Alberta, Canada

[randyfz]

Hello, id like to say i am relatively new to these boards but it looks like a great place to be a part of. Some of the posts i have seen have swayed me into wanting to grow outdoors. I was wondering if its worth my while to grow outdoors in Alberta, Canada? We don't have a very long summer at all. If so, what strains would be best for growing outdoors?

[OldSkool1010]

You have a short but intense summer... 17 hrs at the solstice based on these coordinates (just an estimate of where you might be)

Your limiting factor will be the cold so whatever strain you grow should have a relatively short flowering period. You don't get 12 hour days until around Sept. 24 but plants grown outdoors don't count the hours. They usually begin flowering when the nights get longer than the day, so the plants should start flowering around July...of course, all of this is justa wildassed guess.

Location: W113 31, N53 34

This is a sun or moon rise/set calculator.
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[randyfz]

Thank you very much. Anymore opinions or ideas greatly appreciated!

[OldSkool1010]

You are in plant hardiness zone 2a (?) I'm in zone 10. not much advice I can give you on your conditions. study up on general gardening for your area. there's not much difference between growing tomatoes and herb. You could start seeds a month or so before the last frost and then harden them up by gradually putting them outside; day time only for a week or so, then day and night for a week, then plant them where they will stay.

http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/index.phtml

[randyfz]

3a actually. I read about letting them veg under lights for a while, flower them to the point of being able to tell the sex then putting them outside. Is this a good route to take?

[OldSkool1010]

That's an interesting thought. I'm not sure how that will work for you. The only vegetation under artificial light I have done is with my clones taken from an outdoor grow. When I set them outside, the plants went into flowering after being set outside. I suspect it was because of the difference in the light/dark cycle. Inside they are under 18/6 and in my location the days never reach 14 hrs.

Another problem I have just experienced is my latest female is developing male blooms (aka bananas or 'nanners). This is a clone of my original grow from last March that I call LB1. On Dec. 9, 2007 I set this clone outside to flower and it developed big beautiful buds. Yesterday, I was looking at the trichomes to gauge when to cut it and noticed the yellow, elongated blooms in the middle of my frosty fat nuggets. The trichs are just now turning milky so I could harvest at this point and get some decent smoke, but I'm considering letting the plant mature in hopes of developing viable seeds.