Lately, temperatures have dropped considerably in southeastern Brazil, and I began to suspect that the colder weather was interfering with seed germination.
My first strategy was to keep the full-spectrum grow light on during the day and turn it off at night. It seemed perfectly reasonable to me, at least until I decided to consult the voice of experience—my beloved wife.
"Wait a minute. If it's colder at night, shouldn't the light be on at night instead?"
I had to admit that her logic was difficult to argue with.
Since the grow light produces a noticeable amount of heat, I switched the schedule and began running it during the nighttime hours instead. The change helped, but it still didn't seem to be enough.
Although Brazil is generally known for its warm climate, winter can still bring surprisingly cool temperatures, especially in the southeastern region. To give my first test seedlings a better chance, I decided to improvise a simple solution: a cardboard enclosure around the growing area.
To my surprise, it worked better than expected. Using some admittedly unscientific measurements, I observed an increase of roughly 2°C (about 3.6°F), raising the temperature from around 20°C (68°F) to 22°C (72°F).
That may not sound like much, but when it comes to seed germination, even a small temperature increase can make a meaningful difference.
Now all that's left to do is wait and see whether the combination of my wife's wisdom and a cardboard box is enough to defeat the winter chill.
Muito bom