm. However, numerous experiments have demonstrated that most plants will expand more quickly and significantly if given more CO2 than they would normally receive from the environment. In our indoor gardens, the ideal range for plants is 1200 to 1500 ppm. Anything beyond that will start to exhibit diminishing returns (there is still a benefit, but it gets smaller and smaller as it utilizes more and more CO2 and your time and money).

The Factors Affecting CO2

As you now know, increasing the CO2 in your indoor garden can be advantageous and may result in larger plants (and more harvests), but there are a number of additional elements that contribute to the growth of your plants when you increase the CO2. Your light source or the grow lights you’re using come first since photosynthesis depends on light energy; if there is little light energy, photosynthesis will occur more slowly. Regardless of how much CO2 your plants have, too much or too little water in your potting soil can lower photosynthesis. Water is the second component that influences photosynthesis. Although the moisture in the soil is crucial, your growing environment’s humidity also has a significant impact.

While high humidity prevents your plants from opening their stomata since there is no moisture loss for the plant to make up for, low humidity might lead your plants’ stomata to close tightly in order to prevent a loss of moisture. To maximize the benefits of added CO2, you must maintain ideal amounts of water in both your medium and your atmosphere.

You should be aware that installing a fan in your grow space can boost the CO2 that is accessible to your plants before you acquire equipment for CO2 enrichment. Little air spaces surround the leaves of your plant, and in nature, the wind regularly replenishes these air pockets. The CO2 that your plant is actually ingesting is contained in those tiny air pockets; CO2 absorption is a passive process, meaning your plant isn’t actively doing anything. Since there is little wind indoors, plants can use the CO2 adjacent to the leaf/stomata, resulting in reduced CO2 levels in the vicinity of the leaves.

Techniques for Increasing CO2 in Indoor Gardens

There are various methods for actually ADDING carbon dioxide to your garden. The best option for you will primarily depend on the size of your grow area and the initial cost you’re willing to incur. In any event, there are a few trustworthy and practical choices that are certain to pay off:

Observe and manage CO2

Now that we are aware of the proper methods for adding CO2 to our gardens, let’s discuss a few of the necessary accessories. The first and most crucial thing you’ll need if you’re utilizing a tank and regulator or generator setup is a CO2 monitor or CO2 controller. You won’t actually be able to gauge how MUCH carbon dioxide is present in your grow area unless you do that. Keep in mind that your objective is to maintain an ideal level, not to pump large amounts of CO2 in and hope for the best. The majority of CO2 controllers allow you to specify a certain ppm level or ppm range, which is important for both level optimization and responding to growth phases. Further increasing efficiency, many controllers may work in tandem with grow room ventilation systems to ensure that CO2 is not used while ventilation is active. Although CO2 can be managed with a timed release, this method is not advised for generators and is essentially only suitable to tank and regulator systems.

CO2 administration

There are other steps necessary for giving CO2 appropriately, in addition to selecting an enrichment method and a monitoring/regulating technique. Get the most out of your CO2 enrichment system by first ensuring optimum air circulation in the area. All of your plants will be regularly and uniformly surrounded by enriched air thanks to an oscillating fan (and also that the plants are growing up sturdy and strong; see our article on grow room air circulation to learn more about airflow in your garden). When CO2 is appropriately provided, the boundaries of temperature and humidity can also be slightly pushed. 75–80°F temperatures that are 3-5°F above usual can aid to speed up photosynthesis, while humidity levels of 40–60% will help to guarantee that stomata are open for maximum CO2 absorption.

You’ll want to ensure that you have reliable measurements of your CO2 levels if you’re employing CO2 enrichment in your grow room.

The average ambient carbon dioxide level is around 400 PPM, but if you truly want to boost plant development and boost yields by up to 20–40%, you should aim for around 1500 PPM.

Just some helpful CO2 monitoring tools that we want to offer. These will provide you with precise readings of your carbon dioxide levels so you can determine whether your enrichment method is effective.

Spread the love