Digital thermo-hygrometer
A digital meter showing temperature and humidity together, so you can tell whether a growing room is right instead of guessing. The cheapest useful tool in the room.
KES 900 each
Every other decision in a mushroom room is downstream of temperature and humidity. Too dry and the caps pinch shut. Too warm and the crop gets soft and blotchy. Stale, wet air and no airflow gives you bacteria instead of mushrooms.
You cannot feel any of these reliably. A hand is not a hygrometer, and a room that feels fine can be 60% humidity. Message us on WhatsApp for the accuracy and measurement range of the meter we currently stock, and whether it logs readings or alerts you when the room drifts. We would rather quote you the real spec than print one here and have it go out of date..
What to read
- Relative humidity, for the fruiting room: keep it above about 85%.
- Temperature, which matters in two separate places. During colonisation, spawn and mycelium want warmth; during fruiting, most varieties want it cooler and with more fresh air. The two stages want different things, which is why the reading is worth having on the wall.
- The gap between two readings. A door left open, a hot afternoon or a misting cycle will show up as a swing. Chasing swings is most of what a grower actually does.
Where to put it
At mushroom height, not on the ceiling and not on the floor. Air near the roof and air near the floor are genuinely different temperatures, and a meter on the floor is measuring the wrong room.
Give it two positions rather than one: one in the fruiting area and one in the colonisation area, because the two stages need different readings. If you only have one, put it where the mushrooms are, since that is the reading you will be acting on.
Give it time. A cheap meter drifting a few percent off is far better than no meter at all, but let it sit for fifteen minutes in the room before you trust the first reading.
Common mistakes
- Placing it outside the room. Reading the weather tells you nothing about the room.
- Placing it by a door or a window. Both are sources of swings and both will make you chase readings that the rest of the room does not share.
- Treating a green reading as good. Mushroom rooms do not want green on a plant meter. They want high humidity, and the number is usually above where most people think humidity should be.
- Not writing the readings down. The value of a meter over a week is the trend. One reading is a moment; the trend is what tells you what to change.
Common questions
What humidity should a mushroom growing room be?
Above about 85% relative humidity while fruiting. Below 70% the caps dry out and pinch shut instead of opening properly.
Where should I put the hygrometer?
At mushroom height, in the fruiting area, away from doors and windows. Not on the ceiling and not on the floor, because the air there is a different temperature.
Do I need a hygrometer to grow mushrooms?
It is the cheapest way to stop guessing. Almost every failed crop comes down to humidity, temperature or airflow, and a meter turns all three into numbers you can act on.
Does the meter show temperature as well as humidity?
Yes, it shows both at the same time. Ask us on WhatsApp for the accuracy, the measurement range and whether it logs readings or alerts you, so you are comparing the right spec against other meters.
Can I use it for the spawn room too?
Yes, and you should. Spawn and mycelium want warmth, while the fruiting room wants it cooler, so having a reading in both rooms shows you whether the two stages have drifted apart.