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I am having a problem with my fans blowing my leaves against stems and rubbing brown UGLY spots on leaves and in some cases destroying the leaf all together. Its only a few little places but it makes me cringe when I see brown anywhere on my plant =/ so my question is does anybody have a solution for this or is this just part of the process? I am under the impression that I should have fans moving my leaves and branches around so they get strong? Plz help! Thanks in advance! = )
As an answer of your question (I'm trying),Quote:
Originally Posted by TamyLove420
I don't think any kind of leaf damages before pollination (Or whatever is their brake point) can be a part of process in plants life naturally. But it can be acceptable for gardening.
I had the same problem with fans and learned brown spots may be P deficiency signs. Partial foliar feed on the leaves which are showing signs and the other close leaves (to fans) can help if its a P deficiency.
I think the reason is, leaves make more photosynthesis when there is more air. So, more work needs more food.
But this is not the only thing about the fans. They can also blow dry, cold or hot air to the leaves and cause problems. That's why its recommended to use them in indirect way or in low speed (Depends on size of the fan).
If you point directly you should correct other elements so that way plants get strong.
Using fans to the point of rubbing leaves off, or scraping stems together to the point of injury to the plant is not using them correctly imo...while it's ok, even good, to run a small fan on small stretchy plants initially, once the stems have strengthened themselves and are sturdy it does not add much else....what you're trying to do with the fans is keep the air immediately around each leave provided with a constant fresh supply of co2 to grow with...stagnant air surrounding the leave equals slack growth, because the leaf uses the co2 up pretty quick, but you don't need to keep them in a wind tunnel for good growth either...it's more important to have a gentle circulation of fresh (outdoor) air, or add co2 to the grow than for the plants to be in a 40mph wind all the time. For a small grow, tent or closet, one fan should bring in fresh air, one should vent heat, if it is a problem, and one should be gently blowing over the tops of the plants to keep the fresh air circulating, not trying to blow them over...They just don't need that much airflow to grow well as long as the airflow is supplying what's needed to grow. Hope this helps!
My small closet grow uses one 5" (@ 120V, 0.1 amps) axial fan to bring in fresh air, circulate it once or twice, cool the light and vent warm air out as it rises in the room...it never actually blows air directly at the plants...I tested this one fan and duct system with a smoke bomb before I grew in it to see what I would have to do to keep a 400w HID lamp cool and keep my room cool and supplied with fresh air too and not use anymore electric than necessary. My total electric usage for growing (flowering mode) is just that...a 400w HPS and a fan that draws 0.1 amps, so it's virtually invisible to the electric co. what I'm doing.
Gently swaying like the tops of trees in the breeze.....
Not fluttering like the American Flag during a gusty fart-storm.
Perhaps taking a pair of scissors and 'rounding' the leaftips...? <kidding>
The benefits from fresh air and the CO2 it contains, far outweighs the leaftip irritation the fan's cause on other leaves. Rotate the plants so the same leaves don't get the same irritation all day every day, or gently tuck the offender down to prevent the assault. But it's normal, and nothing to get tweaked about.