Basement Growing

[SeaMaiden]

My newest grow is in cellar. small cellar w:120cm x d:120cm x h:80cm. (120cm=4feet aprox) i thougt it was bit too low so i dig it to be 120x120x120. everything went well until the first rains. it flooded same amount as i had digged my 10days old seedling were floating here and there,very shocking image!

I have now started to think am i able to grow there at all,mostly cause of mold. my growbox(wooden,chipboard) has mold in it,there is mold here and there in cellar.. there have been heavyrains couple of week so cellar have been flooded whole time. cellar has a ground floor and its quite humid,dont have hygrometer yet but guess 90%or so. there is two airvents, bit blocked though.

My next plan is to fill the hole i digged and build a new grow box same but 80cm high and use nonmoldy material Styrofoam examle. i though scrog but i have my doubt about it,dense growth is easier to catch mold. i think it would be better to let plants grow freely and use vertical hps.

Any ideas/suggestions about this project? wasting my time?

-PAW

I wonder if you're very close to the water table. If you are, then no amount of Styrofoam or digging will help you with the moisture and mold issues. I honestly think that, based on your description, you're going to spend more time fighting the environment than anything else. Is there any other place you can set up a growing area? Someplace where moisture and water are easier to control.

 

[PunkAssWeed]

I wonder if you're very close to the water table. If you are, then no amount of Styrofoam or digging will help you with the moisture and mold issues. I honestly think that, based on your description, you're going to spend more time fighting the environment than anything else. Is there any other place you can set up a growing area? Someplace where moisture and water are easier to control.

Thanks for your reply.

Its water table. now has been very heavy autumnrains,rare here, and those have rise water particularly high.usually its 1 feet ,or more, lower. I presume i will have problems next spring also when snow melts.

Most of the time cellar is fine, I guess,havent live here long. autumn and spring are the problems.

Unfortunately i dont have other place to grow. oh well of course i have but not as safe as this one.and wife has her opinion about that

I think i try to finish this crop and test the cellar. fill the hole and build new box,above the water . heavy ventilation is my best hope. if i have to i will grow somewhere stealth.. not interested about it but if there is no other choise..

-PAW

 

[PunkAssWeed]

Status update.

build a new box. humidity is around 60rh. it was about 70 but dropped when temperature dropped below 0 celsius. so i think Ill be allright with this one.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Nice, that's much better. Glad you got that part sorted out, now you just need to get your grow on.

 

[Leathermonster]

I was just approved for a home loan and the house I want has a basement, its an unfinished basement, I guess I could set up another meeting with the owner and try to use a Hygrometer in the basement on the downlow. It might seem weird if I pull out a Hygrometer in the basement while going through the showing. Thanks for all the feedback. Gives me more to think about. I didnt know mold would be airborne in the basement and would cause issues.

It wouldnt seem weird at all. Its very reasonable for you to want to know how humid the basement is as part of your consideration in buying the house. If they say anything just tell them youd like to maybe furnish the basement in the future and wanted to know if humidity would cause problems for you

 

[canabust]

surch

surch

surch window

 

[growshopfrank]

if you are using a exhaust fan in a basement or any room with a floor drain its always a good idea to check and be sure that there is no air inflow from the sewers while the exhaust fan is running.
check this periodically as it can change with the water table or just bad luck