Photosynthesis is the process by which plant leaves make carbohydrates. Sunlight, CO2 and water are converted into carbohydrates and O2 by the action of chlorophyll in the chloroplasts of the plant. Plants growing indoors under artificial light often lack enough CO2 to efficiently photosynthesize. When plants are able to maximize the process of photosynthesis, the results are larger plants with larger yields.

The ExHale Cultivator is designed for small to medium grow spaces, providing 4 to 6 plants with the CO2 they need. Growing in larger spaces requires more bags but the effects are the same!

The only bag that requires activation is The ExHale 365 bag. After removing the hanger, move the mycelial mass onto the substrate. In roughly two weeks your bag will be producing its full CO2 capacity.

Because CO2 is heavier than air we recommend hanging the bag one to two feet directly above your plants. Each bag comes with a hanger but how you attach it is up to you. After hanging your bag, a continuous shower of CO2 will fall directly onto your plants. This is the most efficient way to deliver the CO2 they need 24 hours a day for up to six months.

Here is our official CO2 Flow Information: +/-0.5 ft3 per minute of 2500-3000ppm enriched CO2 130,000 cubic feet 2500-3000ppm enriched CO2

We introduced the first retail ready packaged mushroom kit many years ago. ExHale is not a kit in a bag, ExHale is a stand alone product, an all-in-one, all-natural, CO2 production unit.

The ExHale bag is a non-fruiting mushroom bag which means its a single mass of mycelium and you will not see classic mushrooms forming. The ExHale strain was developed for the purpose of CO2 production. There are other products that claim CO2 production, and while they do produce CO2, they are actually strains that are meant for food production.

Some 20 years ago I realized the biological function of mycelium. Before that for 25 years I had lived a life of a seed breeder’s son. My father always had a saying; “First the Seed”, when I was young we would plant thousands of crosses hoping to get 20-30 that showed promise of actually becoming a hybrid worth offering to the public. This process would be years in the making. That same philosophy went into creating ExHale. It is well known that mycelium releases CO2 just like humans. When looking into the possibility of utilizing mycelial-cultivated CO2 for plant production it was obvious to me, it has to be a special strain that only wants to produce CO2. With most cultivated mushrooms, your goal is to get mushrooms. Go figure. After you have harvested your crop what you have left is fairly valuable, mostly for compost, which in itself produces CO2. The gig is a mycelial strain that produces little or no primordia has more vigor and therefore produces more CO2 for a longer period of time. Just like a mother plant, ExHale just keeps cranking as if there is no end to the day. ExHale came out of a true love of agriculture and out of the need for a less expensive, easier, safer and more harmonious way to provide your plants with CO2.

An often overlooked and under studied aspect of plant response to CO2 is on the below ground processes. When exposed to increased CO2, roots have been observed to become more numerous, longer, thicker, and faster growing in many plant species. When cloning plants, root growth appears 3-5 days sooner with CO2 enrichment versus without. Although some things are known about root responses to CO2 enrichment, much remains to be learned. Nevertheless, it is clear that plant roots, like other parts of the plant, typically do better in CO2 enriched air versus ambient air.

Photosynthesis has two parts. The light dependent reactions and the light independent ones. The light dependent part is the use of light to "steal" electrons from water. This is the process that produces oxygen. The light independent part is carbon fixation. Plants produce CO2 during respiration when they break down sugars just as humans do. They do this day and night, but during photosynthesis they tend to take more CO2 out of the air than they put in. They reduce CO2 output during the carbon fixation steps of the lightindependent reactions of photosynthesis. Both processes go on all of time, except carbon fixation tends to be more active during the day. They only release Oxygen during the day since they require light to do it.

The answer is both. The goal of CO2 enrichment is to reduce the time from seedling to harvest and to speed up growth and increase yields. Plants grown with elevated CO2 are more able to resist insects and diseases, which makes for a healthier plant. In a study, lettuce was grown in a greenhouse with ambient air versus lettuce grown in a greenhouse with CO2 enrichment. The test showed the lettuce grown in the greenhouse with ambient air was ready to harvest in 59 days. In the greenhouse with CO2 enrichment the lettuce was harvested in 48 days. By weight the CO2 enriched greenhouse lettuce weighed 30% more. In studies here at our farm, we have found that by supplying tomato plants with elevated CO2, those plants produced 20% more fruit (more tomatoes) than those plants that did not receive the elevated CO2. By harvestable weight the plants receiving more CO2 out produced those without by 25%. Tests performed on strawberries showed that strawberries grown with elevated levels of CO2 contained more sugars and physical mass to support a greater number flowering sites. The fact that there were more flowering sites led to a greater number of strawberries being formed and therefore led to more overall production.

Too much CO2 can be detrimental for plants. When CO2 levels rise to high, the plants ability to perform transpiration during photosynthesis is reduced. With lower transpiration rates, fewer nutrients are drawn thru the plant, thus less food enters the plant and growth slows down. High CO2 levels can cause necrosis spots to appear on leaves. These dead tissue spots are an invitation for bacteria and mold to appear. The bacteria and mold feed on the dead tissue and can cause plant damage, lower yields and in some cases cause crop failure. It has been shown that CO2 levels around 1200- 1500 ppm provide for optimal growth. With levels above this you are only wasting CO2 and potentially asking for trouble.

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