Soil drying out quick.

[K0ZM0]

Hi Folks. This is my first time posting and I'm a first time grower. I am using a Rubbermaid grow box. I have noticed that my soil is drying out after just a couple of days. The one thing that I question is about the fan. Instead of using a 12v converter and a fan out of a computer, I'm using a similar fan that uses 120v with an inline switch. (it was free). I noticed that the fan seemed to go faster that a basic computer fan, and was thinking that maybe I need slow the fan down. I'm using 6 23watt CFLS in my box and I'm still in the vegetative state. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

K0ZM0 Reviewed by K0ZM0 on 03-09-2013. Soil drying out quick. Hi Folks. This is my first time posting and I'm a first time grower. I am using a Rubbermaid grow box. I have noticed that my soil is drying out after just a couple of days. The one thing that I question is about the fan. Instead of using a 12v converter and a fan out of a computer, I'm using a similar fan that uses 120v with an inline switch. (it was free). I noticed that the fan seemed to go faster that a basic computer fan, and was thinking that maybe I need slow the fan down. I'm using 6 Rating: 5

[growhand420]

a couple of days is normal and dude its indoor getting water isnt hard like outdoor lol
if you can post some pics it will make it alot easier to answer your questions

[kupt]

is the soil exposed? I plan on adding some white ground cover (smal 3/4" rocks). This will reflect heat and help hold in moisture. Pics would make it easier to help with your problem

[low_rdr]

Rocks put additional weight on your medium, reducing the amount of air held, which reduces the overall health of the root. If you have to cover the medium with anything, use perlite

Yes, 2/3 days is normal dryout time. You want that, if your soil stays moist for longer, you can get root rot, fungus, mold, mildew, bringing a funky smell and bad results to your grow

[K0ZM0]

Thanks for everyones input. I'm still trying to work out my camera issues. Pics to follow later. My soil was drying out very quick and I think I know why now. I think it had to do with extremely high temps. Temps were not something that I was concerned about. I would put my hand over the vent fan and say to myself, " oh, that feel about 75-80 deg. F." One day, I was at the Big Orange Box store and picked up a cheap thermometer. Came home and put it in my box and the temp was about 93 deg. Well, since my plants are still in veg. stage, I keep the lights on most of the night and use a deflector on the vent fan to keep the light down so I can sleep. That shot the temp up to about 112 deg. Got the box ventilated better and my plants have just gone crazy. Over doubled in size in just a week and I only need to water about every 4th day. Lesson to self--Temps are Very Important!!!!

[Shovelhandle]

no rocks use a thermometer, read, read, read.