Good explanation of VPD
here.
VPD is a way of expressing ("putting a number to") different combinations of temperature and humidity. It's similar to the "feels like temperature" vs the ambient temp and it's really important when growing cannabis.
The big issue is that VPD is what drives transpiration and transpiration is as important to a plant as breathing is to a human. A small change in VPD will change how nutrients are taken up. Good example, a 0.2 unit change in VPD will cause a 20% change in Calcium uptake.
Below is a graphic I snagged from a Bugbee video. I've found it really helpful in the 2 ½ years that I've been growing for setting up my tent and my processes. I use "processes" intentionally, one reason being that we tend to get better outcomes when we do things with consistency and we get those outcomes while reducing resource use (time, labor, material, and money).
Of the nine parameters, controlling VPD allows us to control temperature and humidity, so we're ¼ of the way there.
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How to measure and control VPD?
Controlling VPD can be a PITA but it depends on the grow environment. I started with a PulseOne, an Inkbird for a humidifier, and an Inkbird for a heater. All of that went away when I installed an AC Infinity Controller 69 and their humidifier. My 2' x 4' grow tent is in a garage in Southern California and I grow only in Fall and Spring because that's when the temps (in the garage) are in the 70's, give or take. I don't have to do much with temperature, which is good because I can't do too much about temperature, but I can control RH between the humidifier in the tent and a Walker dehumidifier in the garage.
How does it work out? Pretty darn well.
My baseline grow is a pound per grow and part of that is because VPD is
always in range. Per above, 0.8 for seedling, 1.0 for veg, and then rising gradually to 1.2/1.3 in flower.
Below is a screenshot of the app for the C69. It's a little warm in there ATM(my grow light is at 246 watts to generate the 700µmols that my plants are getting) so I'll need to dial up the inline fan (my fans are from AC Infinity so I can turn it up from my phone).
Check out the green line — it stayed at 0.8 for the time when the plants were germinating and in early veg, then it went to 1.0. With the AC Infinity controller, you can set the software to maintain a VPD value and, in this case, it turns the humidifier on and off to maintain that value. As usual, VPD hasn't varied more than 0.05 units and I have had to do nothing except buy the piece parts (the Controller 69, the humidifier, the tent fan, and the inline fan) and set them up.
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How well does it work? Pretty well.
The first picture is the current grow. They're 30 days old and one will be leaving the res since there's not enough room for two.
The second picture is a photo grow, a "shrubbery".
Third picture are two autos. I think that was the last grow where I grew two plants. Too much hassle.
I've never not managed VPD because VPD is so important to getting good outcomes. Many grows that I see are more a tribute to how well cannabis can survive despite the efforts of the grower. Prior to starting to grow cannabis, the only thing I had grown was old but, along the way, I got convinced that sometimes it's a good idea to do what's in the directions. That's not for everyone, no argument there, but I really do think that getting VPD under control and giving "lotsa light" are two huge factors in growing cannabis.
And if you think I've been banging on about VPD, (don't) ask me what I think about grow lighting!
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