sunchaser77
Member
What area of he country are you in? I heard from many growers here in this area including my own experience this year that the plants began to flower much sooner for some reason?
Supplement the sun with HPS during late fall
- Thread starter sunchaser77
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Stiickygreen
Well-Known Member
Colorado. It's all a guess but I think my plants started the transition about.July 20. (placed outside on June 13th, grown from fem seeds that were started on May 1) I had friends here from Ohio in the first week of August and the buds were >just< starting to tighten/form. I was shooting for harvest on Sept 30 and we are going to make it right on schedule.
too larry
Well-Known Member
I'm in NW Florida, and my plants flowered early this year. We had very little sun in June, so that may be the reason.
But flowering plants need long hours of dark. If you can't run the lights in the greenhouse during the day, I would not give them any additional hours of light. You will risk reveg if the nights are too short.
Maybe run them for 3-4 hours during the middle of the day. The extra light will help and it won't fuck up your light hours.
CriticalCheeze
Well-Known Member
Don't add light to outdoor flowering plants if you dont NEED to. They don't go on the same schedule as indoor at all. It knows it's outside and days are getting shorter and colder.
sunchaser77
Member
Yes. I'll be coordinating it to overlap with say the last hour of indirect light. Here in michigan that would mean I'd move them into the shed and hit the lights at about 7pm. It will still b light outside but it'll be indirect light and fading. From 7pm to 9pm they can get extra light. Then They sit in the dark from 9pm until about 830 when I bring them back out into the outdoors. The indirect light starts coming out at about 730am. The direct light starts hitting their outside greenhouse at about 830am. Would this work?
sunchaser77
Member
sunchaser77
Member
Btw, I have family in Jacksonville. Love it down there.
sunchaser77
Member
Ok well here's my question. I will need a good 2 weeks of sun in November to finish these plants. Based on the weakness of the sun by November, my question is..... do I even need to supplement? Or will the low amount of sun in nov be enough?
CriticalCheeze
Well-Known Member
A sunny day in November will still be more than any grow light will provide.
You could add lights if you wish, personally i would not. I would just keep them warm the last couple weeks and the moisture off as much as possible. Which a greenhouse will do for you. Just keep the air moving.
sunchaser77
Member
Sounds great. That answers the question. I should've just asked it that way in the first place. Keep it simple. Now will the harvest be somewhat smaller due to the limited sun?
mr sunshine
Well-Known Member
Adding hps lights to a greenhouse in November with no exhaust system will create major humidity. Just leave them alone, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
sunchaser77
Member
I wouldn't even be in this mess but get this.... I had a seedling hardening over outside the first week of June. One day I left her out a little long and right at where her one tooth seed leaf meets the stem she started to form what looked like a blister and the seed leaf like bent itself backward and was shielding the blister. The other seed leaf also twisted around and was basically acting and looking exactly as a shield, shielding the blister. So I got her in the shade. The next day I put her out and kept my eye on her. Long story short is that she recovered great but in that area there was some sort of an explosion. Another top grew from that point. At first it just looked like a bunch of leaves clumped together (I figured she was gonna grow all crazy and I'd have to put her down), but after a few days it was clear that another top had started. A few days later I noticed that there was another top starting. It happened again a few days later. In the end there's 4 tops. It's one stem from the ground, then it divides into 2, and then from one side it divides again and from that divided branch it divides one more time. It's the damnedest looking thing you've ever seen. But the point is that 1. It grew a little slower as its growing all these tops and 2. I gotta see how much yield I can get outta this thing. It might be a once in a lifetime thing.
sunchaser77
Member
Would there be enough sun in November in Michigan to flower the plant?
mr sunshine
Well-Known Member
Plants flower becouse of the darkness.... will it get huge buds? I have no idea. Will it bud and finish? Yes, it definitely will.
sunchaser77
Member
That's what I meant to ask. How would the limited sun affect the yield.
mr sunshine
Well-Known Member
It doesn't really matter, one year you can grow a three pounder next year you only get one. You're at the mercy of mother nature so it is what it is. Even if you know everything you're supposed to know, growing outside is a gamble. Just let it grow and assess the situation for next year. That way you can have a starting point and make the proper adjustments.
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
you gotta wonder how the hell any seed ever survives outdoors without our assistance 
too larry
Well-Known Member
And how do the trees get so tall? I've often wondered. . . . .you gotta wonder how the hell any seed ever survives outdoors without our assistance
too larry
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't mess with the natural light hours at all. Changing the light hours around will not bring anything good. Reveg would be the most likely, but it is also possible your plant will change it's name to Herman.
There will be a lot of real problems to worry about before then. You will have to deal with them as they show up, or you won't get into November. This time of year is rough on outdoor growers. Just look at a few of the threads in this section. Experienced growers are fighting tooth and nail trying to save their crops. Many of them {like me} are not coming out on the winning end of that fight.
In the future, if you see one plant can't meet your needs, plant two. {I just put 70 seeds in soil for my fall/winter crop. I hope to have 15 or so keepers from them}
sunchaser77
Member
Chance. Wind blows just right breaking a branch off a taller tree that's blockin it's sun. A wind storm in the spring thins out the forest a little allowing new sunlight to hit the floor for a year or two. Very cool to think about and to see.