How to Maintain Your Grow Room?
Cleanliness is next to godliness, they say. And, if you love cannabis as much as we do, you're going to have to agree with this statement. Cleanliness is important in all aspects of life, but it's critical if you're growing marijuana. Why? Because you'll have too many issues if you don't keep your grow room clean. But, it's easier said than done. Maintaining a clean grow room can be a headache if you're growing too many plants. Thus, if you're wondering how to maintain your grow room, read on and find out how.
The importance of keeping the grow room clean
In this picture, you can see that although the growing space is small, the grow room is clean and maintained well. It's difficult to do this because it's tougher to maintain small spaces compared to bigger grow rooms.
Cannabis plants are like other normal plants that grow without any inhibitions in the wild. So, why do I have to bother keeping the grow room clean, you ask? Good question. Because, honestly, cannabis plants do grow everywhere. Even in the wild. They are known as weed for a reason. However, plants in the wild are way different than the ones in your grow room indoors. The conditions in the wild are not the same as the factors affecting the plants indoors.
First off, plants growing in a dirty grow room will make them weak. They will be susceptible to pests that are terribly difficult to get rid off. Remember spider mites when they attacked your crop right before harvest? Yep, that brings bad memories, don't they? Spider mites and other bugs thrive amazingly well in environments that are humid and dirty. Obviously, they will attack your precious plants much before you can even spot them!
Also, the problem is that they don't leave even after you harvest the buds. They will remain there waiting for your next crop and the destruction starts again. Dirty grow room → pests → struggle to get rid of them → harvest → new plants → pests again. Rinse and repeat. That's how pests survive, and most growers don't even understand how they have pests in the grow room when they are not even growing plants outdoors.
Growing cannabis plants in a dirty room can even attract fungi. You'll have a whole new set of problems to deal with. You also have to worry about the dust collecting on lighting equipment. Not only does it prevent them from working properly but the lifespan of your lights will also go down.
So, now that you understand the importance of maintaining a clean grow room, let's head on to…
Tips to maintain a clean grow room
1. Sanitize the room
It's important to sanitize the room to prevent bacteria and fungi from spreading further. Many growers use a bleach solution to spray the walls of the grow room. Once you're done harvesting the buds, you can clean the floor and spray the solution everywhere. If bleach solution makes you uncomfortable, use hydrogen peroxide to achieve the same.
Note that you must dilute hydrogen peroxide before using it. Comparing it with the bleach solution, most growers prefer hydrogen peroxide because it also helps to cleanse roots when they are badly infected. Hydrogen peroxide is available in all pharmacy stores, and the stronger it is the better. However, remember to dilute it before spraying.
You also need to spray all the equipment before you grow plants. Hydrogen peroxide at the rate of about 3ml per gallon will work amazingly well to maintain a clean grow room.
2. Make sure you're clean
You can hope to keep the grow room clean only if you're clean yourself. Bacteria and bugs can hop on to your clothes when you're outdoors. The same pests will spread to the plants when you tend to your plants indoors. Thus, keep a separate set of clothes to visit the grow room.
Also, remind yourself to wash your hands right before you walk in. Even if you feel clean, fungi and bacteria on your hands cannot be seen by the naked eye!
3. Get rid of salt deposits
Salt deposits are a problem especially if you're growing cannabis hydroponically. Many growers face this problem. In fact, you can see deposits on the roots and other equipment as well. The best way to solve this problem is to clean the deposits, but they are stubborn.
Thus, use cleaning solutions like Clearex to remove salts. Why does it work? Well, it binds with all the excess salts or nutrients and removes it effectively. Considering that you're constantly using calcium and magnesium salts, you can expect salt deposits frequently. Cleaning solutions will also remove deposits on net cups, emitters and drip lines even when they refuse to budge.
4. Clean excess spills immediately
It's common to spill water or nutrient solutions in the grow room. And, it happens just when you're about to water. Although water tends to evaporate quickly, nutrient solutions may even stain the floor. What's even more problematic is that you can trip and fall down. You will either hurt yourself or the equipment. Therefore, clean the spills as soon as you spill something to maintain a clean room.
If you have pots in the grow room and you water them by hand, there's a high chance of water pooling around in the grow room. Some growers ignore this because water evaporates pretty quickly, but it's best to prevent water pooling because stagnant water encourages bacteria and fungi to grow excessively. Also, it's a bad idea to ignore pools of water collecting in thr grow room especially when you have so many equipment in the room. Not to mention that you use electricity in the grow room!
5. Clean frequently
Even if you're growing one single plant as shown in this pic, it's important to clean the room frequently. Whether you're pruning the branches and roots or defoliating excess leaves, make sure you clean them immediately. While this may sound obvious, many growers tend to ignore all the debris. However, by doing that, you're encouraging bacteria and fungi to settle on the dead matter and you'll have to struggle with pest infestation too. Therefore, pick all the leaves and stems whenever you apply any training technique.
6. Clean all your equipment
Cleaning all the lights and ventilating fans should be your first duty whenever you harvest a fresh batch of cannabis. Even if you're growing autoflowers perpetually, it's important to give the equipment a break and also clean them. Naturally, since you don't clean them every day, you'll find a lot of dust deposit that becomes harder to clean over time. Thus, use a vacuum cleaner or a simple rag to clean all the equipment whenever there are no plants in the growing area.
7. Manage the plants
Sometimes, we ignore the plants growing in the grow room and check on them only occasionally. While experienced growers know what they are doing, it can be a problem later. If you prune and manage the plants before they grow too big, you'll make sure that everything is under control. Some growers ignore the grow room only to go back and notice a forest inside! Do not repeat that mistake!
8. Vacuum every week
If you're using perlite or coco peat to grow plants, it's a must to vacuum the grow room every other week. This is because coco peat is so light that it tends to float around when the soil is bone dry. It may seem like a little at first, but you may see lots of coco peat lying around later on the floor.
Cleaning the grow room every second week at least is a habit you must practice. By doing this, you keep pests away and your plants will be happy and thankful too!
