How to Keep Your Plants Healthy and Growing Through the Winter

In the UK, winter can see freezing temperatures that can be detrimental to many plants without the right equipment and care. If your grow your own plants at home, and want to make sure they last this winter, check out these handy tips for keeping your plants healthy and growing during the winter months.

Put Your Plants Higher

As hot air rises it makes sense to keep your plants off the ground. As most people keep their plants on the ground, they are leaving the roots exposed to the coldest area of the room or garden. By doing something as simple as putting your plants on a higher surface, you can keep them warmer. You can do this on a table or a specialist plant stand.

Use a Heater

A grow room needs sufficient heating, especially in the UK. Depending on the size of your grow room and amount of plants, there are many options to create a warm temperature for your plants to flourish and survive. Most people use tube heaters, which come in a variety of wattages and sizes to suit all needs. You can also get additional accessories for your heater, including a thermostat which can help regulate temperature and will only turn on the heater when required. This will save you time and money, and ensures your room is always at optimum temperature. If you need a heater, or any of the other equipment described in this article, check out Progrow for all your gardening needs.

Get Some LED Grow Lights

Grow lights are a great investment for anyone serious about growing their own plants or vegetables. Grow lights create heat, keeping your plants warmer during the nights. This doesn’t need to be done in the warmer months, but in winter when the temperature can drop quite dramatically at night, this can make all the difference. Leaving the lights on will mean extra heating isn’t needed too.

Watch Out for That Extraction

If you don’t own a fan controller, your extraction system could be removing valuable heat from the room. If you do own an intake fan, consider another room or space within your home which would provide a warmer source of air. For example, if you use your loft as your growing room, can your intake fan be connected to another room in the house, rather than outside?

Nutrients

Plants don’t much like the cold, which means they also don’t like their food cold either. Any nutrients that you have for your plants should be kept at around 18-21°C. Feeding plants solutions that are cold could lead to shock, preventing growth or stopping it completely. Be sure not to overheat your nutrients either as nutrients that are overheated can cause disease to your plants such as pythium.

Growing in the winter doesn’t need to be difficult. With the right equipment and tools, you can keep your plants in a regulated, warm environment that will keep them healthy and growing all winter long.