Finishing times, Photoperiod, Latitude, and how it all works!!

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Outdoors' started by dankohzee, Aug 16, 2008.

  1. #21 TexasToaster, Aug 17, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2009





    Hello onlymstoni,
    • When will it be ready for harvest? That depends on a few things. The strain(type) has a lot to do with it. I don't think it will be before Sept 21, as that is when the day will be 12/12 - hours of day and night. It will probably be around then if it is already flowering. It seems most flowering periods are around 8 - 9 weeks, but that is indoors w/hydro.
    • Should I move it inside? I don't know where you live, so I don't know when your normal first frost is, but most certainly bring it in if frost is expected. I, in Texas, would bring it in if the overnight temp was going to be below 65F, but that may be a little high to worry about. Bring it in if a storm or high winds are expected. Otherwise, if just a normal rain comes along, leave it outside. Rainwater, if not polluted, is GREAT.
    • What should I do next? Do what you have been. Sounds like you have a healthy plant. Keep it watered. Don't let it dry out too bad, but don't keep it's "feet" wet either. You could give it a light feeding weekly with a water soluble fertilizer, preferably one for flowers or blooming plants. Stop feeding about 2 weeks before you think you will harvest to help flush the fertilizer flavor out. There is a sticky thread at the top of the forums list that addresses harvesting, drying, and curing. Read it now so you are ready for it then.
    • It is only 2 feet tall. How much taller will it get? There is no way to know this without knowing what strain it is, or where you are. I wouldn't expect more than another foot tall this time of year, 2 at the most. It will probably get bushier too, depending on the strain. It is possible for it to still double in size, but I doubt it.
    How long have you known about the plant being there? How much has it grown since then? What else is in the planter/pot? How much direct sunlight per day does it get? Are there any other volunteer weed plants around that could be male?

    I hope this helps a little. This is only my opinion based on the information supplied. Maybe someone else will come along and help a little more. If you happen to come across BuzzLightOne, she might be able to help. I think she may have an outdoor grow.

    Good luck to you!
     
  2. i need your help GC;
    ok let say im at 45 you're around 35, according to the chart, i figured that i get about 10 min more of sunlight/day now then the people at 35 degrees... i was wondering if you'd know around how many days of difference do we have between those 10 degrees of latitude?? if the same genetics are grown at 35 and 45, how many days earlier would the one at 35 finish?

    thx
     
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  3. #23 crbound3, Mar 15, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 24, 2010
    To anyone interested:
    Here is a link to a Sunrise/Sunset calculator (software to put on your desktop of your PC if you use one, it sits in your taskbar). It seems to be bug free. It calculates total amount of usable light. Just input your lattitude, longitude, and time difference to GMT in custom location. The output is very precise and informative for that area. It has been very helpful this year for me since I grow in the winter/spring as well inside a greenhouse. We use 6 mil black plastic to contol the light period. Works for me quite well. Hope this helps...

    Link: http://www.sunrisesunset.com/sun.html
     
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  4. #24 TheOGK, Mar 15, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 15, 2010
    I bought a used book from the 70's, an8x11, about 3/4 inch thick, with an entire chapter devoted to this. the tricks you can play with wavelength, and length of "Day" are just scratching the surface. indeed, each plant responds diff, but it has effect. IR, UV, and using 13 hr days, week 3-5 flower(true flower) are the basics. Now, can I get a little rep +, PLEASE?:smoking:

    ...
    And yes, it is specifically Marijuana Phototropism.
     
  5. Taken directly from the post that you failed to read before asking questions:

    Length of day Vs. Length of visable light
    When you see people describe outdoor Photoperiod, they often use the "Length of day" to describe it. "Length of day" is defined legally as the time between sunrise and sunset, the problem with using this figure is that it doesn't count the visable light known as "Twilight", that occurs before sunrise, and after sunset, the day may actually be 1 hour(or more) longer!
    Cannabis plants do have a cut off point where they no longer consider fading light as "day", I am sure this tolerence point is different for each strain grown. Obviously a full moon is not bright enough to affect Cannabis plants, but who really knows where cut off is?
     
