Hey all! I've recently been gifted the use of a 25' geodesic greenhouse for the 2014 grow season. Canna' will be part of the grow, and I'm wondering about a few things concerned mostly with light cycles, both indoor AND in the greenhouse (no supplemental lighting). I've been solely an indoor grower up until this point. First, I'm concerned about WHEN is the earliest that I can move my starts from indoor lighting (18/6, right now), into the natural lighting of the greenhouse without having to worry about the plants switching to flower prematurely. The greenhouse lives at approximately 37<sup>.</sup>16<sup>'</sup>N (Durango, CO), and is not subject to shade created by trees, buildings, or land structures. In a related concern, would it benefit me to lower the amount of light hours my plants are receiving indoors prior to moving them into the greenhouse, or will it matter? And finally, with an abundance of natural light available and no issues with insufficient head room (I'm going to put them in the middle of the greenhouse), I guess it'd be pointless to do any training to these plants, other than maybe a single topping? Thanks in advance for any help... wak'
hey bud! You're lucky! Geodesic dome greenhouses are really cool! The earliest you can put plants out depends on how early you can get good temperatures/humidity and at least 9 hours of light I believe to flower, 15 I think is minimum for vegging. As for training, thats up to you! Figure out what works best. I don't think lowering the amount of light prior to moving them will have much of an effect, unless you're lowering it to start flowering outdoors immediately. Search when the last frost is in your location and that's probably your earliest plant date, unless the greenhouse is perfect conditions in the height of winter lol
I grew outside in Colorado, I'm up north of Denver though about 30 minutes away. Id say around late April early may is when I bring my babies outside. You never know out here with the crazy weather shifts we have all the time. As for moving the light schedule I usually just check the daylight hours online and plan ahead to when you are going to move outside using a weather calendar making sure we have broke through the early cold springs we have sometimes. I'll slowly match my timers day by day to match the amount of light on the chosen day, Not sure If this is super important but I cant think of a safer way to do it. As for training man it comes down to space, Strain, and personal preference. Personally I like to Main-Line, LST, and Top/Fim my plants, I try to make every branch as good as the next, some people like HUGE colas and some people would rather have smaller colas but lots more of them on a plant. Some plants have more dense nodeing or get more lengthy or W/E the case may be, making different training methods more effective. Your very lucky my friend Colorado is hard to grow outside without a greenhouse, Some strains finish in time but I had a couple babies last year that had to be pulled a couple weeks earlier than needed because it got cold fast last year, really took a spike on potency.
Hello Durango, CO, your in my old neck of the woods which is really cool! I would have to agree with daGanja, no earlier than late april, in fact many friends of mine start getting thier outdoor sites ready april 20 and stagger their planting over the next 3 4 weeks just in case something nasty does happen, that way you wont lose all your gear at once. Good luck mate, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled, Durango is hom,e to some of the finiest genetics and most skilled growers around.
Yeah its best to just start them early. I have the 3 I'm putting outside already vegging away! Maybe I need to go get some genetics up there one day, I cant seem to get good clones in the metro area anymore
General rule for spring planting of temp sensitive annuals in Northern half of US is not before Mother's Day... A couple years ago we had an unusually hot spring and tons of people went out and did all their planting for the season in late Mar and then when late April came around they lost it all. This would apply to any temp sensitive annual that you would plant in spring.
Man, I totally forgot about this thread... So there have been some "issues"... Long of the short, I discovered that the panels in the top of the dome were riddled with hail holes, and after putting in a proper mercury thermometer (don't use the digital, kids, they give WAY high "high temp" readings) I found that the dome was not holding heat at night, and still experiencing below freezing temperatures from time to time. Anyway, I haven't transferred them to the dome yet, and over a long period of time I've reduced the amount of light to about 15 hours +/- fifteen minutes. Several plants have started into full flower, NOT pre flowering, I know the difference. Fortunately, I'm doing an indoor grow as well, so it won't be an issue. The strains that remain are strongly sativa, and aren't flowering anywhere near as much, but certainly can be considered past the point of "pre flower". Anybody have any idea what detriment may come from transplanting in the next week or so? Plants that have begun to flower transplanted from an indoor grow to a greenhouse just before the summer solstice? And environmental acclimation has been something that I've been pondering... The green house is twenty minutes away from my home. How would be the best way to acclimate from a controlled indoor to a greenhouse in such a situation?
Hey Wak , for your greenhouse , what light are you using ? For greenhouse , remote control LED Grow bar will help you with your growing . Coverage , Par for your plants are all good . http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_productshow/?32-LED-Grow-Bar-Light-32.html