Growing in super hot weather

Where I live it gets to 105 degrees on the heat index almost every day, till about early September.

I will be moving my plants outside shortly, and am concerned about this because I've read that high heat temperatures stunt growth.

What can I do to keep them cool?

I have a very small budget btw.

If you figure it out let me know, where I live 105 is downright balmy. I've read Cannabis won't grow over 80 or 85 degrees.

That said, I can give you advice from my vegetable garden. First, give them shade. Get a roll of shade cloth from Lowes. Down here they sell varying grades of light blocking from 30% up to 90%. They go from about $14-25 bucks I think. 50% shade works good here. Then get some PVC pipe. Get 1.5 inch diameter or for a frame, and some 3 inch diameter for a base. Also pick up Elbows, end caps, and PVC glue. For the frame. Two Simple low U's will work, figure out how high you think the plants will get, and make the top bar a few inches higher than that.. For the base take the 3 inch pipe. Cut it to length. glue on end caps and Ts, then fill it with water or sand. This keeps the frames from taking off in a good wind. If you do get a lot of wind, or your design turns out not sturdy enough. you can also make this stuff out of metal conduit. It is surprisingly stiff, and I make trellises out of it, I have hung water melons and the like from it.

Then get yourself some zip ties.
If you live in a windy area, I would spring for the grommets that the companies that make the cloth sell. Using grommets keeps the fabric from tearing in a wind, if you don't get wind, don't bother. Also, don't buy the zip ties displayed with the fabric. They are like 5x the price of zips ties in the regular zip tie section. Zip tie the cloth to both sides of the frame. You can also get an extra roll of the cloth and shade the south side where the sun would come in under the top. Or if you have extra, just put one of the frames facing south, and hang the cloth down.

Second, water the crap out of them. Using a drip system is best. I have drip hose attached to my regular garden hose, and a timer. Cheap, and it works good. My plants get at least 15 minutes of good flow twice a day.
It is the warmest summer on record here, and my Watermelons are alive, along with the tomatoes. No fruit now, but I should get some in the fall. My basil is going crazy under the shade. So the system works for some things.

Hope this helps!

Well I can speak from experience, that the heat does not necessarily stunt growth, but I suppose that it depends on the strain you are growing. I'm currently growing Kaya Gold in 5 gallon buckets. I got this strain because it was supposed to do well in harsh conditions, which I consider heat to be.

My plants are growing great, and our actual temps have been getting to 100, heat index 115. Where I'm growing them, they only get about 5 to 6 hours of direct light.

One of my plants is only 4ft tall, but for some reason it started flowering in June. The others are 6-8 ft tall, and remember I'm growing them in 5 gallon buckets. They're all flowering now.

I'm more concerned that the heat will negatively impact the THC content of the finished product.

5-6 hours of light? Isn't that like...... wayyyy too little?

Where i am at it is around 100° everyday. I also have my 6 plants in 5gallon buckets. I started them way late. They are only a month along so i dont expect them to get much bigger. I just make sure to keep them in the shade most of the day and only get about 5-6hts of direct sun light. Even in the shade they are getting sun light it just helps cut down on the heat. Last year I grew the same way with 3 plants and they ended up being 7ft tall even after being topped 2times.

noxnoctum said:

Where I live it gets to 105 degrees on the heat index almost every day, till about early September.

I will be moving my plants outside shortly, and am concerned about this because I've read that high heat temperatures stunt growth.

What can I do to keep them cool?

I have a very small budget btw.

Click to expand...

water...............
soak a towel, then use the wet towel to cover the top of the soil after you water, it will slow down the dry out process.
mist the plant on a reg basis, if you can.
cannabis can withstand incredibly high temps, as long as it has enough water

Should I still do what I'm doing now.... watering every third day? Or do I need to up that once they're outside and getting bigger?

at least every other day now that there that size & outside in that much heat

Out side if the weather is hot I would say more. I water them sometimes twice a day. I wake up and water them and then Ill check on them around mid afternoon. I just check to see if the soul needs it.

And how much water we talking? They're six inches tall atm but growing FAST. I usually give them half of the dirt in the cup in water... if that makes sense.

Damn you all water a lot. I live in indiana and the past month the heat index is 110. Mine are in a outdoor/indoor setup and are in 5gal square pots and i water them every 3-4 days and they seem to be doing great. I usually stick my finger down in the corner of the pot to check the soil. There 2 1/2 weeks into flowering. should i be watering more?
Thanks
BigBudE

i water mine untill around 20% of the water drains out. just me though

water untill the runoff is clear.........

ladygiz has it down right.

Do i need to water more or just continue reading my plants?

IAm5toned said:

water untill the runoff is clear.........

ladygiz has it down right.

Click to expand...

What do you mean till the runoff is clear? Do you mean till there's so much water that's it's running down the hill outside the plant?

want to talk about bs weather. we have been seeing 100+ in the day and 55 at night. throw in the 30mph wind and this has been a pain in the ass. I moved the 5 gal pots into the ground. transplanted. there doing ok the ones in the buckets are still getting to warm. I started watering daily with a heavy soak every few days. I have them sitting so they get sun untill about 6:00 then there shaded by trees.

BigBudE said:

Do i need to water more or just continue reading my plants?

Click to expand...

just keep reading them. I have to water alot due to heavy sand in my soil mix.

My temps can go to 100+ degrees on a regular basis.That with light winds every afternoon and cool nights< I still give my girls 2-4 gallons a dayfor a few days then maybe skip 1 day.My plants are very healthy and starting to bud.last year my freind and I grew the same strains and he watered a lot more then me( last year I only gave them 2 gallons max.This year i doubled it & they are zoomin.On really hot days i split it up and water twice a day

when you think about it, the plant will grow proportional to the root mass. so watering around the plants stem base about a foot away from the plant in a small trench like circle will make the roots stretch to find the water going big slowly each watering. the plants will get huge. hotter temps means the plants perspire and sweat more so they need to be watered more frequently. wait until you see noticeable drooping then water. then water just before that happens next time and use you finger as a moisture gauge... hope this helps..

What if you are about 90 degrees indoors? I live on the east coast where humdity is brutal combine that with a really old worn down house and it is averge of 90 during the day could this stunt growth?