  6. Thanks for the info. :wave:

    It would be interesting to put this to the test by, say, raising cannabis with a 48 hr "day" (40/8), and then gradually increasing the dark period and seeing at what point they start to flower.
     
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  7. is there a way to make the plants start budding earlier?
     
  8. i covered mine up with the black paper looking shit that the roofer's use to put between the shingles and the house over 3 weeks ago and it works like a charm i got buds forming all over the plants, i also live in hot ass texas but i didn't want to wait for that natural 12/12 i need bud now not sep/oct
     
  9. im deffinately gonna try that now but did u go to a 12/12 first or right to a 16/8 or somethin
     
  10. Nice very informative.
     

  11. I know this is old, but you just gave every cop and harvest thief in the world an invitation to visit you. Suggest you delete if you're still around. Just sayin'...
     
  12. hold on, cannabis starts to flower when photoperiod is 12/12 right? would that mean that a person near the latatude of oregon wouldnt see their plants flower until late september early october and then not be able to harvest for 8-10 weeks?

    im confused.... and worried about my plants:eek:

    i get how indoor works, when you flip it to 12/12 the plant start to flowering in 1-2 weeks.

    but this outdoor business, its more confusing.... i feel like i've heard that buds usually mature by end of September/October

    someone set me straight, im not even high and i dont get it:p
     
  13. #34 SM0K3TR33Z, Jul 21, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 21, 2010
    basically for outdoor growing there are two major days that set your growing calendar: summer solstice and fall equinox. as a reminder, summer solstice is the longest 'day' of the year with the most amount of daylight hours and the equinoxes are when there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

    SO, ur plants outside will NOT flower until the fall equinox because that signals to that plant winter is approaching and its time to flower and die, ie your 12/12 cycle. your plant has all it needs to know embedded in its DNA. after the equinox each day will continually get shorter until depending on ur latitude u could get as little as 8 hours of sunlight a day in the winter months.

    the advantage of outdoor growing is that nature does most of the work for you. u just need to keep on an eye on ur plants.

    to calculate when to harvest take the day of the equinox and then count out how many expected weeks it takes ur strain to fully flower. its as easy as that. the mayans and inca based their calendars on solstices and equinoxes to know exactly when to plant and then harvest. also, you have to remember that growing outdoors takes longer than indoor but yields more per plant. harvest can begin anywhere from september way into late november depending on what uve planted.
     
  14. Very good article and well explained. For a kinda cool app that gives you a calendar of light/day cycles by day of the month, check out this:

    http://www.sunrisesunset.com/custom_srss_calendar.asp

    Just find a city close to you and you can get a good idea of your day/night cycles through the rest of the year. This helps in understanding when the daylight gets shorter than night in your area. This is what generates the plant to get going on budding-winters coming!!
     
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  15. What is the usual flowering time in Ontario, Canada?
     
  16. Thanks for posting this! I've been wondering about this myself. I'm in Northern California, latitude 37 N. I can see by the chart above that we'll get 12 hours of dark starting around the end of September. I expect my plants will be flowering before then. They are growing outdoors, and right now get about 7 hours of direct sunlight, but I'll be adding a couple more hours in the morning when I take out some trees today. I guess I will just have to wait and see exactly when each strain starts to flower, and keep a record of it for next year. I think plants grown from seed, and plants grown from cuttings, might respond to the photoperiod differently. I have both, and both indica and sativa, so I don't expect to harvest everything at the same time.
     
  17. Just learning, but in QLD it's Latitude: 27.59.00.
    If someone starts to grow outdoors in 2-3 weeks from now, do you know how long it would take to mature?
    Are there other members from the area you can direct me to for help? thanks
     

  18. Finishing time depends on the strain you are growing, but looking at an online calculator, the day length is slightly more than 12 hours in 3 weeks (~12h 05m). Planting out after the 18th (the equinox; day and night are equal length, hence the day length is 12 hours) when the days are longer might be a better bet; say the last week of September, first week of October?
     
  19. I'm in on a caribbean island, where my days are pretty much all the same. The sun rises at around 6 am and sets around 7pm.. all year long. It varies about 35-45 minutes depending on the time of the year. Is that going to cause my plants to not flower? Will I need to take them inside to a "dark" part of the house to get them to flower?
     

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